NWE - INTERREG IV B
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AMICE

Climate Changing? Meuse Adapting!

RIOU



Andreas Vesaliuslaan 8


3500 Hasselt
Belgium, Flanders
phone : 32 (0)1 122 54 46
fax :
website : www.riou.be
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Les actualité du partenaire :

  • Site visit - Ny village and the Naives plain - Belgium
  • Work Package 1 starts !
  • AMICE officially approved
  • First Project Steering Group meeting
  • Progresses from WP1
  • WP3 Partners want to increase interactions between their respective actions
  • Project Steering Group meeting report - First Payment Claim
  • WP2 Partners share experience
  • WP2 Partners share experience
  • WP2 Partners share experience
  • First ERDF subsidy received by AMICE project
  • WP3 Partners meeting in Hasselt
  • WP4 progresses
  • WP4 progresses
  • WP4 progresses
  • Site Visits - HOWABO and Steenbergse Vliet - The Netherlands
  • Natural water retention in the Ardennes
  • First edition of AMICE newsletter
  • Meuse Symposium - the AMICE session
  • Project Steering Group 3 - meeting report
  • News about WP2 investments
  • Second issue of Meuse and Climate !
  • WP2 meeting
  • AMICE Site Visit on Amel Amblève
  • WP3 meeting and visit of the Urft dam
  • SICadapt! Cluster Kick-off
  • Third issue of Meuse and Climate
  • Project Steering Group 5
  • Kick-off Seminar for the Transnational flood crisis management Exercise
  • Cluster Website and Expert Board
  • Site Visit on the Rur reservoirs
  • WP3-WP2 joint meeting
  • Information sharing on the organisation of national flood exercises
  • Meuse and Climate 4 presents the AMICE project s latests activities
  • Project Steering Group 8
  • Meuse and Climate 5
  • WP1 meeting
  • International Symposium on Hydraulic Engineering Aachen (IWASA)
  • AMICE final conference : in preparation
  • climate impacts and climate proofed measures
  • Project Steering Group n.7
  • Which AMICE investment is the best ?
  • Feedback on the Walloon and French flood exercises
  • Partners' interviews on Investments
  • Site visit in Hotton on June 21st
  • First Workshop for the definition of AMICE Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change
  • Second workshop for the definition of AMICE Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change
  • Old River Meuse and Super Hero AMICE
  • Learn the lyrics of the AMICE song !
  • AMICE Project Steering Group n°8
  • Climate workshop at the Interreg IV B Annual Event
  • Farmers and Floods
  • Meuse and Climate n°7
  • Lessons learnt from the AMICE investments
  • Report on workshops for the Meuse adaptation strategy to climate change
  • SICadapt! final conference held in Lille
  • Wonder how the activities along the Meuse could be influenced by climate change ?
  • Photo report AMICE final conference
  • Meuse and Climate n° 8
  • RIOU vzw

    About

    Riou is one of the partners dealing with natural water retention.

    In fact floods and droughts are two aspects of just one problem.

    The idea is that sources areas and floodplains in the upper parts of the catchment basin can play an important role for the whole of the Meuse basin. Condition is they can function in a natural way. When the bog, moor and fen vegetation is well developed it acts as a sponge for the sky-water. This presents a double benefit. First, in case of high water the flood is slowed down because the water will saturate the natural sponges first. Only when the sponge is full will the extra water flow into the brooks and the rivers. Second, as the water is kept in the sponges it also has enough time to infiltrate the soil. The water thus kept in the system presents a welcome reserve in times of drought.
    In the Ardennes a number of small tributaries of the Meuse are being restored to their natural situation by Riou's local partner Natagora/BNVS. The key question now is: has the restoration of the river valleys as it is carried out an influence on the discharge of the brooks? In other words:does a more natural hydrological situation help us retaining more water in the system thus avoiding drought problems? In AMICE an hydrological study will be carried out in order to answer these questions.

    In this same philosophy it is also important to know which vegetation types correspond with more natural brook ecosystems. Put in a more simple way: which plants build up the natural sponges? In order to build up a solid ecological knowledge, last summer a large number of botanical releves were made in the Emmels valley.

    Hydrological data combined with ecological knowledge will give us precious information on the possibilities of small scale natural water retention.

    Tasks in the AMICE project

    Communication manager for the AMICE project.

    WP1:

    - Bibliography on ecology

    WP2 :

    - RIOU is responsible for the monitoring of the natural water retention zones in the Ardennes and for the prospection on new sites

    WP5:

    - Organisation of the 3 International Events

    - Coordination of the film on the Meuse

    - Coordination of the site visits

    Specific communication actions :

    - Site visit on at least 1 site of natural water retention

    - Redaction of special issue of the Mosa Natura newsletter

    - Coordination of communication with local actors and local administrations in sites of natural water retention

    - Coordination with EPAMA of the internal project communication

    - Coordination with EPAMA for designing communication tools such as brochures, flyers, panels, scale models, etc

    RIOU has been for years the coordinator of the informal international network ‘Mosa Natura’ that brings together more than 50 organisations (governemental and NGO’s) from all along the river Meuse. Several partners in AMICE are members of Mosa Natura. Partners will be invited to Mosa Natura’s activities. The whole of the knowledge, the experience and the networking-capacity of Mosa Natura will be available for AMICE.