Research Project Andreas Hoffmann:
ASSESS-HKH - Development of an Assessment System to Evaluate the Ecological Status of Rivers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region
The ASSESS-HKH Project is an EU funded project under FP6, INCO DEV and is part of the EU’s specific measures in support of international co-operation in developing countries. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is not only the world's highest mountain region, but also the most populous, covering some 3,500 km² over eight countries from Pakistan in the west to Myanmar in the east. It sustains approximately 140 million people and affects the lives of more than three times as many in the plains and river basins below. The HKH region is a vast storehouse of hydropower, timber, firewood, medicinal plants, rich minerals and last, but not least, water. The specific and verifiable objectives of the ASSESS-HKH Project are:
1. Develop and validate a three-tier methodology to identify environmental hot spots in rivers of the HKH region using benthic invertebrates as bioindicators.
2. Adapt and further develop an information management tool (application software and data-bases) to perform analysis calculations for quantification and rating of ecological status of rivers based on biotic (i.e. macroinvertebrate) data.
3. To interpret ecological data collected in the HKH region to validate the assessment methodology and information management tool and provide a basis for policy recommendation, transnational water resource planning and ecosystem management.
4. Capacity building of local scientists in the field of recognition and application of criteria for biological indicators in ecosystem management.
5. Dissemination and awareness creation on the importance and usefulness of biological
Our Chair contributes to the following tasks:
- Review of existing policies with regard to sustainable water management and describe the socio-economic aspects related to the pressures and impacts:
- Development of “Sustainable Management Strategies” in the form of a policy recommendation for establishing an HKH transnational river and stream monitoring programme.
The project is a first step in establishing an effective water quality monitoring programme in the HKH region which is a prerequisite to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable management strategies and to enforce their implementation.
Contract number: INCO-CT-2005-003659
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