A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case

River conflicts have been a matter of abundant intellectual production. However, analysis on their relation to the appropriation of instream flows–related ecosystem services (ES) is missing. Such analysis, undertaken with a proper account for stakeholders’ views and interests, is the aim of this pap...

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Main Authors: Dídac Jordà-Capdevila, Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos, Mònica Bardina
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Éditions en environnement VertigO
Series:VertigO
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/17462
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author Dídac Jordà-Capdevila
Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos
Mònica Bardina
author_facet Dídac Jordà-Capdevila
Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos
Mònica Bardina
author_sort Dídac Jordà-Capdevila
collection DOAJ
description River conflicts have been a matter of abundant intellectual production. However, analysis on their relation to the appropriation of instream flows–related ecosystem services (ES) is missing. Such analysis, undertaken with a proper account for stakeholders’ views and interests, is the aim of this paper. As happens in other Mediterranean contexts, multiple water withdrawals from the Ter River (NE Catalonia, Spain), e.g., for hydropower and inter-basin water supply, disrupt instream flows throughout the entire course of the river. Traditionally, this situation has triggered local and regional disputes, becoming a main issue for water management in the basin district. Our methodology entails a five-step assessment for the study of the ES production related to both diverted and instream flows in the Ter River basin. The steps are: identification, characterization, localization, quantification and valuation. A key aspect of the methodology is the engagement of stakeholders; both key informants and water activist organizations. A three-year field research (2011-2014) included a large number of interviews, the organization of several workshops and two surveys. The results help to study multiple types of benefits that are connected to the management of water flows. Divergences in stakeholders’ views appear regarding the usage of water rights, wilderness versus recreational perspectives, and due to information asymmetries. In the same way, tensions occur when ES provision overlap in time and space and when tradeoffs among different ES arise. In conclusion, three ways of informing conflictive water-flows management from an ecosystem services approach are: 1) recognition of the diverse benefits from river flows, 2) analysis of hydrological alterations affecting ES production through the space, and 3) identification of tradeoffs among ES.
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spelling doaj.art-11b09261220f4013ad975c6b55b614412024-02-13T14:14:07ZfraÉditions en environnement VertigOVertigO1492-84422510.4000/vertigo.17462A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River caseDídac Jordà-CapdevilaBeatriz Rodríguez-LabajosMònica BardinaRiver conflicts have been a matter of abundant intellectual production. However, analysis on their relation to the appropriation of instream flows–related ecosystem services (ES) is missing. Such analysis, undertaken with a proper account for stakeholders’ views and interests, is the aim of this paper. As happens in other Mediterranean contexts, multiple water withdrawals from the Ter River (NE Catalonia, Spain), e.g., for hydropower and inter-basin water supply, disrupt instream flows throughout the entire course of the river. Traditionally, this situation has triggered local and regional disputes, becoming a main issue for water management in the basin district. Our methodology entails a five-step assessment for the study of the ES production related to both diverted and instream flows in the Ter River basin. The steps are: identification, characterization, localization, quantification and valuation. A key aspect of the methodology is the engagement of stakeholders; both key informants and water activist organizations. A three-year field research (2011-2014) included a large number of interviews, the organization of several workshops and two surveys. The results help to study multiple types of benefits that are connected to the management of water flows. Divergences in stakeholders’ views appear regarding the usage of water rights, wilderness versus recreational perspectives, and due to information asymmetries. In the same way, tensions occur when ES provision overlap in time and space and when tradeoffs among different ES arise. In conclusion, three ways of informing conflictive water-flows management from an ecosystem services approach are: 1) recognition of the diverse benefits from river flows, 2) analysis of hydrological alterations affecting ES production through the space, and 3) identification of tradeoffs among ES.https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/17462mappingES assessmenthydrological modelinginstream flowsstakeholders’ engagement
spellingShingle Dídac Jordà-Capdevila
Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos
Mònica Bardina
A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
VertigO
mapping
ES assessment
hydrological modeling
instream flows
stakeholders’ engagement
title A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
title_full A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
title_fullStr A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
title_full_unstemmed A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
title_short A five-step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water-flows management – the Ter River case
title_sort five step assessment of river ecosystem services to inform conflictive water flows management the ter river case
topic mapping
ES assessment
hydrological modeling
instream flows
stakeholders’ engagement
url https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/17462
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