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18th "Europe-INBO 2020" International Conference for the Implementation of the European Water Directives

The Group of European Basin Organizations for the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive (EURO-INBO) organized on the 9th and 10th November its 18th International Conference, online due to the health situation. 306 participants from 47 countries attended the event.

The programme included an interactive workshop dedicated to the European partnership "Water4all – Water Security for the planet”. Mr. Panagiotis Balabanis (European Commission – DG Research & Innovation) first introduced Horizon Europe and the water-related topics in the draft work programme for 2021-2022. Mr. Olivier Bouc (ANR) then described the content of the Water4All initiative and the possibilities for River Basin Organizations to get involved. Mr. Miguel Polo (Water Commissioner from the Jucar Hydrographic Confederation in Spain) brought the point of view of an end-user of science advances. This confederation is a pioneer in remote sensing use for controlling water abstraction.
Mr. Polo highlighted also a few topics of major interest from his perspective:

  • The identification of hydrographic channels;
  • Floods and drought predictions with real-time flow rates update;
  • Bioremediation for pollution;

He stressed the need to have local solutions to match very localized issues.

The Water4All partnership may be appropriate to tackle these topics by bringing together R&I providers with practitioners and private companies. The Jucar may for instance be one of the “living labs” considered in Water4All.

The discussion brought up questions notably around the capitalization of good practices and barriers to their practical implementation.

In closing the session, Mr. Eric Tardieu, General Secretary of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), announced he would sign the support of INBO to the Water4All initiative strengthening the integration of the water community.