On April 10 and 11, 2023, the Center on Urban Environmental  Law (CUEL) at Golden Gate University School of Law hosted a two-day webinar on International Law Aspects of Fisheries and Hydropower in Europe.

Focus of the Webinar

European Union (EU) law and international law contain provisions to conserve fisheries and prevent the extinction of endangered fish species. EU law and international law also contain provisions to address global warming by seeking to transition from energy sources that produce greenhouse gas emissions (such as coal and oil) to renewable energy sources that do not (such as hydropower). Because the on-stream dams that produce hydropower often have significant adverse impacts on fisheries, these two trajectories of EU law and international law can be in conflict. This is especially true in the Western Balkans Danube River Watershed in Europe where several endangered fisheries are present and numerous on-stream hydropower dams are now proposed. The webinar will identify the provisions of EU law and international law that are at cross-purposes in terms of fisheries and hydropower and explore the potential for improved alignment with a focus on the Western Balkans Danube River watershed.

Webinar Day One: April 10, 2023

Opening Keynote Dialogue: Fisheries and Fishing under International Water Law

• Professor Gabriel Eckstein (Texas A&M University, United States)
• Professor Paul Stanton Kibel (CUEL Director, Golden Gate University)

Day One Panel: Fisheries Conservation Policy and Hydropower in Conflict

Panelists

• Ulrich Eichelmann (Riverwatch, Vienna), Renewable Alternatives to Hydropower Dams in the Danube River Watershed
• Bryan Maddan (CUEL Research Fellow), Overview of Fisheries Conservation Law and Climate Mitigation Law in the European Union
• Professor Slavko Bogdanovic (Professor, University of Novi Sad, Serbia), A Balkan Perspective on International Water Law Pertaining to Fisheries and Hydropower Conflicts

Panel Moderator

• Professor Paul Stanton Kibel (CUEL Director, Golden Gate University)

Click Here to Watch Day One of the Webinar

Webinar Day Two: April 11, 2023

Day Two Panel: Fishery-Hydropower Conflicts in the Western Balkans Danube Watershed

Panelists

• Professor Steven Weiss (University of Graz, Austria), Huchen in Hydroland: The Distribution of Danube Salmon in Western Balkans Waterways in the Danube Watershed
• Professor Stephen Stee (Central European University, Hungary), The Nexus: Integrating Hydropower and Fisheries Protection in the Drina River Basin
• Professor Maja Kostic-Mandic (University of Montenegro Law Faculty), Montenegro’s Complaint Against Bosnia & Herzegovina under the Espoo Convention Regarding the Buk Bijela Project on the Drina River

Panel Moderator

• Professor Paul Stanton Kibel (CUEL Director, Golden Gate University)

Click Here to Watch Day Two of the Webinar