Preview: 12th International RiverSymposium

From the streams that are the source of rivers to the estuaries leading to the sea, the condition of each element of a catchment is vital to the health of its river.

The 12th International Riversymposium, a central annual event in the Australian water management calendar, will be held from the 21-24 September 2009. Organisers promise that it will be full of vibrant discussions and fora on factors influencing different areas of the catchments. The focus will be on the interactions between these catchments and the activities that take place within them. Themes will examine strategies for coping with changing conditions, uses and policies for catchments and their management now and in the future. Last year's RiverSymposium included feature presentations from the Water Planning Tools project. The overall theme for 2009 is 'Rivers from Source to Sea' with the following themes being discussed:

• Environmental flows for rivers and estuaries
• Upstream effects on downstream communities
• Urban waters
• Challenge for estuarine health
• Water quality - maintenance and monitoring
• Governance and institutional arrangements
• Water markets
• The people issues - community engagement
• Agriculture and water
• Industry and rivers - keeping the balance right
• Climate change and rivers - dealing with droughts, floods and uncertainties.

The call for abstracts has been extended to Friday 27th February, and further information regarding this year's Symposium is available here.

Related Links

• Water Planning Tools Presentations at the 11th Annual Riversymposium, 2008