INFORMATION ON THE COURSE
APPLICATION
FORM
INTERNATIONAL
CENTRE FOR ADVANCED MEDITERRANEAN AGRONOMIC STUDIES
MEDITERRANEAN AGRONOMIC INSTITUTE OF ZARAGOZA
Advanced Course
ECOLOGICAL
RESTORATION OF MEDITERRANEAN RIVERS
Zaragoza
(Spain), 9-14 June 2008
Objective
of the course
Organization
Admission
Registration
Scholarships
Insurance
Teaching organization
Programme
Guest lecturers
Current
trends of increasing human population leads to watersheds covered by urbanized
zones and intensive farming lands. These and other human pressures have altered
watersheds, previously under natural conditions, and the rivers have been
affected by a reduction in their biodiversity, losing their natural structure
and functions, thus limiting long-term development. The social awareness of
this degradation has reached the water legislation, and in Europe, the Water
Framework Directive has recently set the objective to achieve good ecological
status for all rivers in the EU by 2015.
River
restoration is an activity that appears as a response to the continuous
degradation of the fluvial ecosystems, with the main objective of recovering
lost ecological properties and providing goods and services to society in a
sustainable development perspective. Mediterranean regions with drought summers
and flash floods have a great demand for water and a long history of flood
protection, and therefore their rivers are specially affected by the intensive
use of water resources and hydraulic works. This is one reason why river
restoration is becoming a challenging issue.
Through
a general view of case-studies in various Mediterranean contexts and critical
feedbacks on previous experiences, the course aims to (i) improve knowledge in
river restoration and more widely on sustainable management and explore
alternative solutions to use natural river corridors for providing benefits to
society, (ii) contribute to clarify reasons for developing restoration
programmes, and (iii) help to implement them according to clear objectives and
assess their efficiency.
By the end of the course the participants will:
-
Be able to propose different solutions leading
degraded rivers to reach a good ecological status in the Mediterranean region.
-
Have criteria to select the most appropriate measures
for improving ecological integrity and working tools to plan clear action strategies
on a national, regional or local scale.
-
Gain experiences in the practical design,
implementation, funding and monitoring of projects.
-
Be aware of the constraints and failures of such
procedures.
-
Have the opportunity to exchange their own experiences
with practitioners and scientists of different disciplines involved in
restoration programmes in different regional, social and legal contexts.
The course will take place at the Mediterranean
Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ) of the International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM),
and will be given by well qualified lecturers from universities, government
departments, research centres, non-governmental organizations and private
consultancies in different countries.
The course will be held over a period of 1 week, from 9 to 14 June 2008,
in morning and afternoon sessions.
The
course is designed for a maximum of 25 participants with a higher university
degree and is aimed at professionals, from public or private organisations,
working in topics related with river restoration and management and interested
in applying the most advanced knowledge in ecological restoration for their
conservation and sustainable use.
Given the diverse nationalities of the lecturers, knowledge of English
and French will be valued in the selection of candidates, since together with
Spanish, they will be the working languages of the course. However, if
necessary, the IAMZ will provide simultaneous interpretation of the lectures.
Application forms may be obtained from:
Instituto
Agronómico Mediterráneo de Zaragoza
Apartado 202, 50080 Zaragoza (Spain)
Tel.: +34
976 716000 - Fax: +34 976 716001
e-mail:
iamz@iamz.ciheam.org
Web:
www.iamz.ciheam.org
Candidates should send the completed application form to the above
address, accompanied by a detailed curriculum
vitae, stating degree, diplomas, experience, professional activities,
language knowledge and reasons for applying to the course. Copies of
certificates should be enclosed with the application.
The deadline for the submission of applications is 17 March 2008.
Applications from those candidates who cannot present their complete
records when applying, or those requiring authorization to attend the course,
may be accepted provisionally.
Registration fees for the course amount to 425 euro. This sum covers
tuition fees only.
Candidates from CIHEAM member countries (Albania, Algeria, Egypt,
France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and
Turkey) may apply for scholarships covering registration fees, and for
scholarships covering the cost of travel and full board accommodation.
Candidates from other countries who require financial support should
apply directly to other national or international institutions.
It is compulsory for participants to have medical insurance valid for
Spain. Proof of insurance cover must be given at the beginning of the course.
Those who so wish may participate in a collective insurance policy taken out by
the IAMZ, upon payment of the stipulated sum.
The course requires personal work and interaction among participants and
with lecturers. The international characteristics of the course favour the
exchange of experiences and points of view. Formal lectures are complemented by
field visits and presentation of case studies.
