The International Association for Water Law World Water Congress 2026 is an international conference specialising in water law and governance. It is organized by the University of Oslo (UiO), the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and the Norwegian Institute of Water Research (NIVA), who is one of the partners of the more4nature project. On this occasion, the central theme of the entire conference will be “Water Law and Governance in Times of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss”.
The event will gather a set of professionals with diverse backgrounds, from law and economics to hydrology and ecology, making it a central stage for the conversation around the intersection of water law, informed governance and policy.
Eléonore Maitre-Ekern (NIVA) will be charing a special session featuring more4nature that will focus on “Strengthening Water Law through Collaborative Environmental Compliance Assurance”.
Details of the session
- Time: Thursday 25th June 2026 | 2:50 PM – 4:20 PM
- Location: Gamle Festsal
- Session chair: Eléonore Maitre-Ekern
Abstract
“The European Union has called for stronger implementation of environmental policies, currently hindered by limited administrative capacity, weak enforcement, inadequate data, and delayed infrastructure. Recent findings from the European Environment Agency’s environmental status report of 2025 reinforce the urgency of improving compliance with EU environmental rules, pointing to persistent implementation gaps and widespread biodiversity decline across Europe, particularly in freshwater ecosystems. Environmental Compliance Assurance (ECA) – covering compliance promotion, monitoring, and enforcement – remains central to improving the environmental status in Europe and beyond, but traditionally relies on formal, top-down mechanisms.2 Given the increasing complexity of the environmental legal landscape, there is growing recognition of the need for complementary and collaborative approaches, notably citizen and community-led actions and citizen-generated data. These initiatives can enhance compliance with water-related obligations under instruments such as the Water Framework Directive, the Nature Restoration Regulation, and the Global Biodiversity Framework, while also contributing to biodiversity protection and zero pollution objectives in vulnerable freshwater ecosystems. Despite their potential, citizen science and collaborative initiatives remain marginal and uncertain, with EU policy frameworks offering limited support beyond provisions on access to documents, public participation, and access to justice. This session aims to explore both the challenges and opportunities for citizen science to assume a more central role in ECA, drawing insights from various examples from Europe, including Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy, and beyond, such as Sierra Leone and India.”
