The 3rd Global River Symposium, hosted by IWHR, was convened on October 13 in Beijing, with the Journal River Editorial Office as organizer and co-organized by the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, and the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES).
Under the theme “River Governance and Management for High-Quality Development of Water Resources,” the event attracted over 130 distinguished representatives from governmental agencies, research institutes, universities, international organizations, and industry partners worldwide to discuss global river governance, climate resilience, ecological restoration, digital twins, etc., aiming to foster shared understanding and joint action to enhance river health and water sustainability in an era of uncertainty.
Opening Remarks: Policy vision and academic mission aligned
In his opening speech, Mr. Zhong Yong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Science and Technology, Ministry of Water Resources of China, underscored that China is implementing a holistic National River Strategy based on the principles of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, adopting systematic approaches, and leveraging the roles of both government and market.” He emphasized that river governance in China is being advanced through integrated basin management, national water network development, eco-hydrological restoration, digital twins, and rule-based governance.
Dr. Peng Jing, President of IWHR, highlighted the evolution of the annual Global River Symposium as a flagship academic initiative of River, IWHR’s international open-access journal. She emphasized that River has rapidly emerged as a high-impact platform for interdisciplinary river research, being indexed by Scopus, EI, and DOAJ within three years of its launch. She expressed IWHR’s commitment to advancing scientific exchange, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions, and building a global community of shared river governance.
International comments on China’s efforts and call for collaboration
Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, acknowledged rivers as lifelines of civilization and praised China’s leadership in basin governance, IHP cooperation, and cultural heritage protection in his keynote video message. He reaffirmed UNESCO’s support for science-based, inclusive, and sustainable river management.
Prof. Philippe Gourbesville, President of IAHR, called for strong innovation and cross-sector cooperation, noting that China’s achievements in basin-wide river governance and water engineering modernization offer valuable insights for the world.
Prof. Asit K. Biswas, Chief Editor of River, emphasized three global challenges —outdated water management mindsets, under-recognition of rivers as engines of economic development, and the need to manage hydrometeorological extremes under changing climates. He commended China’s leading policy and practices for modernizing water governance and highly recognized IWHR for its science and technical contributions and its sustained efforts to boost global collaboration and exchanges.
Ms. Huang Jiayi, Associate Publishing Director at Wiley China, introduced River’s rapid international growth, highlighting its global authorship across 24 countries and readership in nearly 200 countries.
Dr. Kang Tai-Kyung, Vice President of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), reaffirmed 20 years of strategic partnership with IWHR and expressed willingness to deepen cooperation in river science and innovation.
Keynote Session: From Natural Processes to River Governance Innovation
The plenary session featured keynote speeches under four core areas of river governance:
A high-level panel brought together experts from Macau University of Science and Technology, HKUST, IHE Delft, ICHARM, Aalto University, CEDEX Spain, and Beijing Normal University to discuss global river challenges and reflect on lessons from China’s river restoration, application of digital twins, and basin-based policy frameworks.
Parallel Sub-Sessions Respectively Highlight the Happiness, Vitality, and Security of Rivers
In the afternoon, three thematic sub-sessions were held, addressing river development from ecological restoration, droughts resilience, and floods protection perspectives.
The “River of Happiness” sub-session, aligned with China’s concept of people-centered river well-being, was also held as a commemorative event for the 10th anniversary of the IAHR Global Secretariat (Beijing). The session reviewed a decade of Secretariat development in digital platform innovation, membership services, and young professionals’ engagement. A renewal agreement between IWHR and IAHR was signed to further deepen cooperation. Discussions focused on integrating hydraulic engineering with environmental sustainability and holistic basin governance, reinforcing the idea that Happy Rivers should be safe, ecologically healthy, and beneficial to socio-economic development.
The “River of Vitality” sub-session, shedding light on collaborative approaches to mega-drought mitigation and response and jointly organized as the 3rd International Forum on Drought Disasters and Risk Reduction, emphasized the urgent need for coordinated drought management under climate change. Keynotes from IWHR, University of Glasgow, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Aalto University, and Southern University of Science and Technology covered regional drought mechanisms, early warning systems, and multi-level adaptation strategies. Participants called for enhanced transboundary collaboration and science-based policy mechanisms to sustain river vitality under hydrological stress.
The “River of Security” sub-session, also served as part of the 14th International Flash Flood Program (FFP) Seminar, focused on the amplification effects of flash floods and debris flows, as well as forecasting and early warning technologies. Experts from Japan, Thailand, IAHR, CAS, UNESCO-affiliated institutions, and IWHR presented innovations in sediment hazard prediction, AI-based risk assessment, glacial lake outburst flood prevention, and mountain river hazard monitoring. The session underscored the need for global cooperation in climate risk reduction, technological integration, and community-centered early warning systems.
