Near-natural water balance and nature-based solutions - thinking the landscape from the water perspective

Digital Water Protection Forum of Environmental Organisations on Friday, 17 November 2023

Extreme weather events have increased significantly in recent years. Periods of drought and heavy precipitation events lead to problems that we should counteract especially by improving the landscape water balance with nature-based solutions.

What is now the talk of the town sponge concept in urban areas is still far too little discussed for the natural retention of water in the landscape. In times of climate crisis, nature-based solutions are primarily needed that simultaneously offer ecological, social and economic benefits and contribute to resilience at the landscape level. However, such approaches have hardly reached large scales in the field yet. Approaching a nature-based water balance is anchored as a goal in the National Water Strategy and means strengthening water retention in ecosystems, mitigating the effects of floods and droughts, improving material retention through wetlands and using cooling effects. What is in danger of falling by the wayside in the public discussion is the water demand of the ecosystems themselves. Without water, the functioning of the natural balance cannot be guaranteed.

What: Digital Water Protection Forum of Environmental Organisations "Near-natural water balance and nature-based solutions - thinking the landscape from the water perspective".
When: Friday, 17 November 2023 | 13:00 - 16:30 (admission 12:30).
Followed by a river film evening from 17:00 onwards
Where: Digital (You will receive the access data by e-mail a few days before the event after prior registration).

The Water Protection Forum 2023, organised by the environmental organisations DNR, BUND, WWF, DUH and NABU, will be followed from 5 p.m. by a digital river film evening organised in cooperation with WWF and the Living Rivers Foundation. Separate registration is not necessary. The film evening will be offered in the same online room. You are cordially invited to attend. The River Film Evening at the Water Protection Forum is funded by the European Open Rivers Programme.

The event is free of charge.

On the registration form you will find the event-related information on data protection and data processing, to which you agree with your registration.

Please register for the event using the form below by 16 November 2023. If you have any questions about the content and procedure of the Forum, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Maria Buzhor atinfo@gewaesserschutzforum.de.

Registration at: http://www.nabu.de/gsf2023

Here is the programme of the river film evening

Open Rivers - River Film Evening of the Living Rivers Foundation in cooperation with WWF Germany- Draft programme

17:00 Welcome by Michael Bender (Living Rivers Foundation)

17:05 Dam Removal - More Space for Austria's Rivers 11'52''

17:17 Weir Removal: Pegnitz becomes a "River Liberator Community" 2'30

17:20 Talk with Sigrun Lange (WWF) about the Flussbefreier - competition and with Susanne Bauer (city councillor in Pegnitz) about the weir removal on the river Pegnitz

Info about the Open Rivers programme

17:30 Trailer Voda - Water lost and returned / Sumava National Park 1'56

Patagonia ProtectOcean FilmSeries Global sizzle 1'49

Slide: Patagonia petition to stop bottom trawling in coastal areas.

17:35 Talk with Theresa Schiller WWF and Antonio Rohrsen (Patagonia) on the international agenda to protect rivers and coasts.

Closing film:

17:40 The Custodians (seagrass meadow protection and reintroduction in Scotland) 17'30

18:00 End of the Open River Film Festival on the Water Protection Forum

Film and discussion evening as part of the Oder Festival - a project by Global Water Dances.

Venue: KuNaKu, Fliederweg 1, 16428 Oderberg

Film screening and discussion on the EU Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament in Brussels
Film selection provided by Living Rivers Foundation

Program and tickets

Help us with your signature, write to your MEP and support the EU Nature Restoration Law: #restorenature

When: Wednesday 24th of May, 18:00 - 20:00

Where: European Parliament, Room: SPINELLI 5G1

As part of the #RestoreNature Campaign, together with MEP Cesar Luena, MEP Maria Soraya Rodriguez Ramos and MEP Jutta Paulus, we invite you to attend the documentary screening and discussion on the Nature Restoration Law

The EU Nature Restoration Law proposal represents a huge opportunity to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises. Nature Restoration brings immense benefits for our health, wellbeing, community, can be our biggest ally in addressing and adapting to the climate crisis and also secure sustainable food and livelihoods.

