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Dr. Eleftheria Kampa

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Dr. Eleftheria Kampa

MSc (Environmental Change & Management)

Senior Fellow

Team
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Dr. Eleftheria Kampa is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, focusing on policies for water resource management and aquatic biodiversity. Eleftheria is a Greek citizen. She works in English, German, and Greek and has knowledge of Spanish and Italian.

Eleftheria's work concentrates on providing support to European and national institutions on water policy implementation, especially with regard to the development of technical guidance and the assessment of implementation plans. She has extensive knowledge and experience on issues related to hydromorphological pressures and measures, restoration of rivers, wetlands and floodplains, hydropower and the Water Framework Directive, ecological flows, assessment and measures for heavily modified water bodies. Eleftheria contributed as key technical expert in the EU-wide assessment of the 1st and 2nd river basin management plans.

Eleftheria currently coordinates work on policy analysis of wetland restoration as climate change mitigation strategy in the RESTORE4Cs EU project, she contributes to research on aquatic ecosystem restoration in the Danube river basin in the DANUBE4all EU project and supports the EC in the implementation of the Mission Restore Ocean and Waters by 2030 with focus on a new community of practice on EU Blue Parks. She also coordinates research on legal and regulatory approaches for sustainable and equitable water use in the GOVAQUA EU project.

Eleftheria has previously coordinated stakeholder involvement and decision-support for the H2020 project on fish-friendly innovative technologies for hydropower (FIThydro) as well as knowledge dissemination and stakeholder participation for the FP7 project REstoring rivers FOR effective catchment Management (REFORM) on river restoration. In addition, she worked in the European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters (ETC-ICM), supporting the European Environmental Agency (EEA) in its assessments of European waters. She has provided conceptual input for the organization of various European events and stakeholder consultations related to water resource management, such as the stakeholder consultation process on the EU Blueprint to safeguard EU's water.

In 2007, Eleftheria was awarded a doctorate in environmental planning by the Technische Universität Berlin (Germany). In her doctoral thesis, she dealt with the implementation of integrated institutional water regimes in Greece using theories of public governance, property rights, and actor interaction. In 1999 she was awarded a British Council scholarship to complete the interdisciplinary MSc program in Environmental Change and Management at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford (United Kingdom). Before that, she studied biology in Greece (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and Spain (Universidad del Pais Vasco) earning a "Ptychion" (bachelor's degree) in 1998. During her studies, she specialized in the ecological quality of surface water and also worked as a volunteer for the Greek Sea Turtle Protection Society on sea turtle conservation and sustainable ecotourism in coastal areas.

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Selected projects by Dr. Eleftheria Kampa
 

© RESTORE4Cs

Healthy wetlands are acknowledged for being among the most effective sinks for carbon and for providing other valuable ecosystem services. In contrast, human-impacted wetlands represent a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Important research questions on the GHG... Read more
 

© BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences), Vienna

Over one million barriers on Europe's rivers have resulted in extensive loss of river connectivity, and 70-90 % of Europe's floodplain areas are ecologically degraded due to human modifications. Despite having an ambitious EU policy framework in place, implementation of... Read more

Restoration of the Danube River Basin Waters for Ecosystems and People from Mountains to Coast (DANUBE4all)

Duration
-
Funding
 

©Phillip Minnis|Fotolia.com

Over the past few years, managing water scarcity and drought has become a priority for European water managers and decision-makers, reflecting the risks of lacking resilience to climate change and unsustainable water management practices. At the same time, progress in... Read more

Water Quantity Management

Duration
-
Funding
 

Foto von Alesia Kozik von Pexels

Missions are a novel instrument in Horizon Europe, which aim to tackle societal challenges with systemic solutions. The implementation of five mission areas (Restore our ocean and waters by 2030; Adaptation to Climate Change; Cancer; Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities;... Read more

Implementation of Lighthouses of Mission 'Restore our oceans and waters by 2030'

