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WSNL 1997-1 |
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G. Lüerssen & H. Marencic |
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Status of the Implementation of
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Gerold Lüerssen & Harald Marencic, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Wilhelmshaven, FRG |
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ABSTRACT The further development of the monitoring methodology and the data handling for the TMAP made considerable progress during 1996. The work was carried out in a project called DEMOWAD" which is running until March 1998 and is being co-financed by the European Commission under the LIFE- NATURE program. Based on the TMAP expert workshops in 1995 and 1996, the TMAG elaborated draft guidelines for priority parameters which are presently under consultations with the national monitoring authorities. Based on the outcome of these consultations, an implementation plan for the TMAP will be presented at the next Trilateral Governmental Conference in October 1997. |
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Within the data handling project, a decentral trilateral data handling system was defined and is now being installed. First experiences with the system will be gathered during a prototype test which will be finished in May 1997.
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ELABORATION OF MONITORING METHODOLOGIES Within the DEMOWAD project, six expert workshops were organized by the TMAG and the CWSS (see WSNL 1996 - No. 1):
The recommendations of these expert workshops with regard to the monitoring program have been published in Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 6: "TMAP Expert Workshops 1995/1996" which can be requested from the CWSS. PRIORITY PARAMETERS OF THE TMAP The Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Group (TMAG), the working group responsible for the implementation of the TMAP, discussed all proposals made by the experts and decided to follow a step-wise implementation of the TMAP parameters. The TMAG ranked the parameter groups on the basis of defined criteria which cover the technical effort for the implementation (e.g. elaboration of common guidelines), the relative importance for the respective TMAP hypotheses and the ecotargets, and the "power" of the parameter in a long-term program (cost-benefit). The ranking of the parameter groups was done to set priorities for the implementation of the TMAP. The priority A-parameters contain parameters which give the basic information for each TMAP hypothesis and ecotarget. The priority B-parameters will give more detailed information, and after adding the priority C-parameters, the full program will be covered. |
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TMAP DRAFT GUIDELINES The TMAG elaborated trilateral draft guidelines for the A-parameters based on the recommendations of trilateral expert workshops. Presently, the draft guidelines are under consultation with all national institutions which are carrying out the monitoring in the Wadden Sea. The aims of the national consultations are:
In the first half of 1997, the amended guidelines will be subject to a screening at the political level, during which, amongst others, the financial consequences of the proposals will be assessed. At the 8th Trilateral Governmental Conference in October 1997, the ministers of the three Wadden Sea countries will then decide on the further implementation of the TMAP. Relevant developments in the elaboration of the guidelines for parameters covered by the JAMP ("Joint Assessment and Monitoring Program" in the OSPAR Convention framework) were taken into consideration, especially with respect to the analytical aspects (e.g. sediment normalization), statistical matters and the quality assurance procedures. In the future, the TMAP guidelines will take over the relevant JAMP guidelines as completely as possible in order to avoid double work or possible contradictions.
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WSNL 1997-1 |
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G. Lüerssen & H. Marencic |
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DATA HANDLING The task of the DEMOWAD data handling project is to develop an effective trilateral data handling system consisting of fast data exchange and easy data accessibility, entailing an overview of monitoring data and its state of processing. Therefore, the project developed the basic components of a trilateral data exchange system with
DEMOWAD DATA HANDLING UNIT The so-called "DEMOWAD Data Handling Unit" was developed to exchange TMAP data and to supply the TMAG with information for the compilation of the Quality Status Report (QSR) and other trilateral reports. At each national Wadden Sea database center, an extra TMAP database with a common trilateral structure has to be maintained which gets its data directly from the national database. National prerequisites for an efficient trilateral data handling are quality assured and centrally stored data. On top of the integrated data catalogue an interactive and dynamic World Wide Web (WWW) user surface exists which guides the users, with the help of the catalogue data, to the wanted parameter or value data. Internet services also enable the data transfer to the user site. The users will receive requested TMAP parameter (value) data with meta data (information on data) in the common ASCII or dBase format. |
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PROTOTYPE TEST OF THE DATA HANDLING SYSTEM In order to test the new data handling system, a prototype test was performed using existing data sets on breeding bird surveys and pollutants in mussels. The specification of the data catalogue system, the exchange format and the trilateral database structure will be finished in February 1997. The implementation and uploading of appropriate data will directly follow. First practical experiences with the trilateral data exchange system will be available in May 1997.
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WSNL 1997-1 |
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G. Lüerssen & H. Marencic |
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Authors address: Common Wadden Sea Secretariat |
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