12th International Conference "EUROPE-INBO 2014" on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive

 The 12th "EUROPE-INBO 2014" international conference, organized by the "Group of European Basin Organizations for the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive - WFD", will take place, at the invitation of the Romanian Authorities in Bucharest, Romania, from 12 to 15 November 2014 at the Ramada Majestic Bucharest Hotel.

During this international conference, we shall especially study the means for better integration of the processes, new measures to cope with the main challenges that are: non-point source pollution, hydro-morphology, adaptation to climate change, prevention of droughts and floods, the need to get the stakeholders more involved in the implementation of these measures in the field, etc.

Within the context drawn in 2012 by the European Commission’s "Blueprint", our meeting will be organized around 4 roundtables:

• Roundtable 1 - Preparation of WFD 2nd Management Plans (2016 - 2021): Integration of water quantity issues; Adaptation to climate change; Better integration with other EU Directives (Flood and Marine Strategy) and with other sectoral policies...
• Roundtable 2 - Natural Water Retention Measures / River restoration: Presentation of the results of the workshop held the day before; Guidance documents developed within the CIS...
• Roundtable 3 - Implementation and funding of Programmes of Measures: Mobilization of funds and especially access to EU Structural Funds; Principle of cost recovery; Economic analysis for cost-effective combination of measures...
• Roundtable 4 - Water governance in Transboundary Basins: WFD International Districts; Role and means of International Commissions; Bi and Multilateral Agreements and Conventions, Implementation of WFD principles and tools in EU Neighbouring Countries.

You are invited to present a paper on your practical experiments.

A preparatory workshop will take place on 12 November in the afternoon, dealing with River Restoration and Natural Water Retention Measures. It will aim to exchange on the practices used by the various Member States, to highlight the multiple benefits of these approaches, and to prepare recommendations on the way of implementing them. They will be presented at a plenary session the following day; this workshop is organized with the support of the European Centre for River Restoration (ECRR) and of the National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (ONEMA, France); this work will be published later on.

This year, under the Preparatory Process of Europe Region for the 7th World Water Forum in Korea (April 2015), a European workshop will also be organized on 12 November in the morning on the topics of the implementation of the European directives, adaptation to the effects of climate change and of transboundary water resources management.