The Environment Agency - an overview and the role of ecological appraisal in assessing environmental impacts on the aquatic environment

摘要

A brief overview of the Environment Agency (EA), including how it assesses water quality and measures ecological impacts upon the aquatic environment is presented. The EA in terms of its history, organisational structure, funding streams and key rolesand responsibilities is described. Some of the key issues regarding Agriculture and the EA are then explored. Focus is placed on the work that the EA does in monitoring the aquatic environment and in particular the key biological assessment tools that they employ in the ecological appraisal of the freshwater environment. Several methods are briefly described and evaluated. A specific example of how ecological monitoring has been used to assess the impacts of agriculture within the River Till Catchmentin Northumberland is then outlined.