Navigating Rivers: NCR DAYS 2026 Proceedings

Abstract

On April 16 and 17 2026, the annual conference of the Netherlands Centre for River studies (NCR) will take place in Utrecht. Entitled ‘Navigating rivers’, this conference addresses how to navigate the multifaceted landscape of rivers. This edition presents two days with poster and oral presentations in five thematic sessions: (1) Solution space for decision making, (2) Flow dynamics, (3) Morphodynamics at multiple scales, (4) Advances in flood risk management, and (5) Modern and unforgettable issues. The after-lunch programme features a choice of activities, being a lab tour to the Metronome, a visit to the UU library map room with historic river maps and a discussion on the legal lessons we can draw from the Room for the River 1 project. With 32 poster presentations, 22 oral presentations and 3 keynote lectures, the 28th edition of the NCR DAYS has a full and exciting programme. Three keynote lectures navigate the fluvial landscape from their own unique perspective. Firstly, prof. mr. Marleen van Rijswick - professor of European and Dutch Water Law and the director of the Utrecht University Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law - will go into depth regarding the untapped capacity and solution space within the legal framework. Secondly, Dr Ignacio Peralta-Maraver from Universidad de Granada (Spain), who is an eco-physiologist studying freshwater ecosystems, takes over together with prof dr Wilco Verberk who is professor of Functional Ecology from the Radboud University (NL). They will address the functional ecology of rivers. Starting at the substrate boundary layers they scale up and out to habitat heterogeneity at the landscape scale. Thirdly, prof. dr. Rebecca Hodge from Durham University (UK) takes the perspective of the fluvial geomorphologist. She adds cohesion to the substrate and investigates how that affects gravel entrainment.