On April 20-22 2021, LIFE IP Rich Waters organized Water IP Network Meeting, a three day digital conference for the European integrated projects that are focusing on water. In total 150 people from 15 countries participated, where 20 different LIFE IP projects were represented.
– We wanted to give all our colleagues around Europe an opportunity to exchange experiences, make new contacts and get inspiration for their own work. We all work towards the same goal – a better water environment, says David Liderfelt, project manager for LIFE IP Rich Waters.
During the first day of the conference, all participating projects had the opportunity to share more about their work. During these presentations, many questions came about the structure and organization of the projects, but also about their concrete work to implement the EU Water Framework Directive. Angelo Salsi, head of the LIFE programmne at CINEA, also spoke about the new project formats in the environmental field that will be launched shortly.
New contacts and networks
In total, the conference offered 16 sessions, workshops and discussions on topics such as water planning, eutrophication, free fish migration, monitoring and communication. Our own actions also had the opportunity to share results and experiences with European colleagues. Towe Holmborn, Sollentuna municipality, talked about the work of analyzing ecosystem services from water. Ernst Witter, County Administrative Board of Örebro, gave an example of how water plans at farm level can bring about local measures against eutrophication.
– We have received positive response from the participants. Now we hope that the conference can lead to more contacts and new networks, and who knows, maybe even more joint projects, says David Liderfelt.
Digital study visits
During the conference, participants also had the opportunity to go on digital study visits to three of the actions within Rich Waters; Julmyra Horse Center, a multifunctional water park in Uppsala and a fauna passage at Turbinbron in Västerås. The three study visits are now available here on our web page
Documentation
A summary of the discussions and conclusions from the conference
If you are interested in receiving the presentation from any of the sessions, please contact us: richwaters.vastmanland@lansstyrelsen.se
