Alternet Conference 2027

Waterscapes of Europe: Restoring Resilient Landscapes in a Changing Europe

Water connects every landscape. From mountain forests to agricultural catchments, from urban green infrastructure to rivers, wetlands and coastal zones, the ways we manage land ultimately determine the quantity, quality and resilience of our water resources. Likewise, water shapes ecosystems, biodiversity, livelihoods and human well-being, making it one of the most powerful integrators of environmental, social and economic processes.

The progressive heating, drying, and burning of European landscapes challenges our ability not only to protect nature, but to restore and sustain functioning ecosystems under increasingly extreme conditions. As climate change accelerates and biodiversity continues to decline, Europe faces the urgent challenge of managing landscapes that can simultaneously sustain nature, support thriving communities and secure water for future generations. Addressing these interconnected challenges requires moving beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries towards transdisciplinary approaches that recognise the reciprocal relationships between land, water, biodiversity and society.

Waterscapes of Europe is an international conference bringing together scientists, practitioners, policy-makers, environmental managers, engineers, and local stakeholders working across terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal systems. The conference welcomes everyone whose work is influenced by water and its interplay with terrestrial landscapes: from landscape ecology, conservation biology, agriculture, forestry, and urban planning to hydrology, ecohydrology, ecosystem restoration, economics, governance, and social sciences.

The conference builds on a process-oriented ecohydrological perspective, consistent with the UNESCO IHP-IX ambition of advancing science for a water-secure world in a changing environment. Rather than focusing solely on aquatic environments, it considers landscapes as dynamic systems in which hydrological, ecological and social processes interact, and where ecosystem properties can be enhanced to strengthen natural regulation. At the same time, resilient waterscapes require reconsidering development models based on continually increasing resource consumption, towards approaches that prioritise ecological regeneration, resource sufficiency and long-term human well-being within planetary limits. 

The conference provides a platform for exchanging knowledge, building interdisciplinary collaborations and co-developing solutions that enhance biodiversity, climate resilience and sustainable water and land management across Europe and beyond.

Together, we will explore how research, innovation, societal engagement, and collaborative governance can transform Europe’s waterscapes and landscapes to benefit both people and nature.