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ERRC 2014 and SEE River Project event

The 6th European River Restoration Conference, integrated with the SEE River Project final event, was held in Vienna, from 27-29 October 2014.

On this page you will find the conference programme linked to speaker presentations, posters, photos and videos of the seminars and interviews.

Download the special edition newsletter / conference report

Download the conference declaration

Download the full conference programme

Download the participant list

Day 1 - Monday 27 October

Keynote presentations

Plenary Welcome and Introduction: “River Restoration and Integrated River Management”. video recording
Bart Fokkens Conference Chair and Aleš Bizjak Conference co-Chair

From local to global: realizing water security for sustainable development. video recording
Ania Grobicki, Global Water Partnership

Works of the International Sava River Basin Commission. video recording
Mitja Bricelj, Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Slovenia

SEE River project: Towards contemporary river corridor management. video recording
Bruno Mazzorana, Provence of Bolzano – South Tyrol

Urban River Restoration: Cities & Water. video recording
Amos Brandeis, ISOCARP

 

Plenary session: European Environmental Agency and European Commission

RBMP & WFD; measures and pressures. video recording
Beate Werner, Head of Water Group EEA

Hydro-morphological pressures and river restoration. video recording
Peter Kristensen, Project Manager Water Assesments, EEA

River Basin Management Experience of the Rhine River. video recording
Ben v.d. Wetering, Secretary General International, Commmission for the Protection of the Rhine

Catchment Restoration Fund (CRF) - Integrating the implementation of WFD, Flood Directive and Natura 2000. video recording
Jeremy Gallop, Environment and Business Manager, Environment Agency UK

 

Parallel sessions

 

1. Water – Energy Nexus

video recording

The water-energy nexus & river restoration in the Alpine Region – opportunities and challenges for the next decade (AIM project).
R. Schinegger (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

Enhancing transparency in hydropower development– a strategic approach to balance conflicting aims of energy provision and conservation.
S. Scheikl (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

Integral assessment of suitability of main watercourses in the Upper Soca Valley for present water uses (CAMIS project).
S. Šantl (Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia)

Guiding Principles on Sustainable Hydropower Development in the Danube River Basin.
F. Popovici (Romanian Waters National Administration)

National trade-off between biodiversity and hydropower.
D. Isaksson (Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Sweden)

 

2. NWRM, Wetlands International

video recording

Brief introduction to facilitated breakout groups.
P. Stosser (ACTeon)

Natural Water Retention Measures explained.
C. H. Baker (Wetlands International, Netherlands)

Good enough? Evidence on multiple benefits of NWRM from EU’s NWRM Pilot Project.
G. Delacámara, C. Gomez (IMDEA)

Natural retention as a part of integrated water resources management – experiences from Central and East Europe.
T. Okrusko (Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland)

NWRM in Spain: Successes and challenges for future implementation
J. Elso (Iberian Centre for River Restoration)

 

3. Urban River Restoration

video recording

Urban river and riparian restoration make urban rivers more resilient to contaminated sediment.
J. Mant (River Restoration Centre, United Kingdom),

The River Restoration Work at the River Petersbach - A small sized River in the Urban Area of Vienna; Austria.
G. Holzapfel (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

Urban channel enhancement: An example of highly constrained restoration.
S. Bentley (JBA Consulting, United Kingdom)

Restoring Wandle Park: Incorporating river restoration into a multi-use urban environment
M. Pieris (Royal HaskoningDHV)

Mur: Urban River Landscape Graz
H.J. Raderbauer (Freiland Civil Engineers LLC, Austria)

 

4. Policy into action

video recording

Introduction: Make people to act together for successful river governance: tools and challenges.
G. Gusmaroli (Italian Centre for River Restoration, Italy)

Joint delivery of river restoration at a local level
C. Gray (London Borough of Lewisham, United Kingdom)

Visualization of the Drava River Corridor “Leitbild” Concept of Methods
W. Gallmetzer (Autonomous Province of Bozen/ Bolzano, Italy)

Cross-sectoral River Corridor Management – Reaching agreement on the Drava River Corridor Regional Development Concept in Slovenia
A. Grmovšek (Institute for Nature Protection of the Republic of Slovenia)

Day 2 - Tuesday 28 October

Keynote presentations

Excellence, collaboration and integration in large river management. video recording
Nick Schofield, International River Foundation

Working towards integrated river restoration and management and Ramsar River Poster Prize Awarding. video recording
Tobias Salathé, Ramsar

2014 Balkan floods learning from disaster. video recording
Marina Babic Mladenovic, “Jaroslav Cerni” Institute

 

Side events

A. European Riverprize finalists

video recording

Chair: Philip Weller, International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area
• Danube River (Transnational).
River Mur (Austria).
Danube River (Slovakia).

