Ecohydrological modelling and integrated management planning in the catchment of the river Dommel

The EU-LIFE Dommel project aims at the development of methods for the combined use of landscape ecological models and socio-economic knowledge in the drawing up of integrated management plans for catchment areas of small trans-border rivers. These methods were developed and tested in the catchment area of the river Dommel. The river Dommel is one of the important tributaries of the river Meuse. It crosses the border between Belgium and the Netherlands. Because there exist strong conflicts between the ecology and socio-economic developments within the catchment, many ecosystems have deteriorated during the last decades and the remains are threatened by future socio-economic developments. The short-term objective of the project was to lay the foundation for an integrated management plan to abate these problems in the study area. The project was executed in collaboration between scientists and regional policy actors. The project consisted of three phases. In the first phase an analysis was made of interrelated socio-economic and environmental developments. In the second phase a number of landscape-ecological models were developed to be able to predict environmental effects of different land use and water management scenarios. In the third phase a number of these scenarios were drawn up and compared with regard to ecological gains, societal acceptability and costs. This led to a final scenario which offered good perspectives for nature restoration and which was considered feasible by the relevant authorities in the catchment area. To comply with the long-term objective of the project, methods were developed which are applicable in other catchment areas. These methods concern organizational aspects (project phasing, co-operation in the project) and aspects with respect to scientific content (landscape-ecological models, determination of ecological gains)