Duration
-
Funding
 

Foto von Pixabay

The Ecologic Institute, part of a pan-European consortium, is implementing the "Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters" support platform for the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA) and the European Commission, aiming to protect and... Read more
 
Govaqua Logo

© Govaqua

The overall goal of GOVAQUA is to identify, assess, develop and validate innovative water governance instruments and approaches to support and accelerate a transition towards sustainable and equitable water use in Europe. Such a transition is urgently required to... Read more

Governance Innovations for a Transition to Sustainable and Equitable Water Use in Europe (GOVAQUA)

Duration
-
Funding
 

©NeoEllis|iStockphoto.com

Over the past years, concerns and wide recognition about drought events and water scarcity have grown across the EU. In 2007, the European Commission issued a Communication - Addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the EU which identified drought... Read more

In-depth Assessment of Drought Management Plans

Duration
-
Funding
 

River Venta in Kuldiga, Latvia

|

© Melanie Kemper|CC-BY

The importance of free-flowing rivers that allow free movement of water, sediment, fish and other organisms is increasingly recognised by European environmental policy, in particular the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 adopted under... Read more

Guidance on the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy River Restoration Targets

Duration
-
Funding
 
Fotolia © Andre Illing
Under its 'Framework contract for Evaluation, review and development of EU Water Policy', the European Commission DG Environment has issued a service request for a Specific Contract to provide "Support for the intercomparison of Good Ecological Potential for Heavily... Read more

Intercomparison of Good Ecological Potential and Technical Document on Sediment Management

Duration
-
Funding
 
|©EvgenyKuklev|iStockphoto.com
Ecologic Institute is member of the European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine waters (ETC-ICM) which works with the European Environment Agency (EEA) under a Framework Partnership Agreement for the period from 2019 to 2021. The ETC-ICM aims to provide... Read more
 
|Fotolia © Andre Illing
Under its ‘Framework contract for Evaluation, review and development of EU Water Policy', the European Commission DG Environment has issued a service request for a Specific Contract to provide "Support for the elaboration of guidance on WFD harmonised environmental... Read more

Guidance on WFD Harmonised Environmental Requirements for HMWB and Hydromorphology

Duration
-
Funding
 
| Fotolia © magann
In the latest Work Programme 2016-2018 of the Common Implementation Strategy of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Water Directors of European countries agreed specific Ad-hoc Task Groups (ATGs) should be set up on the following topics: (1) Best practice and... Read more
 
| Fotolia © Phillip Minnis
Ecologic Institute, as part of a pan-European consortium led by WRc, is supporting the European Commission in a framework contract on the evaluation, review and development of EU water policy. With activities to be supported under this framework contract, the Commission... Read more

Framework Contract on Evaluation, Review and Development of EU Water Policy

Duration
-
Funding
 
| Fotolia © SusaZoom
As part of a consortium led by WRc, Ecologic Institute provides technical assistance to the European Commission on the assessment of the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive’s plans and implementation in the 28 EU Member States. The work includes: ... Read more
 

Ecologic Institut

During the first period of the Forum Fish Protection and Downstream Fish Migration, more than 200 people from different fields, such as water management and nature conservation by the states and the federal government, the federal waterway administration and transport... Read more
 
Europe is characterized by a dense network of rivers that provide essential ecosystem services. Over time, use of rivers by humans has led to severe degradation of water quality and ecosystem functions. REFORM will improve existing tools and develop new ones to increase... Read more

Restoring River for Effective Catchment Management (REFORM)

Duration
-
Funding
 
By the end of 2012, the European Commission will present a communication called the "Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water", which will be the policy response to challenges in achieving EU water policy goals. The Blueprint will be accompanied by a strong effort of... Read more

Public and Stakeholder Consultation of the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water

Duration
-
Funding
 
Freshwater biodiversity patterns and the processes that maintain them at European and global scale are poorly understood for most freshwater organisms. The BioFresh FP7 project built a public biodiversity information platform to bring together the vast amount of... Read more

