The central theme of the World’s Large Rivers Conference 2023 is
"Rivers in a Changing World".
The pressures and impacts on the World’s Large Rivers have increased greatly in recent years. Large rivers are particularly exposed to problems of multiple uses, often with conflicting aims. At the global scale, there is no comprehensive assessment of the current status of the World’s Large Rivers, the conflicting demands on such rivers, and likely future anthropogenic impacts, as well as the potential for restoration and the associated problems.
After the four successful International Conferences on "The Status and Future of the World’s Large Rivers", a new UNESCO / IHP Programme (WLRI – World’s Large Rivers Initiative) has been established in 2014, which aims to foster a global network of programmes and partners related to the work and research at large rivers. In 2018 the WLRI officially became part of the UNESCO-IHP work programme.
One of the main tasks of this Initiative is to continue the successful series of World’s Large Rivers Conferences. Vienna, Austria’s capital city, will be the next venue to host the World’s Large Rivers Conference 2023.
