VIDEO
NGOS AND CITIZENS DEMAND CLEAN AIR EVERYWHERE
Contextual framework
The EEA in context
Beyond Copenhagen
Selected by the Board, after competitive tender on the basis of their expertise and capacity, ETCs are entities who contract with the EEA to carry out projects in specific subject areas designated in the MAWP. The number of ETCs is not constant or prescribed but dependent on organizational research requirements.
At present there are five ETCs in operation.
European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC)
The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment of the Netherlands is the lead institute of 13 who collectively operate the ETC/ACC for a three-year tenure from 2001 to 2004. The ETC/ACC builds on the air emissions and quality monitoring of prior ETCs but the addition of climate change to the topic is a crucial broadening of scope. In particular the ETC/ACC monitors and assesses climate change and air pollution, providing integrated analysis reports. The Report on Climate Change provides an assessment of state and impact indicators applicable to Europe. Greenhouse gas emissions are important in assessing climate change. Another ETC/ACC activity is the production of topic reports on current and future greenhouse gas emissions that scrutinise
the application of both EU and national policies and measures to reduce levels. These reports indicate the progress that each member and the EU overall is making in meeting its committed targets under the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The ETC/ACC also evaluates and reports on policies for the preservation and improvement of air quality, referencing past assessments and projecting future trends on the basis of current pollution levels, and studies the incidental impact of air pollution on climate change. As part of the ongoing effort to heighten awareness levels regarding environmental matters, the ETC/ACC, through its website and publications, offers relevant useful information to the public relating to air quality and climate change.
European Topic Centre on Waste and Material Flows (ETC/WMF)
The primary purpose of the ETC/WMF is to collect and report accurate information on waste and material flows in Europe. The ETC/WMF is operated by a consortium of eight bodies, including the Irish EPA, and was established in 1997. It is based in Copenhagen under the auspices of its joint lead agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency of the City of Copenhagen and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to contributing to EIONET and EEA publications the ETC/WMF distributes the results of its observations and analysis of waste and material flows through a number of topic and technical reports.
These reports examine crucial areas for the future sustainable development of Europe. Compliance of EU Member States with performance targets set by the Directive on the Landfill of Waste, integrated with an evaluation of the instruments and treatment systems used to attain these targets, and studies on the collection, treatment and movement in waste disposal, are among the more significant of these reports. By providing information on waste management and material flows and projected future trends the ETC/WMF assists in the development of EU policies to control the relationship between waste generation and resource consumption, thereby promoting sustainable economic growth.
European Topic Centre on Water (ETC/Water)
Water has been part of the topic centre research of the EEA since its foundation in 1993. At that time, the ETC was referable to inland waterways. The same contractor, Water Research Centre plc, has led the water-related topic centres continually and in its current guise as the ETC/Water, a 12-group consortium co-ordinated by WRC, operates the topic centre from its base in Swindon, United Kingdom.
The core activity of the ETC/Water involves assessing the effectiveness of policies on water quality. In particular, the judging impact of the Water Framework Directive involves massive co-ordination of resources managed through the EUROWATERNET established by the ETC/Water. The sheer volume of waterways to be monitored as regards the Water Framework Directive makes this task one of the more monumental projects undertaken under the patronage of the EEA. Furthermore, the implications for some Member States are revolutionary with respect to their management of water. The ETC/Water provides fundamental support to NFPs and national agencies implementing the directive in their development of an administration system for water catchments, including the monitoring and assessing of water quality and the processes for measuring and levying fees for water usage. Among the other responsibilities of the ETC/Water is the compilation and production of topic updates and reports on water quality.
European Topic Centre on the Terrestrial Environment (ETC/TE)
ETC/TE is a newer topic centre based in Spain under the lead body of a consortium comprising 10 organizations at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Monitoring the terrestrial environment requires analysis of the interplay between the biosphere and the geosphere in the integrated context of the interface with socio-economic factors rooted in each particular locale. This work involves evaluation of a wide range of areas from the relationship between economic growth and population or the effect of developing and maintaining the road infrastructure to the assessment of changes in soil quality.
The ETC/TE studies are the bedrock of policy initiatives by the Commission to recognise the fundamental nature of soil and land and preserve soil from erosion and pollution. The initial soil-monitoring objective of the ETC/TE is to assess the dangers posed by soil contamination, soil sealing and soil erosion and the impact of soil degradation on Europe’s environment.
European Topic Centre on Nature Protection and Biodiversity (ETC/NPB)
The topic centre on Nature Conservation that existed from 1995 to 2000 has been replaced by the ETC/NPB. Based in France and lead by the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, the ETC/NPB is a collaboration of nine institutions. The addition of the biodiversity mandate represented a further broadening of the overall EEA research base. The data compiled by the ETC/NPB is employed for the development of policy initiatives implemented through legislative instruments such as the Habitat Directive and the Birds Directive. Other studies and reports cover a range of areas from creation of a core set of biodiversity indicators to assessing the relationship between climate change and biodiversity and producing a feasibility study on the potential to use data from bird ringing schemes to indicate environmental changes.