Biodiversity of Freshwater Ecosystems: Status, Trends, Pressures, and Conservation Priorities (BioFresh)

Duration
-
Funding
Selected publications by Dr. Eleftheria Kampa
 
Cover of the indedendent expert report "Baseline study for the implementation of lighthouses of the Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’: Atlantic, Arctic, Danube and Mediterranean lighthouses"

© European Commission

The objective of the EU Mission 'Restore our ocean and waters by 2030' is to provide a systemic approach for the restoration of our oceans, seas and waters by 2030. The Mission lighthouses act as hubs and platforms for the development, demonstration and deployment of... Read more

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Alao Chanou, Z., McColgan, O., Berbel, J., et al., Baseline study for the implementation of lighthouses of the Mission 'Restore our ocean and waters by 2030': Atlantic, Arctic, Danube and Mediterranean lighthouses, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/34856

 
Cover Forum Fischschutz Abschlussbericht 2023

© Umweltbundesamt

This report, which concludes the German Participatory Forum on Fish Protection and Downstream Migration summarizes a selection of key issues from the forum's workshops across six central topics. The focus is primarily on the distinctive consensuses and proposed... Read more

Wagner, Falko et al. 2023: In der Diskussion: Forum Fischschutz und Fischabstieg: Ergebnisse und Ausblick. Abschlussbericht. TEXTE 113/2023. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

 
1st page of the policy brief "Why is nature restoration critical for river connectivity?"

© Ecologic Institute, IEEP

The EU Commission published its proposal for a new Nature Restoration Regulation in June 2022. In this context, IEEP and Ecologic Institute – as part of the Think Sustainable Europe network – published a series of thematic policy briefs to inform Members of the European... Read more

Kampa, Eleftheria 2022: Why is nature restoration critical for river connectivity? IEEP, Ecologic Institute: Brussels, Berlin.

 
red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"

© Springer International Publishing

This open access book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from... Read more

Rutschmann, Peter et. al. (eds) 2022: Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower. Springer International Publishing.

 

 
red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"

© Springer International Publishing

Hydropower is at the cross-road of different policies on renewable energy, climate change, water and nature. Knowledge of current policies and regulations at different levels is crucial for understanding the framework conditions for more sustainable hydropower. In this... Read more

Kampa, Eleftheria 2022: Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation. In: Rutschmann, Peter et. al. (eds) 2022: Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower. Springer International Publishing.

 
cover of publication

© European Commission

The report "Intercomparison of Ecological Potential for Rivers" reviews and intercompares the methods used in European countries to define the ecological potential of river heavily modified water bodies. The report has been developed as part of an intercomparison... Read more

Kampa, E., Rouillard, J., 2021. Intercomparison of ecological potential for Rivers. Berlin, Ecologic Institute.

 
Cover of the publication "Barrier Removal for River Restoration"

© European Commission CC-BY 4.0

The new guidance document on Barrier Removal for River Restoration has been developed by the European Commission, with the support of Eleftheria Kampa (Ecologic Institute) as advisor. The guidance was developed to assist Member States in identifying and prioritising... Read more

European Commission 2021: Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Barrier Removal for River Restoration. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

 
Cover of the publication Drivers of and pressures arising from  selected key water management challenges – A European overview"

© European Environment Agency, 2021

The new EEA report "Drivers of and pressures arising from selected key water management challenges – A European overview" has been co-authored by the Ecologic Institute, the German Federal Environment Agency and the EEA. The report gives a European overview of the main... Read more

European Environment Agency (ed.) 2021: Drivers of and pressures arising from selected key water management challenges. A European overview. EEA Report No 09/2021. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

 
cover of publication

© European Commission

Wolfram, G., Konecny, R., Kampa, E., 2021. Intercomparison of ecological potential for Lakes and Reservoirs. Vienna, Berlin: Environment Agency, DWS Hydro-Ökologie, Ecologic Institute. ... Read more

