User Uptake in the Framework of Bathing Waters Management

EU Directive on Bathing Waters (2006/07/EC) deals with the management of bathing waters in order to protect bathers’ health even by improving environmental conditions. In particular, the Directive is mainly centred on the concept of prevention. It stresses the importance of identifying pressures and impacts in terms of nature, spatial and temporal extension. This approach requires tools that provide all the information necessary to properly characterize pressures and impacts. Furthermore, forecasting an impacting event on bathing waters directly help with the enforcing of measures in order to reduce/prevent effects on bathers health, on the environment and from the economical point of view. In this framework, Copernicus products provide useful data and services that are the base of several ongoing downstream services dealing with bathing waters management. Recently, the Italian National Network System for Environmental Protecion (SNPA), coordinated by ISPRA, published new guidelines (2021) aimed to provide criteria for analysing natural and anthropogenic pressures that may lead to degradation of bathing water quality and to better manage the area of influence. The guidelines also highlight links with Copernicus products and the critical issues in the management of bathing waters useful for the potential development of Copernicus downstream services.

The aim of the workshop carried out in the framework of FPCUPis to involve final users in the coastal community in this process, showing all the potential of Copernicus and downstreaming products and to gather user requirements. In addition, the workshop is also an opportunity to compare different approaches at national scale and to propose a more homogeneous approach among the different Italian Regions.

This workshop will be organized in Italy at national scale. The event will be driven by already identified requirements by entities dealing with the management of bathing waters (National System for Environmental Protection community, Local Administrations, National Government, Research Institutes) in order to identify downstream potential services to be built upon common needs. The organization will be led by ISPRA in collaboration with national or regional authorities.

This action is coupled, in a synergic way, with actions 2019-2-43 and 2019-2-44, in order to exploit at maximum the possible outcomes of the three actions. The reuse of already available “Copernicus User Uptake” communication material (leaflets, filming, documents, and factsheets) will be supported.