A newsletter from the "Water Cycle and Soil Related Aspects" unit in the European Commissions Directorate General for Research. 
 
 
 
EDITORS WELCOME
 
 
Welcome to the second issue of Water and Soil Times and thank you for all the comments that we received on the first issue. This newsletter aims to inform you 
about activities and project results in relation to the thematic issue of "Water Cycle and Soil Related Aspects" under FP6. We want to tell you about what is taking 
place around existing and future projects supported through FP5 and FP6 in this scientific area. This newsletter should also be a vehicle to enhance the dissemination 
of project results, both during and at the end of the projects. 
 
With this newsletter we aim to reach the scientific community dealing with water and soil issues in an environmental context as well as a much broader community 
of stakeholders such as regulators, policymakers, managers, industries, scientific journalists and organisations with an interest in the subject matter. 
Please forward the newsletter to colleagues, friends, business partners and any other relevant contacts that you may have, and encourage them to subscribe 
to the newsletter (see subscription details below). 
 
 
2ND CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR GLOBAL CHANGE AND ECOSYSTEMS
 
 
 
The second call for proposals for the thematic priority 1.1.6.3 Global Change and Ecosystems was published on 3 July 2003. Proposals for new instruments, 
i.e. Networks of Excellence and Integrated Projects, will be evaluated according to a two-stage procedure (evaluation of outline proposal; invitation to 
submit full proposal; evaluation of full proposal) whereas proposals for the traditional instruments will be evaluated according to the usual one-stage 
procedure. 
The work programme has been updated for the second call and it is vital that you use the correct version. Proposals based on the work programme for the first 
call are likely to fail in the evaluation. The deadline for submission of proposals is 9 October 2003 at 17:00 Brussels local time. Please ensure that your proposal 
is delivered well in time as the deadline is strictly applied.
 
http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/call_details.cfm?CALL_ID=78
 
 
 
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
 
 
 
Following two calls with deadlines in spring 2003, the unit "Water Cycle and Soil Related Aspects" have now opened contract negotiations on a number of proposals: 
 
Call FP6-2002-SSP-1:
 
 
In the area "Environmental Assessment" we are negotiating a STREP proposal for each of the tasks 4, 5 and 6, which deal with: 
- harmonised standards for sampling and analysis of organic compounds in sludge, biowaste, compost and soil; 
- establishment of relationships between the chemical and ecological status of surface waters in support of the WFD; and 
- assessment and validation of screening methods in support of the WFD.
 
 
 
Call FP6-2002-GLOBAL-1:
 
 
In area II "Water cycle, including soil-related aspects" negotiations have been opened for: 
II.2.1.a) Assessment of ecological impacts of global change on freshwater bodies, development of ecological indicators of ecosystem "health" and related 
remediation strategies: one Integrated Project 
II.2.2.a) River-soil-groundwater system functioning: one Integrated Project 
II.3.1.a) Twinning European/third countries river basins: three STREPs and one CA 
II.3.3.a) Technologies for monitoring and mitigating the impact of water scarcity: one STREP 
In the area of Specific Support Actions negotiation have been opened for one SSA on "Consolidating knowledge on the role of wetlands in the water cycle" 
 
 
 
HYDROLOGICAL DROUGHT - PROCESSES AND ESTIMATION METHODS FOR STREAMFLOW AND GROUNDWATER 

 
 
A draft version of a textbook on Hydrological Drought to be published by Elsevier in 2004 (in Development in Water Sciences series n° 48) has been produced 
in the context of the ASTHyDA accompanying measure. It aims to provide both advanced students and professionals in hydrology and water management with the 
knowledge and skills to monitor and predict the spatial behaviour and frequency of streamflow and groundwater drought, including the impact of environmental 
change. The textbook is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing data, worked examples and guided tours. The book will be discussed and finalised during an International 
Study Course which will take place in Wageningen (NL), 30 September - 4 October 2003
 
 
http://www.geofysikk.uio.no/drought/textbook.html
 
 
 
ADVANCED STUDY COURSE - SUSTAINABLE USE OF WATER ON MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS: CONDITIONS, OBSTACLES AND PERSPECTIVES 
 
The above course is organised within the context of the SUSTAINIS project. The course will comprise lectures by more than 20 experts from a variety of professional 
and national backgrounds, field trips and shorter excursions, group work and discussion forums. Students will be asked to write short papers based on the results 
of their group work for the discussion forums. The lectures as well as the student papers will be collected, edited and published as course proceedings. It is 
hosted by the University of Cyprus, and it will take place in Nicosia (CY), September 27 - October 12, 2003
 
http://www.uni-muenster.de/Umweltforschung/sustainis/sustainis.htm
 
 
 
WORKSHOP - TOWARDS COMPREHENSIVE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR WATER STRESSED REGIONS
 
 
 
Within the context of the WaterStrategyMan project an open workshop is taking place in Paris (FR) on October 9th (participation by invitation only, invitation 
may be obtained from the organisers below). The workshop will present the various case studies, the proposed DSS tool and its capabilities. The discussion 
will be dedicated to the definition of the true cost of water and its value, the uncertainty in water resources planning and the risks involved in forecasting 
demand and supply and the challenges in involving society into the decision making process. The workshop is preceded by a project meeting and followed by the 
ARID cluster steering committee meeting. For more information about the workshop contact: Prof. D. Assimacopoulos, mailto:assim@orfeas.chemeng.ntua.gr, and/or 
J-M. Berland, mailto:jm.berland@oieau.fr  
 
 
 
TRANSCAT - CALL FOR PAPERS
 
 
 
The TRANSCAT project (DDS for catchments in borderland regions) is calling for papers for the Open TRANSCAT Conference on "Integrated Water Management 
of Transboundary Catchments - A Contribution from TRANSCAT". The Conference will be held in Venice at the UNESCO Palace on 24-26 March 2004. 
The main product of TRANSCAT will be an operational and integrated comprehensive Decision Support System (DSS) for optimal water management of catchments 
in borderland regions, in the context of the implementation of the EU WFD. The conference aims to connect TRANSCAT with EU institutions involved in the process 
of implementing the WFD. The main objective is to improve information sharing and the dissemination of the knowledge and experience derived in the broad context 
of environmental and socio-economic research, supporting the synergy between the TRANSCAT project and other previous and ongoing international projects. 
http://transcat.isq.pt/
 
 
 
INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND WATER SCENARIOS - EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS  
 
The summary report of the workshop "European Water Scenarios: from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia", held in Brussels on 30 June - 1 July 2003, is publicly 
available on the CIRCA web site  - http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/rt ... It is a good reference for refining the content of potential 
project proposals for the second c