Last June the Italian Senate Environment Commission called the Italian Centre for River Restoration for a hearing on a legislative proposal on flood risk prevention. CIRF director Andrea Goltara and president Ileana Schipani had the chance to discuss with senators critical issues for river basin management in Italy and especially to highlight benefits of river restoration for flood risk mitigation.

More details (in Italian) on CIRF website.

Water is becoming a hot topic for business, yet most companies don’t know where to start in understanding and responding to water issues. This tool is designed to help companies and investors to ask the right questions about water - to assess risks and give guidance on what to do in response. The Water Risk Filter is designed to be easy to use, yet highly robust in the results that are generated. We want to enable users to plan and create strategies for their own company, suppliers or investments to drive down risk and become proactive in responding to water issues they face - and by doing so, become better water stewards.

For WWF and DEG, estimating the perfect risk score is not the end goal. The scores are instead the best and most accurate reflection of the multiple issues that companies face around water and should guide a company into a position of proactive engagement on water. We believe that by generating interest and guidance on water actions, we can improve how water is managed, measured and improved for society, the economy and the environment.

Check http://www.waterriskfilter.panda.org/

In a Radio 4 programme aired in April as part of the Nature series, Brett Westwood explored the growing use of coarse woody debris (CWD) in managing rivers.  

 ''According to Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, fish live in trees too'', says the BBC Radio 4. ''The Trust's biologists are using wood as a remarkably effective tool to change the depth and flow of streams and improve them for wildlife. They don't just stop at streams either: at the confluence of the Tame and Trent rivers, they've submerged entire willow trees in gravel islands in a project to widen the river channel.

A two day conference was hosted by the River Restoration Centre and held at Nottingham University in April. The event presented some of the most cutting edge and innovative ways of achieving river restoration to a 200 strong audience of international environmental experts.

Between 9 and 11 May 2012, the International Workshop 'Sharing River Restoration Knowledge and Experience in Europe' will be held in Iasi, Romania, organized by the Romanian Institute of Hydrology and Water Management with the support of DLG Goverment Service for Land and Water Management, The Netherlands.