AIDA World Water Law Congress 2026
Water Law and Governance in Times of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss
24 - 26 June 2026 | University of Oslo, Norway
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Daily Overview |
| 7:59am | Please note: This programme is preliminary and subject to change. |
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| 8:15am - 9:00am |
Registration Location: Foyer of Aula Poster presenters are kindly requested to deliver their posters to the registration table in the Aula on 24 June between 08:15–09:00; posters will be on display in Domus Bibliotheca throughout the Congress. |
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| 9:00am - 9:25am |
Welcome adresses Location: University Aula |
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| 9:25am - 9:55am |
Keynote 1: Water at the Heart of Global Environmental Challenges: The Role and Limits of Law Location: University Aula Professor Christina Voigt, University of Oslo
Keynote: Water at the Heart of Global Environmental Challenges: The Role and Limits of Law |
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| 9:55am - 10:55am |
Plenary Session 1: The Manifesto for the Freshwater Rule of Law Location: University Aula Chair: Gabriel Eckstein Participants: Stefano Burchi (International Assocation for Water Law), Dr. Jessica Troell (ELI), Zaki Shubber(World Bank), Water Lawyer Robyn Stein (Stein & Buchler Consultants) |
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| 11:00am - 11:20am |
Coffee Break Location: Hallway Domus Academica |
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| 11:20am | Special Session Track |
Track A: Climate Adaptation & Mitigation |
Track B: Rights, Obligations & Justice |
Track C: Hydrologic Change, Use & Biodiversity |
| 11:20am - 12:50pm |
Special Session 1: Asian Perspectives on Transboundary Water Governance in an Era of Climate Risk Location: Gamle Festsal Chair: David Devlaeminck Yang Liu, Chenjun Zheng, Barbara Janusz-Pawletta and Mohamad Mova AlAfghani;
Asian Perspectives on Transboundary Water Governance in an Era of Climate Risk Presentations of the Symposium China’s Perspective in Operationalizing the Obligation to Protect Transboundary Waters Under Climate Change Conditions From Climate Impact to Legal Action: The Integration of Himalayan Glacier Protection within the Framework of International Water Law Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters in Central Asia Operationalizing International Norms for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation: A Water Tenure Approach in Indonesia |
A1: National Pathways to Climate-Resilient Water Law Location: Auditorium 4 Chair: Mara Tignino The Necessity of Adopting a Water Law for Climate Change Adaptation Policies of Türkiye Water Law and Governance in Times of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss – India and South Asia Context Bridging Water Governance and Climate Action: Evaluating Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) in South Africa Water Justice, Climate, and Human Rights in the Americas The Evolving Normativity of Adaptation: A Communicative Analysis of China's Transboundary Water Governance in the Face of Climate Change |
B1: Evolving Duties: Human Rights, Water and Sanitation, and State Obligations Location: Auditorium 5 Chair: Laura Movilla Pateiro Extraterritorial human rights and access to water and sanitation The Human Right to Water and Private Water Supplies in Scotland Right and Access to Water and Sanitation: Extent of Recognition within West Africa Water Regimes The imperative of international human rights to ensure “vital human needs” in transboundary watercourses Climate Adaptation as a Human Water Right – Ensuring Equitable Water Access in a Warming World |
C1: Restoring Rivers and Wetlands: Legal Tools for Ecological Restoration Location: Auditorium 6 Chair: Froukje Maria Platjouw Legal challenges to wetland restoration - Danish experiences Navigating legal waters: Pathways for the ecological restoration of the Danube Wetlands beyond borders: reimagining transboundary cooperation through Ramsar Art. 5 Let’s Not Drain the Swamp: A Rights-Based Approach to Wetland Conservation in Europe? Legal challenges of restoring international river basin ecosystem: Taking EU law as an example |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm |
Lunch Break Location: University Library |
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| 2:00pm - 3:30pm |
Special Session 2: Indigenous Water Laws & Relationships Responding to Climate Change and Biodiversity Imperatives Location: Gamle Festsal Chair: Deborah Curran Linda Te Aho, Tara Marsden, Tessa Terbasket, Aimée Craft and Sherry Copenance
Indigenous Water Laws & Relationships Responding to Climate Change and Biodiversity Imperatives Presentations of the Symposium Māori Perspectives on Water Laws and Relationships Indigenous Legal Orders Creating Limits within State Water Law Gitanyow Aks Ayookxw (Water Policy) as a Climate Adaptation Response Syilx Water Relationships Nibi Declaration: An Anishinaabek water law and governance approach |
