What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River
Sustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4d50 |
| _version_ | 1827869599445549056 |
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| author | Anna Scaini Ana Stritih Constance Brouillet Chiara Scaini |
| author_facet | Anna Scaini Ana Stritih Constance Brouillet Chiara Scaini |
| author_sort | Anna Scaini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural ecosystem services (CES) by locals, and how preferences change across the river landscape. We investigate how locals value the river and whether their preferences are affected by characteristics such as place of residence, age, frequency of visits and relation to the river. The questionnaire was filled in by more than 4000 respondents, demonstrating huge interest and willingness to contribute to the project. A striking 85% of respondents identify a spiritual value of the river, suggesting a strong emotional connection. River conservation is the main priority for most respondents across the different groups. The map of favorite places shows that most of the river is appreciated by locals, with a high preference for the landscape of the braided middle course. The most valued area of the river, located in the middle course, faces threats due to dam construction projects, which would modify the natural course of the river and likely impact the favorite places of the locals. Our study highlights discrepancies between management choices and citizens´ values and priorities, and shows the need for including river values and CES in river management and their potential role for tackling conflicts. More generally, this work points out that any river intervention should be pondered carefully accounting for its environmental impact also in terms of loss of river values. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:47:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d02eb070e139457581056cb905ba0456 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:47:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-d02eb070e139457581056cb905ba04562023-08-09T15:24:13ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117202500810.1088/1748-9326/ac4d50What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento RiverAnna Scaini0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3527-0241Ana Stritih1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5323-8176Constance Brouillet2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0675-2564Chiara Scaini3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9645-7918Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University , Stockholm, Sweden; Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University , Stockholm, SwedenEcosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich , Freising, Germany; ETH Zürich, Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS), Institute for Landscape and Spatial Development , Zürich, SwitzerlandETH Zürich, Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS), Institute for Landscape and Spatial Development , Zürich, SwitzerlandNational Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics , Udine, ItalySustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural ecosystem services (CES) by locals, and how preferences change across the river landscape. We investigate how locals value the river and whether their preferences are affected by characteristics such as place of residence, age, frequency of visits and relation to the river. The questionnaire was filled in by more than 4000 respondents, demonstrating huge interest and willingness to contribute to the project. A striking 85% of respondents identify a spiritual value of the river, suggesting a strong emotional connection. River conservation is the main priority for most respondents across the different groups. The map of favorite places shows that most of the river is appreciated by locals, with a high preference for the landscape of the braided middle course. The most valued area of the river, located in the middle course, faces threats due to dam construction projects, which would modify the natural course of the river and likely impact the favorite places of the locals. Our study highlights discrepancies between management choices and citizens´ values and priorities, and shows the need for including river values and CES in river management and their potential role for tackling conflicts. More generally, this work points out that any river intervention should be pondered carefully accounting for its environmental impact also in terms of loss of river values.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4d50cultural ecosystem servicesTagliamento Riverparticipationquestionnairelocal knowledgeriver conservation |
| spellingShingle | Anna Scaini Ana Stritih Constance Brouillet Chiara Scaini What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River Environmental Research Letters cultural ecosystem services Tagliamento River participation questionnaire local knowledge river conservation |
| title | What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River |
| title_full | What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River |
| title_fullStr | What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River |
| title_full_unstemmed | What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River |
| title_short | What locals want: citizen preferences and priorities for the Tagliamento River |
| title_sort | what locals want citizen preferences and priorities for the tagliamento river |
| topic | cultural ecosystem services Tagliamento River participation questionnaire local knowledge river conservation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4d50 |
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