Herman Wanningen is ecologist and entrepreneur specializing in fish migration and water management. He is the founder and director of the World Fish Migration Foundation and initiator of Dam Removal Europe. He is recognized internationally for his work promoting the maintenance and recovery of free-flowing rivers by raising global awareness of rivers and migratory fish through the biennial event ‘World Fish Migration Day’.

Dr. Lorenzo Quaglietta is an ecologist recognized in the academic world for his passion for and his work on otter and other semiaquatic mammals (in particular, the amazing Pyrenean desman) ecology. He also studied fish and crayfish and more broadly river ecology, developing tools specifically conceived for improving the application of movement ecology in river ecosystems.
Lorenzo is currently working as consultant for the WWF of Portugal, and is very excited to be the project officer of the Dam Removal project. In fact, being passionate about fishing and rivers since its early childhood, he now has the opportunity to use his knowledge and motivation to help strengthen the DR movement in Portugal, which lays a bit behind most other EU countries.

Academic Activity
Full Professor at the Forestry Department at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), recently retired. Ex-Director of the Laboratory of Fluvial Ecology-UTAD; Member of the Scientific Council of the Laboratory of Fluvial and Terrestrial Ecology (LEFT). Lecturing subjects related to Aquatic Sciences, River Restoration, Riparian Ecology, Forest Ecology, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Research Activity
Member of the Research Center for Agro-Environmental Technologies (CITAB). HI Scopus: 30. 228 technical and scientific publications (103 in WoS)

Current research interests
Monitorization of aquatic ecosystems, with special relevance to bio-indicators based on benthic fauna, fishes; Forest ecology and sustainable management. Management of afforested catchments. Development of hydromorphological survey systems; river rehabilitation; Ecology and restoration of riparian layers. Soil engineering techniques and erosion control. Environmental Impact Assessment Studies on the effects of river regulation and mitigation measures.

Jorge Bochechas is a Senior Engineer at the Department of Natural Resources and Nature Conservation, of the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas – ICNF (National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests). With a Forest Engineering and Natural Resources Management background graduation (1985), he has a MSc in Hydraulics and Water Resources Management (1996). From 1985 to the present he has worked in fisheries management, river continuity, fish passes and fish passage, river habitat survey, methods for evaluation habitat continuity, ecological status of rivers and water quality and habitat continuity under the EU Habitat Directive. From 1997 to 2008 he was the head of the Department of Inland Waters Fisheries Management of the General Directorate of Forests (DGF) and from 2010 to 2012 he was the head of the Department of Water Quality of the National Water Institute. Other activities included membership representing the DGF (1994 to 2008) in the National Water Council, and also represented Portugal (1996 to 2008) on the European Inland Waters Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Professor of Aquatic BioSciences and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) at Swansea University (UK). He obtained a BSc in Marine Biology at the University of Victoria (BC, Canada) and a PhD (Zoology) at the University Aberdeen (UK), followed by post-doctoral research at the University of Glasgow and ZSL London. Carlos Garcia Leaniz led AMBER, a Horizon 2020 project that assessed the extent of river fragmentation across Europe and developed tools to quantify and mitigate barrier impacts. I am currently working on a project that seeks to reconnect the salmon rivers of Wales as well as on ways to quantify and optimise the benefits of dam removal.

Paulo Branco is a biologist (2005), with a Doctorate in Forest Eng & Nat Res (2013). He leads an innovative and very active research line on river network connectivity with several collaborating researchers and students. Paulo has developed work in fish ecology, river connectivity, ecohydraulics, fishways, habitat suitability modelling, fish historical records, animal behaviour, fish physiology and animal experimentation.

OUTPUTS & DISSEMINATION: 51 articles, 47 (92%) in Q1 or Q2 Journals, 27 (52%) in top 10%, 19 (37%) in top 3% and 3 (6%) in top 1% journals (Scimago), and 30 conf. proceedings. Paulo has co-developed a free database for historical diadromous fish records, spanning one millennium of data, and a free software to deal with river network summarizations (RivTool - downloaded in 67 countries). 100+ oral presentations, of which 11 by invitation, and 30 posters.

TEACHING: Invited teacher at ISA-ULisboa for the last 8 years on 6 different BSc, 1 MSc and 1 PhD, teaching Ecology, Animal Biology, Zoology, Population Dynamics, River and Blue-green connectivity. Invited teacher at the International Master in Applied Ecology, since 2020, at the University of Coimbra.

RESEARCH: Participation in several national and international projects establishing a research network, collaborating with over 300 researchers in all continents. Active reviewer of scientific publications, contributing as a reviewer for 40 international journals. He co-edited a special issue for Water journal on the effects of multiple stressor on aquatic systems, and is co-editor of 2 special issues, 1 on river connectivity for IJERPH, where he is Topic Editor, and 1 on nature-based solutions for Hydrobiology, where he is part of the editorial board.

FUNDING: Applied, and was successfully awarded, for project funding, national and international, both as PI and as partner. Currently PI of Dammed Fish (FCT, 244KEUR), funded under a very competitive call (6% success rate), and leading tasks in MERLIN (H2020, 22 MEUR) and AQUADAPT (LaCaixa-FCT, 300KEUR). Paulo was involved on the creation TERRA Associated Laboratory (FCT, 1.1MEUR) that aggregates 400+ PhDs from different research centres in Portugal.

