EPA Water Research Planning Workshop

The coordination team of the WATER JPI took part last 28 June in the planning workshop of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland held to discuss the foundations and directions of the new EPA Water Research Programme 2014-2020.

The workshop, aimed at researchers and research-users in the water area, covered the following items: water challenges in Ireland from a policy, implementation and users perspective; international funding opportunities; directions of the EPA Water Research Strategy 2014-2020; EPA funding mechanisms.
A sustained water research programme is an essential component of Ireland’s role in protecting its water resources and meeting its requirements under water-related EU directives and national policies. The core areas of research carried out by the EPA research programme under the water area are: improve knowledge on the state of water resources and related pressures; impacts on ecosystem and human health, identifying new contaminants and their impacts; protecting water resources, focusing on sustainable and integrated water management, efficiency of measures to protect/restore water quality, novel treatment options and sustainable water balance; governance framework and socio economic considerations, addressing public participation, policy acceptance, costs of inaction, value of ecosystem services, and transfer from research results to policy.
Presentations and documentation can be found at this link.