A2: Flood Risk, Land Use, and Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Location: Auditorium 4 Chair: Jill Robbie Embedding Flood Risk in Planning Law: A Comparative Typology of Intertemporal Instruments in Flanders, the Netherlands, and Rhineland-Palatinate From draining to retaining water in Belgian and Dutch private law: an interdisciplinary evaluation of case law applying the servitude of water runoff in changing hydrological circumstances A New Approach to Increasing Flood Safety in the Netherlands: Insights from the Island of Dordrecht in Implementing the Multilayer Safety Strategy The EU Taxonomy and Nature Based Solutions for Flood Risk Management |
B2: Institutions Shaping Transboundary Water Cooperation Location: Auditorium 5 Chair: Robin Kundis Craig International Freshwater Treaty Capacity for Climate Adaptation Governance New Developments in the Swiss-French Cooperation on Transboundary Water Management in the Context of Climate Change Shared Waters, Shared Rules: Regional Approaches to Cooperative Management of Transboundary Basins in Latin America Regional Practices and Global Norms: A Conversation with International Legal Frameworks Public Participation in Transboundary Water Management: A Silent Stakeholder? |
C2: Governing with Evidence: Data, Science, and Decision-Making in Water Law Location: Auditorium 6 Chair: Imad Antoine Ibrahim The Legal Meaning and Implications of the Absence of Significantly Better Environmental Means within the EU Water Framework Directive’s Designation and Derogation Regime What does SDG indicator 6.5.2 tell us about climate resilience and transboundary water agreements? Data and Information Sharing for Transboundary Groundwater Governance in Rapidly Changing Environments Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Freshwater Resources: Opportunities and Challenges Burn or Build: How Information Integrity Shapes Climate-Resilient Governance in the Arctic |
| 3:30pm - 4:00pm |
Coffee Break Location: Hallway Domus Academica |
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| 4:00pm - 5:30pm |
Special Session 3: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Water Policy Design Location: Gamle Festsal Chair: Anna Zemskova Anna Zemskova, Erik Brattström, Nikolas Benavides Höglund, Juliane Koch and Johanna Ohlsson
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Water Policy Design Presentations of the Symposium Pathways towards a Swedish Water Resource Law: Addressing the Member State’s National Needs in the Context of the Current Design of the EU Water Acquis Possible? Convergence and Divergence in Local Water Governance: A Catchment-Level Analysis of Municipal Policy Priorities using Web Scraping and NLP What happens when static policy instruments are used to regulate dynamic water systems? Internalizing Water-Quality Externalities: Economic Instruments for Swedish Agriculture Rights and Justice Perspectives in National Water Plans |
A3: Climate Change, Shared Waters, and State Obligations in International Law Location: Auditorium 4 Chair: Richard Paisley From Principles to Standards: Judicial Articulation of Interstitial Norms in International Water Disputes The Implication of the ICJ Advisory Opinion in Defining State Obligations on Climate Change: Strengthening Water Law and Governance Frameworks Bridging International Water and Climate Law: Strengthening Transboundary Water Governance through NDCs and Adaptation Plans Navigating the Continuum: From Compliance to Dispute Settlement in International Water Law Why and how to address uncertainty around transboundary freshwater resources |
B3: Indigenous Rights, Cultural Perspectives & Legal Personhood of Waters Location: Auditorium 5 Chair: Gabriela Cuadrado-Quesada Rights of Rivers – environmental protection and cultural reconciliation for a common future Indigeneity, Spirituality, the Rights of Rivers and an evolving Moral, Ethical and Legal basis for the Conservation and Protection of Rivers Who Speaks for the Rivers? Justice Through Civil Society, Science, and Courts Water Law and Governance from New Vision of Treatment of the Fundamental Rights and Green Transition Water Rights, Endangered Salmon, Dam Removals, and Constitutional Takings in the United States |
C3: Connecting Source to Sea: Legal and Institutional Integration in Coastal Water Governance Location: Auditorium 6 Chair: Stephen Hodgson From Circularity to Coastal Resilience: Integrating Zero-Waste Transitions into EU Water and Biodiversity Law Transforming coastal governance: Experiences with institutional layering in the Norwegian coast Incoherences in EU water legislation are obstacles to achieving good quality of coastal waters Water Rights in the Mixing Zone: Desalination Extraction Wells and Coastal Aquifers |
| 6:00pm - 7:30pm |
Welcome reception at Oslo City Hall Location: Oslo City Hall (Rådhus) |
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