SUPERVISION: 10 BSc, 4 MSc and 4 PhD. Took part at juries and thesis committees from different degree levels in Portugal and abroad (14 BSc, 9 MSc and 3 PhD). Hosted two scientific stays.

FACILITIES: Planning and installation of an experimental mesocosm system, at the campus of ISA, and has been involved in the recovery and operation of a large scale ecohydraulic flume (50 m3 water) at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering.

RECOGNITION: Member of the Scientific council of the Forest Research Centre. Part of the CEF-Outreach strategy group. Publicly nominated, member, as a freshwater specialist, of the Observatory Board for the management of the oldest national planted forest in Portugal - XIII century (Observatório Local do Pinhal do Rei). Member of the Ecosystems and Water Quality Committee of the Portuguese Association of Water Resources. Recently invited to lead a regional group of Early Careers on Ecohydraulics Network supported by IAHR. Awarded in 2020 and 2021, with Honourable Mentions at the University of Lisbon Scientific Prizes due to his publication record.

Catarina Miranda has a degree in Biology (2005, University of Lisbon), a Master’s in Mathematics Applied to Biological Sciences (2008, Technical University of Lisbon) and a PhD in Natural Sciences (2014, Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology, University of Constance, Germany). She was a professor and researcher at the postgraduate degree in Biodiversity and Conservation at the Federal University of Maranhão, Brazil (2014-2018) and at the postgraduate degree in Neurosciences and Behaviour at the Federal University of Pará, Brazil (2018-Present). In 2021 she joined GEOTA, a Portuguese environmental NGO, as the coordinator of the Rios Livres project. She has always been fascinated by nature conservation, namely by strategies of ecosystems' conservation in the face of human impacts.

Paul is a Civil and Environmental Engineer currently working for the UK Government’s Environment Agency. He is responsible for developing and delivering river restoration projects across the entire Midlands region of the UK, with a keen interest in barrier removal and fish passage. His recent projects include the removal of a 70m wide historic weir on the River Dove, removal of two 20m wide barriers on the River Teme as part of the Unlocking the Severn project and managing the design phase of the largest fish pass in the UK, which is now under construction on the River Trent after 5 years of design development. With a lifelong passion for the environment and a fundamental understanding of the key role that construction has in society, he seeks to achieve the best possible outcomes for both.
Since graduating from the University of Nottingham in 2010, he has spent his time designing fish passes and pursuing his interest in the social and environmental impacts of dams. This can actually be demonstrated through his attendance at many of the Dam Removal Europe seminars since supporting one of the earliest held in his home city of Birmingham in 2017! He wholeheartedly supports the growing community and industry awareness of the damage that dams continue to have on our increasingly fragile river systems, and has drawn on examples from previous seminars for additional justification when pursuing more barrier removals in the UK. Considering many of his fellow civil engineering students have gone into historically environmentally damaging areas of construction, he fully appreciates how fortunate he is to be able to have a very positive environmental impact within his own area of construction expertise.

Amy brings over 20 years of experience in river restoration, advocacy, and capacity building to her work to restore rivers. She enjoys working and learning on rivers because of how rivers connect our human and ecological communities and the ways in which rivers require us to think across disciplines in order to achieve our goals. Amy’s position is shared with The Nature Conservancy and American Rivers where she works to advance the practice and rate of dam removal through reforming permit processes, coordinating and developing training resources, and directly project management. Amy’s work supports growth of the international dam removal movement through training and project support with TNC’s Europe program.

For the past 30 years Pedro R. de Almeida scientific activity was dedicated to the study of the biology and ecology of fishes (diadromous, freshwater, estuarine and coastal species). He has an extensive experience in management and conservation of anadromous fish species, namely in terms of design and monitoring of fish passes and management of fisheries. PRA dedicated a significant time of his career studying the family Petromyzontidae, which granted him the recognition as an international expert in the subject. He is a Full Professor at the Department of Biology, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, and a senior researcher at the MARE – Marine and Environment Sciences Centre, where he holds the post of Vice Director since 2017. Since 2009 PRA is the Head of the Scientific Research Board of the Mora Freshwater Aquarium. PRA published more than 100 papers in SCI journals and 5 books. He was awarded the “Distinguished Project in Fisheries Engineering and Ecohydrology”, presented jointly by the American Society of Civil Engineers (Environmental & Water Resource Institute), and the American Fisheries Society (Bioengineering Section).

Nuno Lacasta has been working on environment and sustainable development for over 20 years in Europe and in the United States. Since 2012 he’s been serving as CEO of APA - the Portuguese Environment Agency. He worked for academia and NGOs and as consultant for international organizations such as the OECD, the UN and the European Commission.
Mr. Lacasta has been in public service since 2003, having led the Portuguese Environment Ministry’s International Department, coordinated Portugal’s climate policy and directed the Portuguese Carbon Fund. In his capacity at APA he served as Bureau member of the EEA - European Environment Agency, and as OECD Environmental Policy Committee’s Chair.
He holds a Law degree from Lisbon University Law School, a post-graduated degree (LLM) from the Washington College of Law/American University, as well as the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from Kellogg Business School / Católica Business School.

