The work in the Project is divided into the following Work Packages (to the right is the acronym of the partner responsible for a given Work Package, see Partners):

WP1 - AWARENESS CREATION

Designed as a horizontal WP lasting over the whole project time with strong dependencies to WP3 and WP5 performance and results, this WP has the following objective

- analysis of the existing legal and institutional framework related to trans-boundary water resources systems;

- analysis of the historical, political and economical roles of trans-boundary regions/countries, identification of motives to the raising of conflicts and problems that demand various forms of international collaboration;

- identification of relevant existing and potential conflicts in trans-boundary water areas of all categories;

- identification of new concepts, proposals and strategies for evolution trends within the Pan European framework. Identification of the policy factors, which influence a country's position about international catchment.

Further objectives are:

- finding the most important interest groups and mind setting parties and activating their involvement; constituting the Local Steering Committee (LSC),

- providing information to public by organising information events and discussion groups,

- preparing acceptance and support measures for performing local work for the test implementation, presentation and discussion of possible scenarios, and

- strategies for the derived recommendations for optimal trans-boundary water management.

WP2 - ESTABLISHMENT OF EUROPEAN PLATFORM

    The main objective of this workpackage is to support the synergy between the TRANSCAT project and other previous and ongoing international projects. Especially the FP5 EESD’s projects financed in previous calls, having objectives related to water resource management. Another objective is to build a bridge between project research and ongoing activities of the EU and national institutions in the same field and in particular those related to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Emphasis will be placed on the development of a platform for supporting pan-European cooperation and on networking and allowing a more detailed insight into problems related to water resource use. Special emphasis will be placed on what concerns transboundary water resources. Efforts will also be made to orient TRANSCAT activities so that they are in accordance with the aims of the forthcoming FP6.

WP3 - REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS

1) Definition of set of appropriate indicators, including a description of required qualitative data parameters like currency (frequency of determination), accuracy, and completeness.
2) Comparison and evaluation of selected existing DSS from the special point of view of application in borderland regions for water catchment management (projects EUWARENESS, SLIM, MERIT).
3) Suggestion of important aspects of the target system (e.g. main functions, reliability, type of users, scaling of applications, appropriate methods of collecting and processing data, application domains, the way of data source updating, the scheme of distribution).

WP4 - DATA ACQUISITION

    The basis for regional studies in different countries will be the database of all objects, which may provide any information on the groundwater field and parameters influencing the natural system. As this database is the most important feature of a computer-based system, the data acquisition must be regarded with high priority. At the beginning a few hundreds of data will be collected and used. These data represent

1) geological features,

2) hydrogeological conditions,

3) individual morphology and,

4) the selected investigation strategy.

    Whereas the first three aspects are easy to recognize, the type of investigation can hide a lot facts influencing the quality of the data. On one hand there are influences of the different investigations methods and strategies and on the other hand quality and availability is controlled by the source of the data (private persons, authorities, companies). Whereas the first part is more or less an analytical problem, the second part points to the financial aspects. But for the most projects the costs are the most important factor. Therefore the relation costs-information must be considered as well. So for an effective usage of a computer-based DSS system two topics are of high relevance:

1) collection of information (logistical, administrative and scientific) to optimise the data transfer between experts, authorities and end users and

2) classification of different investigation strategies to get a ranking of the quality of the data.

    Closely connected to the quality of the data is the identification of the main physico-chemical indicators and the best strategies for their analysis (in the laboratory as well in the field). The combination of both topics will result in  an interlaced computer based system, which is based on high quality data. Using such a strategy can help to detect and identify insufficient data in an early phase, preventing outliers and their interpretation.

WP5 - SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DESIGN. DSS MODEL FORMULATION
 

    The objective of this WP is to design and develop an operative, integrated and comprehensive computer-based DSS system (TRANSCATS) for water management in trans-boundary regions, with a view on environmental, social and economic sustainability.

      The TRANSCATS DSS being elaborated will encompass four primary components of both functional and substantial character, namely: (i) the possibility of an active operation on spatial information with the help of a GIS-type application; (ii) the possibility of analysing the impact from individual events and the investment, planning and strategic proposals on the state and development of the water resource system, with the help of a catchment area model, or potentially a number of appropriately selected and calibrated catchment area models; (iii) the possibility of making reasoned choices between definite variants of decisions or strategic options on the basis of a methodology supporting choice optimisation, especially in view of (iii-a) various and potentially inconsistent (if not outright opposed) interests and objectives (choice criteria), as well as (iii-b) uncertainty associated both with the course of respective processes and with their evaluation; (iv) the possibility of functioning in the dispersed institutional and spatial situation, along with the securing of participation of the local population and of the local businesses as well as societal institutions in the entire decision making process (the participative management), which is to be ascertained owing to implementation of TRANSCATS within the internet environment.

    It is assumed, especially with respect to the components (i) and (ii) that use will be made as far as possible of the already existing and functioning applications, and of the results from the appropriate projects, financially supported by the European Union. The main proper innovative work will be carried out within the components (iii) and (iv), although in these two an extensive use of the existing and tested methodologies is envisaged, as well. It is in the two latter components that the verification and testing conducted for the pilot regions will be of special importance, since the two former components will have been to a large extent properly calibrated already at the initial stage of the pilot implementations.
 

WP6 - PILOT SITES CHARACTERISATION

    For several representative case studies (covering a range of hydrological situations and socio-economic contexts) detailed analyses will be made of the key environmental, social, technical, economic, and legal issues involved in the water management in the area of common catchment in trans-boundary regions.

WP7 - REGIONALIZED INDICATOR CALIBRATION

    Procedures of regionalized indicator calibration will be developed and tested analysing and presenting spatially information in relation to the status and quality of landscapes, landscape types, and landscape units. This includes topologic relations as neighbourhood, adjacency, flow directions etc. Map and image data as output from WP6 will be converted into second order information. Indicators that are calibrated will integrate Earth Observation (EO) from satellite images and non-EO geo-data such as physical and chemical soil properties or ground water conditions.

    In addition to that methods will be tested and further developed for integrating the spatial dimension of variables describing bio-diversity on species level (bio-diversity indicators) and socio-economic properties. All state variables, the constraints and the decision variables have to be regionalized and modelled in the GIS-database. State variables are represented by measurable phenomena (e.g. spatial pattern of natural resources, land use, infrastructure, environmental quality, and socio-economic development).

WP8 - VERIFICATION AND TESTING

    The objective of this workpackage is to verify and test the TRANSCATS system in the pilot sites. It will start by the definition of the validation tests which will be made taking into account the desired responses and complexity of the developed system. The end-users will be involved in these tests by allowing them to work with the system and verify its potentialities.

WP9 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT

    The objectives in this WP are to oversee the planned activities in the project, and co-ordinate the timely supply of all partial deliverables to the partners who are responsible for their analysis and integration, consortium co-ordination to ensure the smooth-running of the project, scheduling of the regular consortium meetings and organisation of the regular meetings, as well as project “kick-off”, mid-term review and final meetings, preparation of the final report. To define and execute a detailed dissemination plan; dissemination and technology transfer of the deliverables and the knowledge gained by the consortium.