B. ECRR

video recording

Chair: Hil Kuypers, European Centre for River Restoration
Asian River Restoration Network.
River Restoration Basin Organisations Community of Practice. video recording
Riverwiki.

C. EUROPE – INBO 2014

video recording

Chair: Jean Francois Donzier, International Network of Basin Organisations
EUROPE INBO 2014.
Natural Water Retention Measure Project and the INBO Handbooks for river restoration.
Peer review WFD implementation.

D. WWF

video recording

Chair: Raimund Mair, International Commission of the Protection of the Danube
• From ideas to implementation. WWF Approach for integrated river and floodplain restoration.
L. Ereifej (WWF CEE Freshwater Programme)
• Increasing scale and impact with cross-sectorial partnerships. video recording
U. Sapiro (Coca Cola Company, Europe)
Multiple benefits of Liberty Island and side-arm restoration, Hungary.
V. Siposs
Lessons learnt from transboundary “Green Borders” wetland restoration project, Romania.
C. Tetelea (WWF DCP)

 

Parallel sessions

5. Floods Water Supply and IRBM

video recording

Introduction - Ph. Weller (IAWD Danube water programme)

What Happened?
J. Toro (World Bank - Assessment Team)

What were the Consequences for Water Utilities?
V. Tausanovic (Belgrade Water Works and IAWD President)

NALAS activities in support to flooded areas.
J.Janevska (Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe)

 A Tool for Preparing for Floods.
O. Schmoll (WHO)

Panel discussion: "What are the lessons from the Floods for Water Services and how can River management and Water Services Cooperate to Prevent and Manage Water Services in Floods Events." with representatives of:
• ICPDR: V. Donchev, President
• World Bank: J. Toro
• Water Utility Associations from Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia: D. Zejlko
• Aquasan Network: S. Zulic
• International Sava River Basin Commission: M. Bricelj
• NALAS: J. Janevska


6. IRBM from Alps to Black Sea WWF

video recording

WWF Alpine River Study.
C. Litschauer (WWF Austria)

Assessment of the restoration potential along the Danube and main tributaries.
L. Ereifej (WWF Hungary)

Unser Inn, Austria.
G. Tschavoll (WWF, Austria)

Liberty Island and side-arm restoration, Hungary.
V. Siposs (WWF Hungary)
video recording

7. Land Use Planning, Agriculture & RR

video recording

E. Philips (Jacobs Ltd., United Kingdom)
This presentation contains a video.

Improving WFD status at the catchment scale: The role of Natural Flood Management.
D. Hetherington and A. Nicholson (Ove Arup and Partners, United Kingdom)
This presentation contains a round-table discussion.

Development plan for rivers in South Tyrol.
M. Aschbacher and P. Hecher (Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Bolzano, Italy)

Restoration of several types of floodplain habitats on the Slovakian section of the Danube.
T. Kušík (Bratislavské regionálne ochranárske združenie, Slovakia)

Environmentally friendly drainage measures.
J. Jormola (Finnish Environment Institute, Finland)

Bending rivers by mussels. video shown in this session
I. Olsson (UC4LIFE, County Board Skåne, Sweden)


8. Restoring Hydro-morphology

video recording

Restoring natural geomorphic process to river environments influenced by practical design constraints.
H. Moir (cbec eco-engineering UK-Ltd, United Kingdom)

The Morphological Response of the River Ribble to naturalisation.
G. Heritage (AECOM, United Kingdom)

Restoring natural hydromorphological processes: A comparison of approaches in the Rivers Ouse and Adur, Sussex, southern England.
I. Dennis (Royal HaskoningDHV)
This presentation contains a round-table discussion.

Geomorphological impacts on flood peak damping.
D. Haspel  (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

Presentations of the posters related to this session: video recording
(all posters can be found in the column on the right)
 

 

Day 3 - Tuesday 29 October

Keynote presentations

The role of Green Infrastructure – Infrastructure in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. video recording
Marianne Wenning, European Commission

Multiple benefits from catchment restoration. video recording
Alastair Driver, Environment Agency UK

European Riverprize Winner presentation. video recording


Parallel sessions

9. Transboundary RR management

video recording

The Upper Drava in Carinthia – an example of a successfully implemented “River Development Scheme”.
S. Schober (Amt der Kärntner Landesregierung, Austria)

Neretva river corridor – implementation of crosssectoral participatory approach to reach consensus for sustainable management of river corridor.
S. Fejzibegovic (Hydro-engineering Institute Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Establishing a coordinated management system for restoration and preservation of Vjosa River, through active participation of relevant institutions and stakeholders in
Albania.