Ângela Morgado is the Executive Director of Associação Natureza Portugal in association with WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature.She holds a degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in Communication, Culture, and Information Technologies from ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon.During her career as a fundraising specialist and communication consultant, she worked with several projects and entities: Community program EQUAL, ANESPO, Renatura, LPR, Erena, SetCom group.In addition, she was a member of the executive committee of Obercom – Communication Observatory and the person in charge of PR and Communication.Has worked as Client Director at Agenda Estratégica, communication agency, and participated in different investigation projects at the ISCTE Department of Sociology.

Gwen is a restoration practitioner with over a decade of experience in ecological restoration program administration and grant management. Gwen is passionate about free-flowing rivers, the restoration of function over form, and breaking down barriers for others to join the dam removal movement. She believes in the importance of building strong relationships with interdisciplinary teams to implement creative solutions. Witnessing the systemic change that occurs when a barrier is removed from a river is what propelled her into a career in environmental resource engineering and ecological restoration – she’s been hooked ever since. Starting in 2010, Gwen oversaw all ecological restoration design, implementation, and monitoring activities for Save the Sound, a regional non-profit in the northeast USA. Gwen became Save the Sound’s first Director of Ecological Restoration, managing river restoration, green infrastructure, watershed planning and coastal resilience under one department, expanding it from a small pass-through grant program to an interdisciplinary staff of eight. She provided program, financial and administrative support for federal, regional, and private grants undertaken by the organization including grant development, scoping, contract negotiations, budgeting, due diligence, and reporting. Since 2010, the program has restored over 130 ha of tidal marsh and opened 100 km to fish passage. Prior to 2010, Gwen was employed as an environmental engineering consultant in the northeast USA working on environmental remediation and restoration design projects. Gwen holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Engineering from the ABET-EAC accredited State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with post-graduate studies at Rutgers and the University of Massachusetts.

Archaeologist by trade, António Batarda Fernandes currently heads the Division for the Inventory, Study and Safeguard of Archaeological Heritage at the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, under the Portuguese Ministry of Culture. From 2000 to 2020, he worked at the Archaeological Park and Coa Park Foundation where he coordinated the Conservation Program of the Coa Valley open-air rock-art complex, co-coordinated the Educational Services at the Coa Museum, and managed social networks and website. His formal education includes a Bachelor's degree in History - Archaeology variant, University of Coimbra; a Master's in Management of Archaeological Sites, University College London; and a PhD in Archaeology, Bournemouth University. His research interests focus on prehistoric art, open-air rock-art management and conservation, education in museum environments, and cultural heritage communication strategies, namely within web and social media environments. He has published extensively on these matters, with a forthcoming Routledge book on Global Perspectives for the Conservation and Management of Open-Air Rock Art which includes a chapter on the impact for cultural heritage resulting from the recently built Sabor River dam in Northeastern Portugal.

Laura Caldeira has a PhD and an Aggregation degree in Civil Engineering, and the
Qualification for the Exercise of Scientific Coordination Functions at the National
Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC). She is Principal Researcher and President of
LNEC, and an expert in the areas of Geotechnics, Earthquake Engineering, Dam Safety and Risk Management. She is a member of the Dam Safety Commission of ICOLD. She
has extensive experience in consulting the design, construction, and safety assessment
of embankment dams, in internal erosion and in the practical application of risk-
informed approaches to dam safety management.

Pedro Brufao Curiel is a Senior Lecturer of Administrative Law at the University of Extremadura, Spain. He holds a Ph. D. in Administrative Law at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and a Master of Laws in Enviornmental and Energy Law at Tulane University (New Orleans, USA), as a Fulbright Commission scholar.
Among his fields of interest, he pays a special attention to Water and Biodiversity Law, and the ways to get rivers and wetlands legally protected and restored. Besides, he took part as a advisor in the Groundwater Project of Fundación Botín, one of the main private foundations in Spain.

With an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford, Valentina joined the Directorate General for Environment of the European Commission in 2010, where she has worked on a number of different policy portfolios, including biodiversity and freshwater management. One of her responsibilities concerns the interface between freshwater policy, biodiversity, and nature protection policies, within the unit Sustainable Freshwater Management of DG Environment.
Before joining the European Commission, Valentina worked in two Brussels-based public affairs and communication firms, where she focused on EU environmental and transport policy.

Chris Bowser is the Education Coordinator for the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program and the Hudson River Research Reserve, in partnership with the Water Resource Institute of Cornell University. He also teaches environmental science at Marist College, and previously worked for the United States Peace Corps and the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

Paul Brotherton is the Freshwater Manager of Wetlands International Europe. He has spent the past two decades at the intersection of conservation science, policy and communications in the US, EU and globally. Rivers run through his experiences – including the Hudson, Niger and Rhine – and he is a focal point in Europe seeking to influence and accelerate the implementation of EU freshwater-related laws, restore and protect free-flowing rivers and upscale nature-based solutions.