REGISTRATION IS OPEN! The 2021 European River Symposium
REGISTER NOW! After the success in 2013 and 2016, the European River Symposium is coming back in 2021 to create an even stronger partnership for rivers and water. Join us online on May 26-27th 2021 and be part of a collective mission to improve water quality and ecological health of rivers in Europe! Register here.
The 2021 European River Symposium will focus on building connections between institutions, organisations and companies with an interest in rivers and whose activities affect the health and quality of river water and ecosystems. European rivers still suffer pollution and damages. The 2018 European Water’s report finds that only around 40% of surface waters (rivers, lakes and transitional and coastal waters) are in good ecological status, and only 38% are in good chemical status.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 states that at least 25,000 km of rivers should be restored into free-flowing rivers by 2030. The EU Commission will help to build a European Business for Biodiversity movement making it an integral part of the European Climate Pact. And the Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal with an urgent need to reduce dependency on pesticides, antimicrobials, reduce excess fertilisation, increase organic farming, improve animal welfare and reverse biodiversity loss.
For another year a diverse group of organizations has come together to support efforts aimed at improving and accelerating the water directives implementation, exploring new multi-stakeholder cooperation, and developing nature-based solutions to protect, restore and better manage rivers in Europe.
The 2021 European River Symposium is a continuation of an effort begun in 2013, with the convening of the first European River Symposium. The 2021 Symposium will highlight the changes to rivers and specific actions that have been brought about by the European Legislation (the Water Framework Directive) and most importantly the possibilities and opportunities presented by the European Green Deal and European Biodiversity Strategy. These new initiatives provide a significant basis for strengthening the efforts and actions to protect and restore rivers and their associated ecosystems and to ensure that rivers can continue to provide services and benefits to people.
The 2021 Symposium will involve a mix of presentations that will set the stage for understanding rivers and the current political and legal climate in managing them (especially from the EU) followed by working groups and dialogue between actors interested in and affecting rivers. Special focus will be on alignment and exploration of interests between water users (water supply, navigation, agriculture, and hydropower) and conservation and planning and management authorities. Case studies and examples will be explored in more detail in these groups.
Header Photo: River Pripyat © Daniel Rosengren