Wolfram, G., Konecny, R., Kampa, E., 2021. Intercomparison of ecological potential for Lakes and Reservoirs. Vienna, Berlin: Environment Agency, DWS Hydro-Ökologie, Ecologic Institute.

 
cover of publication

© European Commission

Cleveringa, J., Kampa, E., 2021. Intercomparison of ecological potential for Transitional and Coastal waters (TraC). Amersfoort, Berlin: Arcadis, Ecologic Institute. ... Read more

Cleveringa, J., Kampa E., 2021. Intercomparison of ecological potential for Transitional and Coastal waters (TraC). Amersfoort, Berlin: Arcadis, Ecologic Institute.

 
publication's cover

© European Environment Agency (EEA)

As part of its work within the ETC-ICM, Ecologic Institute has contributed as lead author to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report examining the multiple pressures that agriculture put on Europe's water. The report shows that that a wider uptake of sustainable... Read more

EEA 2021: Water and agriculture: towards sustainable solutions. EEA report 17/2020. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 128pp.

 
Hydropower is an important source of renewable and stable energy production. However, hydroelectric power generation also affects aquatic ecosystems, in particular fish fauna and hydro-morphology. There is therefore a need to find alternative methods and tools for... Read more

Kampa, E., Berg, L. (edit.), 2020: Fish-friendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower. Key outputs from the FIThydro project. Policy Brief.

 
Water security is at the heart of healthy and prosperous societies. European countries' prosperity depends on their ability to maintain the gains they have achieved in water security and address new and rising challenges. Nature Based Solutions can be deployed to... Read more

Trémolet S. et al. (2019). Investing in Nature for Europe Water Security. The Nature Conservancy, Ecologic Institute and ICLEI. London, United Kingdom.

 
As hydromorphological aspects between the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Floods Directive refer to the same fluvial processes, the issue of hydromorphology and flooding has been addressed several times within the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) process. In... Read more

Dworak, Thomas & Kampa, Eleftheria (2019). Workshop on hydro-morphological measures under the Floods and Water Framework Directives “Finding synergies and addressing challenges”. Background paper with conclusions from the workshop 4/5.12.2018 Budapest/Hungary.

 
Ecologic Institute supported the European Commission and the Ad-hoc Task Group on Hydromorphology in organising a Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) workshop. This CIS workshop on the subject of significant adverse effects was organized on 23 and 24 April 2018 in... Read more

Kampa, E., Rouillard, J., van de Bund, W, Brooke, J. 2018. Workshop on Significant adverse effects on use or the wider environment from measures – Summary report, 23-24 April 2018, Brussels.

 
The present report is about methodologies used in European countries for river hydromorphological assessment and monitoring across scales. It has been developed as part of the work programme 2016-2018 of the Common Implementation Strategy Ad-hoc Task Group on... Read more

Kampa, E. & Bussettini, M., 2018. River Hydromorphological Assessment and Monitoring Methodologies: Part 1 – Summary of European country questionnaires.

 
EEA Report Nr. 7/2018
In 2018, the European Commission will publish its report on the assessment of the second River Basin Management Programme (RBMPs) and will start the process of evaluating the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (EC, 2017a). To accompany and inform this process, the European... Read more

EEA 2018: European Waters Assessment of Status and Pressures. EEA Report No 7/2018. European Environment Agency, Luxembourg.

 
JRC110957
One of the core activities for the Common Implementation Strategy Working Group ECOSTAT between 2013 and 2017 has been to try to compare the ecological quality expected by different countries for water bodies impacted by flood protection. The process involved the use of... Read more

Bussettini M, Kling J, van de Bund W, Eds: Kampa E & Bussettini M, Working Group ECOSTAT report on common understanding of using mitigation measures for reaching Good Ecological Potential for heavily modified water bodies - Part 2: Impacted by flood protection structures, EUR 29131 EN; Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018.

