Water resources modelling under data scarcity: Coupling MIKE BASIN and ASM groundwater model

The Water Framework Directive calls for strategic water resources planning at a catchment level, yet data and information are scarce in the areas where they are most needed: in the new EU Member States and Third Countries trying to assess the impact of EU environmental legislation in their water resources management policy. The research presented here proposes the coupling of a strategic scale water resources management simulation model and a finite difference groundwater model, as a tool to support decision making in data scarce environments. The models were applied in a particularly data scarce region, the Vrbas River basin, in Republic Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the results are presented and discussed. It is argued that the approach adopted is valid and useful as an initial knowledge development and optioneering step, which can guide a national data collection exercise to support detailed modelling, and inform a strategic decision making process relevant to the application of the water framework directive.