The Assessment of Impact of the Gothenburg Protocol on Acidified and Eutrophied Soils and Waters

The purpose of the Project is to propose targeted atmospheric load reductions in percentage for affected areas in the Czech Republic to support negotiating European emission ceilings after 2010, with the overall objective of extending the area of ecosystems in the Czech Republic protected from the effects of acidification, eutrophication and heavy metal contamination. Reference is made to the application, dated 30 May 2006, and correspondence from the Focal Point dated 7 December 2006 and 20 December 2006. The completed Project shall include the following activities and results: 1. Sampling of surface waters providing a basis for mapping stream water chemistry and calculation of critical loads for soils and waters in the Czech Republic. 2. Evaluation of long-term chemical trends in intensively monitored catchments, forest experimental areas, and lakes and prediction of their future development, considering anticipated future scenarios of European emission of sulphur and nitrogen substances and their deposition in the Czech Republic. 3. Evaluation of processes governing the nitrogen dynamics in two strongly acidified and nitrogen saturated catchment-lake ecosystems in the Bohemian Forest. The three project levels will be used to determine the desired level of sulphur and nitrogen emissions in the Czech Republic after 2010 and to develop a new national emission control strategy. The Project Promoter is the Czech Geological Survey, CGS (Ceská geologická služba, CGS). The Project has two partners, the Hydrobiological Institute (HBÚ) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). The Project Promoter shall provide at least 32.31 percent of the estimated eligible Project cost.