1. General
concepts on river restoration (2 hours)
1.1.
Definition of terms: restoration, rehabilitation,
renaturalisation, sustainable management, habitat creation and improvement,
river landscape design. Mitigation measures. Historical evolution of concepts
1.2.
Objectives: to improve goods and services (water
quality and quantity, biological resources, ecological conservation, flood
control, leisure and cultural heritage …)
1.3.
Constraints and uncertainties
1.4.
Scales of restoration
2. Mediterranean
rivers (2 hours)
2.1.
Characterisation and typologies
2.2.
Floods: physical processes and biological responses
2.3.
Droughts: physical processes and biological responses
3. Functions
and benefits of natural rivers (3 hours)
3.1.
Dynamics and sensitivity of rivers
3.2.
Contrasted examples of different river components
3.2.1. Channel
forms. Riparian and floodplain areas
3.2.2. Hydrological
and geomorphological processes
4. Pressures,
impacts and effects in Mediterranean rivers (2 hours)
4.1.
Definition of concepts
4.2.
Types of pressures and associated impacts
4.2.1. Pressures:
agriculture, urban and industrial development, electricity production,
transport infrastructures, gravel mining, navigation …
4.2.2. Impacts:
flow regulation, dredging and channelling, water pollution, soil sealing,
floodplain occupation, deforestation, exotic species invasion …
4.3.
Potential solutions to reduce effects
5. River
ecological status assessment and diagnosis for restoration (3 hours)
5.1.
Reference conditions according to different river
types
5.2.
Indicators (water quality, riparian conditions, flow
regimes, geomorphology and biological communities)
5.3.
Methodologies to verify, quantify and report
ecological status
5.4.
Diagnosis and guiding image design for conservation,
mitigation and restoration
6. Principles
for ecological restoration of rivers (2 hours)
6.1.
Preserve and protect aquatic resources
6.2.
Restore ecological integrity
6.3.
Work within the watershed and broader landscape
context
6.4.
Address ongoing causes of degradation
6.5.
Design for self-sustainability
7. River
restoration projects (5 hours)
7.1.
Overview of available restoration measures
7.2.
Practical considerations in a restoration project
design
7.2.1. Define
measures according to the objectives
7.2.2. Evaluation
of alternatives (cost-efficiency analysis)
7.2.3. Project
report: structure and contents
7.2.4. Project
management
7.2.5. Surveillance
and maintenance planning
7.2.6. Public
participation in river restoration projects
8. Monitoring
and post project appraisal (1 hour)
Success assessment of the project: justification, available options,
duration, indicators, modelling opportunities
9. Constraints
and challenging issues (1 hour)
9.1.
Legal context
9.2.
Social acceptance
9.3.
Economic issues
9.4.
Time schedule
10. Instruments
for restoration (2 hours)
10.1. Water
Framework Directive
10.2. Volunteers
programme
10.3. Custody
agreements for management of private properties
10.4. Stakeholders
agreements
10.5. Financial
support
11. Presentation
of detailed case studies (4 hours)
11.1. Llobregat
river, Spain
11.2. Ain and
Drôme rivers, France
11.3. Guadiamar
corridor, Spain
11.4. Urban
river restoration, California
12.
Final discussion and summary of the course (1
hour)
13. Field
visits
13.1. Gállego
and Ebro rivers. River hydromorphological assessment
13.2. Arga and
Aragón rivers. Morphological restoration experiences
P. BRUFAO, Univ. Extremadura, Cáceres (Spain)
J. ELSO, Gestión Ambiental Viveros y Repoblaciones
de Navarra S.A., Pamplona (Spain)
E. GARCÍA BURGOS, Agència Catalana
de l’Aigua, Barcelona (Spain)
D. GARCÍA DE
JALÓN, Univ. Politécnica
Madrid (Spain)
M. GONZÁLEZ DEL
TÁNAGO, Univ. Politécnica
Madrid (Spain)
M. KONDOLF, Univ. California,
Berkeley (US)
J. R. MALAVOI, Consultant, Lyon
(France)
A. MUNNÉ, Agència Catalana
de l’Aigua, Barcelona (Spain)
A. OLLERO, Univ. Zaragoza (Spain)
M. PALMER, Univ. Maryland, College Park
(US)
H. PIÉGAY, CNRS, Lyon (France)
G. SCHMIDT, WWF-Adena, Madrid (Spain)
J. SERRANO, Confederación Hidrográfica del
Guadalquivir, Sevilla (Spain)