The 9th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics was organized at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, and took place on 17-21 September 2012. The 9th Symposium theme was "Water is the origin of everything" (Thales of Milet, 560 A.D.) and its main objectives focused on the central role of Ecohydraulics in:
a) the interrelationship between water and the environment
b) the assessment of human induced environmental impact
c) the development of water management strategies harmonizing economic as well as ecological requirements.
International Symposia on Ecohydraulics have taken place since 1994 in nine cities all around the world. Scientists, who are today participating in REFORM, have been among the organisers of all these symposia. The symposium takes place every two years, assembling scientists, engineers, decision makers, and exhibitors from different parts of the World and is one of the activities of the IAHR (www.iahr.net). The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) is a worldwide independent organisation of engineers and water specialists working in fields related to the hydro-environmental sciences and their practical application.
At this year’s symposium, REFORM participants played key roles: the Local Organizing Committee was chaired by Helmut Mader while Stefan Schmutz and Peter Mayr were organising members. Additionally, the International Scientific Committee included Ian Cowx, Diego Garcia de Jalon, Harm Duel, Mike Dunbar, Nikolai Friberg, and Daniel Hering.
Keynote speakers were:
- Birgit Vogel: Large River Basins and their Applied Management - Feasible or Not?
- Otto Pirker: Re-establishing river continuity from an end users perspective
- Atle Harby: Eco-hydraulic research within the Centre for Environmental Design of Renewable Energy
- Claudio Meier: How Do Riparian Poplars and Willows really Establish along Gravel-Bed Rivers?
All topics presented at the symposium were highly relevant in the context of hydromorphological degradation and restoration of rivers. There were four sessions dedicated to Habitat Modeling; three sessions to Aquatic Ecology, River Restoration, Fish Migration and to Hydro Peaking; and two sessions to Flow Regime Alteration, Minimum Flow and to Upstream Fish Passage. Other sessions were dedicated to Sediment Flow, Sediment Interactions on Habitats, Aquatic Continuum, Effects of Global Climate Change, Fish Screening, Downstream Fish Migration, Wetland and Estuary Restoration, Water Management in Wetlands and Estuary, Solute and Nutrient Transport, High Technology on Ecohydraulics and, of course, REFORM.
At least 24 REFORM participants were authors of the presented papers at the Symposium. The REFORM special session was chaired by Peter Mayr and included a presentation of the REFORM project ‘Restoring Rivers for Effective Catchment Management.’ Other presentations at this session were dedicated to Macroinvertebrate Indicators of Hydromorphological Degradation, Flow Regime Characterization of Temporary Streams, Hydro-Morphological Pressures along European Large Rivers, and Flow Regulation Effects on Fish Resilience.
Website: www.ise2012.boku.ac.at