Addressing Gaps in Environmental Water Policy Issues across Five Mediterranean Freshwater Protected Areas

摘要: The increasing pressure on water resources in Europe’s broader area led member states to take measures and adopt a common legislative “umbrella” of directives protect them. aim this research is investigate practicing deficiencies, information lacks distances from optimal status as set by the Water Framework Directive supporting uses. This contributes improvement efficiency harmonization all environmental goals especially when management Protected Areas addressed. Gap analysis, an approach that reveals distance between current desired level, was carried out, targeting five Mediterranean hydro-ecosystems, covering three major policy pillars “Monitoring Practices”, “Management Practices” “Water Quality Pressures”. Data for such analyses collected literature supported query matrix. findings revealed lack compliance with regarding several deficiencies sites burdened eutrophication human pressures Pressures” field. As extra effort should be applied hydro-ecosystems reach desirable state. We suggest gap tool, can unify apparently different areas under same reveal necessary “investment”.