The development of an assessment system to evaluate the ecological status of rivers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region: introduction to the special feature

• Authors: STUBAUER I.; HERING D.; KORTE T.; HOFFMANN A.; BRABEC Karel; SHARMA S.; SHRESTHA M.; KAHLOWN M.A.; TAHIR M.A.; KUMAR A.; SHARMA M.P.; BARI M.F.; BADRUZZAMAN A.B.M.; CHHOPEL G.K.; MOOG O.
• Year of publication: 2010
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Hydrobiologia
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Field: Ecology
• Keywords: Asia; Benthic invertebrates; Sustainable water management; Water quality map
• Description: Development of an Assessment System to Evaluate the Ecological Status of Rivers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region (ASSESS-HKH) was a 3-year research project funded by the European Union(Contract number: INCO-CT-2005-003659). The article provides an overview of research project by summarising the objectives, the approaches and the main achievements. The main objective was to develop and apply a biological assessment system to evaluate the river's ecological quality and to provide a scientific basis for the identification of sustainable water policy options and management strategies. The assessment tools were jointly developed by European partners, who provided their experience from recent research activities (STAR, AQEM) and Asian partners, who provided the knowledge about Asian river catchments and management necessities.

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