The #RestoreNature Campaign, created by Birdlife Europe, the European Environmental Bureau, WWF, ClientEarth and joined by more than 200 NGOs, has the overarching objective of reaching the adoption of a strong Nature Restoration Law by the end of 2023, by demonstrating the benefits of nature restoration.

In the light of the current discussion around the Nature Restoration Law, join us for an exchange on the role of restoration in Europe and the impact that this law could bring in the EU.

Agenda

• Opening remarks will be delivered by MEP César Luena, MEP María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos and MEP Jutta Paulus.

• There will be two sessions of documentary screening provided and introduced by Michael Bender from Living Rivers Foundation

• The each sessions will be followed by a panel discussion with:

Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament (The Greens)

Kris Decleer, Co-founder and member of Board of Directors of the ‘Society for Ecological Restoration Europe’

Ariel Brunner, Regional Director of Birdlife Europe and Central Asia

Sommer Ackermann, Environmental activist and projector coordinator at Luontoliitto (The Finnish Nature Association)

Luisa Samarelli, Deputy Head of Unit – Nature conservation DG Environment, European Commission

Carolyn Jewell, Biodiversity and Natural Resources Senior Manager, Environmental Social Governance (ESG) AKA – Global head of biodiversity for Heidelberg Materials

• Closing remarks

Please note that the registration list for those who don't have a European Parliament badge has been closed.

Organised by

#RestoreNature Campaign

Biodiversity goals in danger? 

Positioning of the AG-Wasser on hydropower development and river restoration against the background of the biodiversity goals and the climate crisis 

on 08.12.2022 14:00 - 17:00 CET

According to the WWF's Living Planet Report, the global population of wild species has declined by 69% since 1970. At 83%, the loss of species in lakes, rivers and wetlands is even more dramatic. Environmental associations, anglers and other organisations have joined forces at the European level to form the Living Rivers Coalition in order to halt this trend and reverse it. With the Green Deal, the Water Framework Directive, the Biodiversity Strategy and the recently proposed Nature Restoration Law, good instruments have been and are being developed at EU level to achieve this goal. At the same time, the expansion of renewable energies is being pushed forward on a large scale. In the course of this, there are increased efforts to streamline the planning requirements for infrastructure projects, in particular also by directly undermining nature and water protection regulations. This, with the intention of counteracting the climate crisis, further exacerbates the European and global biodiversity crisis.

The sustainable use and equitable distribution of water is one of the most pressing problems of our time. At the same time, scarce freshwater resources and their associated ecosystems are being overexploited, polluted and damaged all over the world. Whether water will still be sufficiently available and drinkable in the future, and who will have access to it, depends more than ever on political decisions around water use. To discuss these challenges, we cordially invite you and your colleagues to an online seminar. Details on the programme and registration can be found below.

Programme

14:00: Welcome

Jürgen Maier, Forum Environment and Development

14:10: Presentation of the FUE position on hydropower

Thilo Papacek, CounterCurrents 

14:40: "Break Free" - Restoring river ecosystems by dismantling transverse structures 

Michael Bender, Living Rivers Foundation 

15:10: Commentary on the Renewable Energy Directive by WWF 

Tobias Schäfer, WWF

15:40: Hydropower in development cooperation 

Jutta Himmelsbach, Misereor

16:15 h: Break 

16:30: Hydropower to hydrogen? The Inga III Project

Salomé Elolo, Femmes Solidaires

Registration: roth (at) forumue.de

The event will be held in German with English translation. 

You can find the invitation here: Invitation

Movie evening: "Vjosa National Park – a new age of river protection?"

Thursday, November 03

7:30pm CET

Paneltalk & Movie Screening

In Albania and all around Europe citizens have raised their voices to protect Europe’s largest wild river—the Vjosa. This year Albania's government listened, and promised to establish a national park to protect the Vjosa forever.

We talk with Besjana Guri from EcoAlbania about the campaign success and the progress towards establishing the Vjosa National Park. Being a member of the national park working group in Albania we are excited to hear directly from her here in Berlin.

For additional impressions Matthias Leupold & Eric Berg present their short movie "In the Name of Vjosa". And Living Rivers Foundation shares insights on river conservation in Germany.

Details TBA 

This event will be held in English.

We have limited capacities - please sign up under this link: https://vjosanationalpark.splashthat.com.

Patagonia Berlin

Münzstraße 10

10178 Berlin