 
This report has been prepared as part of work-package 5 of the FIThydro project on Fishfriendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower. It aims at investigating the regulatory landscape influencing actions relevant to environmental improvements in the context of... Read more

Kampa, E. Tarpey, J., Rouillard, J., Bakken, T. H., Stein, U.,  Godinho, F. N., Leitão, A. E., Portela, M. M., Courret, D., Sanz-Ronda, F.J., Boes, R., and A. Odelberg (2017). Technical  Deliverable 5.1. Review of policy requirements and financing instruments. H2020 project FIThydro Fishfriendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower.

 
In the latest Work Programme 2016-2018 of the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Water Directors of European countries agreed to set up a specific Ad-hoc Task Group (ATG) on best practice and guidance to deal with... Read more

Halleraker et al. (authors). Kampa, Eleftheria and Sebastian Döbbelt-Grüne (eds.) 2016: Working Group ECOSTAT Report On Common Understanding Of Using Mitigation Measures For Reaching Good Ecological Potential For Heavily Modified Water Bodies. Luxembourg.

 
EEA Technical report
In recent decades, and after a gradual improvement in water quality due to wastewater treatment and reduced industrial activities, urban rivers and lakes have become increasingly important in the planning of urban ecology, green infrastructure, green areas and climate... Read more

EEA, 2016: Rivers and Lakes in European Cities. Past and Future Challenges. Technical report No 26/2016, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.

 
ETC/ICM Technical Report 2/2015
This report explores the possibility of linking Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Habitats Directive (HD) information by using WISE WFD information on types, ecological status, pressures and measures (EEA, 2012) and HD infor-mation on habitat types, conservation... Read more

ETC/ICM, 2015. European Freshwater Ecosystem Assessment: Cross-walk between the Water Framework Directive and Habitats Directive types, status and pressures, ETC/ICM Technical Report 2/2015, Magdeburg: European Topic Centre on inland, coastal and marine waters, 176 pp. plus Annexes.

 
What progress have EU Member States made in implementing the Water Framework Directive between the first (2009) to the second cycle (2015) of river basin management planning? A consultant's report co-authored by Ecologic Institute is provides initial insights on the... Read more

Fresh Thoughts, Ecologic Institute, WRc (2015). Screening Assessment of Draft Second Cycle River Basin Management Plans. Consultant report commissioned by DG Environment, European Commission.

 
As part of its work under the European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal, and Marine waters (ETC/ICM), Ecologic Institute supported the European Environment Agency (EEA) in an assessment of public participation processes in the context of the Water Framework Directive ... Read more

EEA (2014): "Public participation: contributing to better water management". EEA Report, Vol. 3, 64.

 
This Issue Paper contains final conclusions and recommendations from the workshop "Water Management, Water Framework and Hydropower" which took place in September 2011. Additionally, it provides background information as well as the summary of a questionnaire on... Read more

Kampa, Eleftheria; Johanna von der Weppen and Thomas Dworak 2011: Water Management, Water Framework Directive and Hydropower - Common Implementation Strategy Workshop. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

 
This book is the result of a European project on heavily modified water bodies, carried out in the context of the Common Implementation Strategy of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). It presents and synthesises the results of thirty-four European case studies on... Read more

Kampa, Eleftheria and Wenke Hansen 2004: Heavily Modified Water Bodies. Synthesis of 34 Case Studies in Europe. [International and European Environmental Policy Studies]. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.

 
What are the impacts of European infringement procedures regarding the non-compliance with nature conservation legislation on certain areas? And, to what extent can protected areas contribute to fulfill the requirements of the nature conservation legislation by means of... Read more

Dräger, Tanja et al. 2003: Applying EU Environmental Legislation. Learning from European Court Cases and the Example of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. [Ecologic Briefs on International Relations and Sustainable Development]. Berlin: Ecoscript.