circulation are only available at the national level). Finally, the necessary
multidisciplinary character of environmental sciences was largely lacking in France
when the programme began.
5.2.1 Knowledge Issues to Be Addressed in the Future
The programme has identified many remaining issues that will need to be addressed
in future phases, such as:
• Modelling the transfer of particulate microcontaminants in rivers
• Analysing transfer of contaminants across trophic levels
• Coupling physicochemical quality and ecological quality, as measured by the
WFD, and its modelling
• Coupling high-frequency chemistry records with models
• Linking river/water quality and human health, now and in the past based on
reconstituted archives
• Taking into account perception, evaluation and representation of the quality of the
river and water resources, now and in the past, within and outside the regulatory
domain
• Developing scenarios of future expectations of the public and water actors
regarding the waterbodies and the basin in the context of global change and
changing expectations, such as the increasing interest in the recreational use of
rivers by the public, for example, river bathing in urban rivers
The continuity of the PIREN-Seine programme in the near future will therefore
depend on several conditions: (1) ensuring up-to-date mono- and multidisciplinary
research recognized at an international level; (2) continuing to develop tools and
devices usable by the funding partners; (3) ensuring the dissemination of research to
the various end users; (4) developing activities and research across scales, from local
river issues to questions relating to the entire basin and the land–ocean continuum;
and (5) continuing to consider socio-ecosystem trajectories over a wide time window
(200 years and more) – reconstruction of the past, present observations and nearfuture scenarios.
5.2.2 PIREN-Seine Governance Challenges
Since the PIREN-Seine operates on a voluntary basis and at the individual/smallteam level and not at the laboratory/research-institution level, the programme will
need to seek suitable scientists willing to fill these gaps in the future, as has been
done so far at each of the seven stages of the programme (see [38]). Ecologists will
join the next stage of the programme (2020–2023) to study the effects of changes in
water circulation as a result of human activities on terrestrial ecosystems and
biodiversity dynamics. PIREN-Seine researchers also want to work more closely
with river managers and river users. During the flooding of the Seine in June 2016,
River Basin Visions: Tools and Approaches from Yesterday to Tomorrow
411
multidisciplinary character of environmental sciences was largely lacking in France
when the programme began.
5.2.1 Knowledge Issues to Be Addressed in the Future
The programme has identified many remaining issues that will need to be addressed
in future phases, such as:
• Modelling the transfer of particulate microcontaminants in rivers
• Analysing transfer of contaminants across trophic levels
• Coupling physicochemical quality and ecological quality, as measured by the
WFD, and its modelling
• Coupling high-frequency chemistry records with models
• Linking river/water quality and human health, now and in the past based on
reconstituted archives
• Taking into account perception, evaluation and representation of the quality of the
river and water resources, now and in the past, within and outside the regulatory
domain
• Developing scenarios of future expectations of the public and water actors
regarding the waterbodies and the basin in the context of global change and
changing expectations, such as the increasing interest in the recreational use of
rivers by the public, for example, river bathing in urban rivers
The continuity of the PIREN-Seine programme in the near future will therefore
depend on several conditions: (1) ensuring up-to-date mono- and multidisciplinary
research recognized at an international level; (2) continuing to develop tools and
devices usable by the funding partners; (3) ensuring the dissemination of research to
the various end users; (4) developing activities and research across scales, from local
river issues to questions relating to the entire basin and the land–ocean continuum;
and (5) continuing to consider socio-ecosystem trajectories over a wide time window
(200 years and more) – reconstruction of the past, present observations and nearfuture scenarios.
5.2.2 PIREN-Seine Governance Challenges
Since the PIREN-Seine operates on a voluntary basis and at the individual/smallteam level and not at the laboratory/research-institution level, the programme will
need to seek suitable scientists willing to fill these gaps in the future, as has been
done so far at each of the seven stages of the programme (see [38]). Ecologists will
join the next stage of the programme (2020–2023) to study the effects of changes in
water circulation as a result of human activities on terrestrial ecosystems and
biodiversity dynamics. PIREN-Seine researchers also want to work more closely
with river managers and river users. During the flooding of the Seine in June 2016,
River Basin Visions: Tools and Approaches from Yesterday to Tomorrow
411