European policies | river restoration | hydropower
In cooperation with the VÖU – Association for Ecology and Environmental Research – vgbe held the Expert Event “River Management and Ecology” on 21/22 March 2024 as part of RENEXPO INTERHYDRO.
The participants, who came to Salzburg from 16 countries, were offered a comprehensive overview of all topics relating to river management and ecology. In the sections, the focus was primarily on
- current international and regional research focussing on the ecohydraulics of rivers
- ongoing research projects
- the European legal and political framework and
- experiences and best practices: practical implementation from the perspective of various interest groups
Particularly noteworthy is the contribution “EU Nature Restoration Law and its implications on nature and hydropower” by Christoph Cudlik, who spoke about the recently passed law on nature restoration. Although adopted, it remains to be seen how this regulation will affect the management of rivers and also hydropower, as many aspects of implementation are left to the member states. The participants were particularly interested in the perspective of an experienced lawyer who has been working on these issues for many years.
Jeffery Tuhtan’s contribution “Enabling automated environmental compliance monitoring for hydropower” should also be emphasised. Here, the very forward-looking topic of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in fish monitoring was discussed, which will inevitably become increasingly important in the coming years.
The participants discussed the contributions in depth and also debated current developments, challenges and trends in hydropower on the fringes of the event and at the RENEXPO Evening Networking Event.
This Expert Event was once again a complete success, as it brings together participants from different areas, i.e. operators, consultants, suppliers and manufacturers, researchers and authority representatives to discuss current issues. This results in a broad-based discourse with very different perspectives and possible solutions.
At this expert event, participants also had the opportunity to visit the RENEXPO INTERHYDRO, the industry meeting place for Europe’s leading companies in the hydropower sector. The participants of the vgbe/VÖU Expert Event took the opportunity to gain in-depth information and expand their networks.
The next vgbe Expert Event “River Management and Ecology” is to be held again next year as part of RENEXPO INTERHYDRO, 27. which will take place on March 27/ 28, 2025. Details will be announced in good time on the vgbe website (vgbe events) and in the vgbe energy journal.
