Water management in Europe has often relied on emergency response, reacting to floods, droughts and scarcity once they occur. Three recent EU policy developments mark a shift in this framing: the Nature Restoration Law (2024), the EU Water Resilience Strategy (2025), and the Competitiveness Compass 2025). Together they treat water and landscapes not only as risks to manage, but as protected natural infrastructure that contributes to ecosystem health and a sustainable economy. This session invites contributions that move beyond reactive risk management toward proactive, systemic resilience: landscapes and catchments designed to absorb shocks, restore ecological function, and generate long-term value.
We welcome studies addressing how catchments, rivers, cities, and rural landscapes can be reimagined as resilient systems considering binding restoration targets. Relevant approaches include nature-based solutions, water reuse and circularity, digital twins for landscape and catchment planning, and governance models that align water security with economic strategy.
Of particular interest are creative, cross-disciplinary approaches connecting hydrology, ecological restoration, landscape design, engineering, and policy: how can we design landscapes that are simultaneously flood-resilient, drought-resilient, ecologically restored, and economically productive?
Contributions may range from local to continental scale, and include case studies, modelling work, policy analysis, or nature-based interventions, connecting risk science, legal restoration requirements, economic sustainability, and long-term resilience planning.