The interface between bioassessment and governance was explored through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with practitioners drawn from academia and government from seven countries spanning a per capita GDP gradient. Five hypotheses were tested: (1) The enabling environment within which bioassessment functions is largely a product of economic prosperity; (2) Bioassessment works most effectively when part of a formal government-endorsed structure and that appropriate directions are written into legislation; (3) Citizen science offers an opportunity to extend the capacity of bioassessment and to raise awareness of the approach; (4) The transboundary nature of many inland water bodies is a key stimulant for development of bioassessment; and (5) Senior decision-makers, many of whom will not have an ecological background, are not aware of the potential of bioassessment. All the hypotheses were supported by the current study. Six key recommendations emerged from this study: (1) Think in terms of stepwise adoption, with a series of entry points that enables bioassessment to inform policy development; (2) Ensure that ecological ambition is expressed clearly in legislation and specified in regulations; (3) See what bioassessment approaches neighbouring countries are using, rather than developing a method from scratch; (4) Consider the potential for citizen science as a means of boosting coverage of bioassessment and engaging with stakeholders; (5) Develop frameworks which allow bioassessment to usefully contribute to SDG Indicator 6.3.2 reporting; and (6) Persuade senior officials to focus on bioassessment as a cost-effective means of achieving objectives that they already recognise as important, and which align with existing public concerns.
KELLY Martyn G.;
FREE Gary;
WARNER Stuart;
BEDOYA Alejandra Correa;
MORETTI Marcello;
MINGARELLI Sandra;
2026-06-24
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
JRC144304
2624-9375 (online),
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/water/articles/10.3389/frwa.2026.1844890,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC144304,
10.3389/frwa.2026.1844890 (online),
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