Linked to the Hamburg SedNet Conference, a Round Table discussion was held 6 and 7 October 2009. This Round Table discussion built on the results of the SedNet Round Table Discussion on River Basin Sediment Management held in Venice in 2006. In the SedNet e-newsletter special on river basin management plans (spring 2009) the SedNet steering group concluded: “These few pages on WFD compliant River Basin Management and sediment management show a great variety. The river basins are different in size and challenges, and the solutions are as diverse as the recognition of sediments in the plans is.”

On this background SedNet organised a second Round Table discussion preceding the Hamburg conference. The goal was to discuss the position of sediment management in water management and in regional or local developments and to explore new pathways to effectively link sediment management initiatives to RBMP’s.

The invited participants represented river commissions, governmental bodies, water agencies, port authorities, research institutes, consultancies, NGO’s, etc. Rivers represented where Douro, Ebro, Danube, Sava, Drava/Mura, Elbe, Rhine, Scheldt and Thames. The program of the Round Table was based on the outcome of a questionnaire sent earlier to the participants and an illustrative river basin case. During two days, a large number of topics were covered: holistic system understanding, dealing with uncertainty, better linkage of sediment management to WFD objectives or to other plans, communication (especially about the link between sediments and ecosystem integrity), stakeholder involvement and ecosystem services as a model to help the stakeholder process.

You can find the report about the outcome of the Round Table discussion here.

Blue River case study

The hypothetical "Blue River" basin case study, illustrating the complexity of real-life sediment management issues, was used to stimulate the discussion and hence to assist in the achievement of the Round Table objectives.
You can download the Blue River case study here.