S. Hoxha (Environmental Consultant, Albania)

Prut river corridor – approach, achievement and results in the context of implementetion the SEE River project.
C. Rusu (Romanian Waters National Administration, Romania)

River restoration practices and the institutional capacity building aspects of Bodrog river corridor management.
B. Minárik (Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute,Slovakia)

UNESCO designated sites as key tools for transboundary cooperation and the co-management of shared ecosystems incl. case-study of the Lower Prut area in the Republic of Moldova.
M. Prchalova (UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Italy)

 
10. Participatory Water Management GWP

video recording

Introduction. video presentation
G. Grau (GWP, Sweden)

Global consultations on Water Sustainable Development Goal
A. Hall (GWPO)

Public Participation in river basin management planning.
B. Mandl (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River)

Experiences from national consultations on Water Sustainable Development Goal.
T. Okruszko (GWP Poland)

Lessons learned from drought management national dialogues.
S. Bokal (GWP CEE)

CASESTUDY
One act play and reflections from plenary.
By D. Thalmeinerova (GWP, Sweden)


11. Ecosystem Services

video recording

Ecosystem Services - benefits we get from rivers and wetlands.
B. Vucijak

Stakeholders’ perspectives on the practical relevance of the ecosystem services concept in Austrian river landscape management.
K. Böck (BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

Valuing brooks in an urban environment – residents’opinions about brook restoration in the Helsinki area.
A. Sarvilinna (Finnish Environment Institute, Finland)

Neretva river corridor – Two case studies of ecosystem services valuations.
A. Tomic-Cato (Hydro-Engineering Institute Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Building Stakeholder Engagement For Informed River Restoration and Catchment Management on the lower Shannon River SAC.
R. Ó Conchúir (Inland Fisheries Ireland)

Problems, pitfalls and opportunities of river restoration project implementation: Ripidurable and Ricover case studies.
A. Mendes (University of Évora, Portugal)


12. River Connectivity

video recording

Austrian Strategy for River Connectivity Restoration.
V. Koller – Kreimel (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Austria)

How to Improve Fish Protection and Downstream Migration in Rivers? Insights from the German Forum on Fish Protection and Downstream Fish Migration.
U. Stein (Ecologic Institute, Germany)

A Valley Gets Its River Back! A unique restoration project in Germany.
U. Eichelmann (Riverwatch, Austria)

Longitudinal and lateral migrations of riverine fish in temperate rivers of Chile and New Zealand: implications for management.
K. Górski (Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Centro EULA - Universidad de Concepción, Chile)

Spawning channels for fish reproduction and landscape – example of Imatra, Finland.
J. Jormola (Finnish Environment Institute, Finland)

 

Plenary Session

The Austrian Drava management in the relation to the international river corridor. video recording
Alexander Zinke, coordinator of the SEE River project at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and at the Regional Government of Carinthia

Cross-sectoral cooperation as a basis for contemporary river corridor management; The Drava River as a case. video recording
Aleš Bizjak, Leader SEE River project / Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia

Panel discussion; Moderator: Bart Fokkens video recording
Panelists:

  • Aleš Bizjak, SEE River Project Manager
  • Ulrike Sapiro, Coca-Cola, Europe
  • Karl Schwaiger, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,Environment and Water Management, Austria
  • Alastair Driver (Environment Agency, United Kingdom)
  • Alexander Zinke, coordinator of the SEE River project at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and at the Regional Government of Carinthia

Premiere of a film trailer

'Save the Blue Heart of Europe – The Balkan Rivers at risk'. video recording
Ulrich Eichelmann (River Watch, Austria)

Conference Statement

Conference Statement.
Chairman: Bart Fokkens, European Centre for River Restoration

 

River Talk Interviews

Wetlands International presents a series of short video interviews with featured speakers at the 2014 European River Restoration Conference. Topics include the state of Europe’s rivers, challenges, opportunities and innovative approaches for river restoration, the European Riverprize, better implementation of European environmental directives through green infrastructure, floods and disaster risk reduction, and urban planning.

Featuring:
 Marianne Wenning, Director for 'Quality of Life, Water & Air' DG Environment of the European Commission;
Hans-Jörg Raderbauer, European Riverprize winner - River Mur, Austria;
 Joaquin Toro, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist World Bank;
 Beate Werner, Head of Water Group European Environment Agency;
 Jeremy Gallop Environment Agency UK;
 Amos Brandeis, International Society of City and Regional Planners.

 

Poster Presentations