Science-policy integration needs in support of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive

Science-policy integration is one of the most complex challenges that scientific and policy-making communities are facing in that it involves knowledge sharing and exchanges among a wide range of disciplines and actors. In many instances, the lack of communication and of clear coordination mechanism leads to research outputs not being used or simply known by policy-makers, and to policy research needs not being communicated to the scientific communities in a timely fashion. This paper discusses the integration of scientific and technological progress into the policy-making and implementation process, taking the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) as an example to illustrate the necessity and complexity of the knowledge-based approach.