6. 6. 2025

An internal symposium on the Pšata river restoration

We established an interdisciplinary expert working group tasked within the LIFE2RIVERS project with preparing a professional proposal for Nature-based solutions (NbS) and river ecosystem restoration measures in the Pšata River basin, as well as establishing co-creative stewardship for the Pšata River.

Photo: Damjan Habe

The group, composed of representatives from all project partners and three external collaborators, brings together experts in ecology, environmental engineering, hydrology and hydro-morphology, law, social sciences, and education. The group’s work is coordinated by Dr. Urška Koce from DOPPS, and meetings are held at the National Institute of Biology.

After the introductory meeting in January, the second group meeting took place on May 29. It was organized as an internal symposium, featuring presentations of the key concepts relevant for planning nature-based solutions and river restoration, as well as an exchange of essential expert findings for the further co-creation of the professional proposal.

The following topics were presented:

Overview of the Pšata River basin (Dr. Urška Koce, DOPPS)
Basic concepts in river ecology (Dr. Nataša Mori, NIB)
The importance of hydrogeology for river restoration planning (Prof. Dr. Mihael Brenčič, NTF UL – invited lecturer)
Fundamentals of hydrological and hydraulic studies (Dr. Jošt Sodnik, Tempos d.o.o.)
Presentation of the IUCN standard for nature-based solutions (Dr. Polona Pengal, REVIVO)
Practical examples of river restoration, case study from the United Kingdom (Dr. George Heritage, Dynamic Rivers Ltd.)
Presentation of the concept of nature-based solutions in national water management plans and hydro-morphological studies (Petra Repnik, DRSV)
Systemic and process aspects of implementing nature-based solutions (Aljoša Petek, PIC)
Summary of stakeholder interviews in the Pšata River basin (Dr. Luka Đekić, IE)

After the conclusion of the symposium’s professional sessions, we watched the documentary film about the Pšata River, Ukročena trmoglavka, produced by the Etno-Fletno study group under the direction of Ms. Branka Urbanija (Municipality of Trzin).

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An internal symposium on the Pšata river restoration

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