Abstract Volume8th Swiss Geoscience MeetingFribourg, 19th – 20th November 2010

Department ofGeosciences

18. Troubling water: modes of socialization of a natural resource

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Platform Geosciences, Swiss Academy of Science, SCNATSwiss Geoscience Meeting 2010

18. Troubling water: modes of socialization of a natural resource

Olivier Ejderyan & Olivier Graefe

Swiss Geography Association (ASG)

17.1 HemundC.,WeingartnerR.,JordeK.:IntegratedAssessmentoftheSmallHydropowerPotentialinSwitzerland

18.2 HomewoodC.:MontanAqua:anassessmentofthesocio-economicandinstitutionalsetting

18.3 Meyer U.: Water and women in rural Amhara: A <naturalized> connection reflecting a restricting politicalagendainEthiopia

18.4 SchneiderF.,RistS.,WeingartnerR.,HerwegK.,LinigerHP.,SchädlerB.,KauzlaricM.,ReyE.,GraefeO.,HoelzleM.,HomewoodC.,ReynardE.,BonriposiM.:WaterScarcityinInner-AlpineRegionsOptionsforsustainablewateruseintheCrans-Montana-Sierreregion(Valais)

18.5 SchweizerR.:Lesbissesetleursmodesd’organisationauXXIesiècle,unmodèledegestiondurable?

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18.1

Integrated Assessment of the Small Hydropower Potential in Switzerland

HemundCarol1,2,WeingartnerRolf1,2&JordeKlaus3

1 Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, CH-3012 Bern (hemund@giub.unibe.ch)2 Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Zähringerstrasse 25, CH-3012 Bern3 SFOE - Research program “Waterpower”, Entec AG, St. Leonhardstrasse 59, CH-9000 St. Gallen

ConsequencesarisingoutofClimateChangeandincreasingenergydemandurgenationstoadapttheirenergypolicies.Specialemphasizeisputonrenewableenergyproduction.IncreasedeffortsaremadenotonlyintheEuropeanUnion(EU2000)butalsoinparticularstatessuchasSwitzerland(SwissConfederation2007).

UntiltodaySwitzerland’slargestpartofenergyproductionhasbeenprovidedbyhydropower.Thus,about90%ofalltheriversarealreadybeingusedforelectricityproduction.Atfirstglancepromotingtheexpansionofrenewableenergiessuchashydropowerseemstobeinappropriate.However,recentstudiesrevealthepossibilityofanincrease,takingintoaccountthefeasibleSmallHydropowerSHPpotentialandimprovementsinefficiency(SFOE2000).

Inorder toaccomplish the targets set inSFOE (2008), incentiveshavebeen introduced in2009 to facilitate renewableenergyprojects (KEV).Subsequently,responsibleauthoritiesarebeingoverchargedwithnumerousproposalsincludingSmallHydropowerplants.Theconflictingdemandsofprotectionandutilisationf lareupanewandinterferewithappro-vedsolutions.Authoritiesclearlylackanadequatetoolsupportingthatdecisionmakingprocess.

The aim of our study is to provide such a method allowing a holistic assessment of the SHP potential in a region.Accordingly, we suggest a method considering sustainability and water management from a large-scale perspective.Resultswillcontributetothejointresearchproject“InvestigationoftheSmallHydropowerPotentialinSwitzerland”onbehalfoftheFederalOfficeofEnergySFOE.

Tocoverthecomplexityofariversystemandalltheconflictingdemandsatitsbest,theauthorssuggestamulti-levelapproach.Intheareaofinterestthestreamsandtheiradjacentareaareassessedwiththehighestpossibleobjectivitybymeansofcriteriaraster.Thatresultingvalueindicatesthecurrentstate;itisthenbalancedagainstthehydro-electricalpotentialtorevealareaswithpriorityprotection.Finally,mapsshowingdifferentdistributionpatternsforSHPimplemen-tationwillbeprovided.Thesescenarioswillbebasedonselectableintensitiesofuse,dependingonthescheduledexten-sionofSHPproductionintheregionconsidered.

InafirstattempttheproposedmethodologyhasbeenappliedtothehydroelectricallyinterestingriverbasinLütschineintheBerneseAlps.However,thepreliminaryresultsshowthatadjustmentsarerequired.Hence,additionalapplicationstofurthertestareasareperformed.Furthermore,keyfactorsneedtobeextractedtocondensateandsimplifytheoverallmethod.Toprovideapracticableandwidelyacceptedtool,thecomplexityoftheassessmenttoolhastobereduced.

Finallyresultsareintendedtobeabasicdisplayforsite-relatedstudiessuchasenvironmentalimpactassessmentsofSHPprojects.

REFERENCESEU2000:Richtlinie2000/60/EGdeseuropäischenParlamentsunddesRateszurSchaffungeinesOrdnungsrahmensfür

MaßnahmenderGemeinschaft imBereichderWasserpolitik.Amtsblatt der europäischenGemeinschaften L327, L327/1-72,2000,EuropeanParliament&CounciloftheEuropeanUnion.

SFOE2008:StrategieWasserkraftnutzungSchweiz.HerausgegebenvonBundesamtfürEnergieBFE.SwissFederalOfficeofEnergy,Bern.

SFOE2009:DasPotentialderKleinwasserkraftklären.In:energeia-NewsletterofSwissFederalOfficeofEnergySFOE,H.5,S.12–13.

SwissConfederation2007:DieEnergieperspektiven2035-Band1.Synthese.Ed.FederalDepartmentoftheEnvironment,Transport,EnergyandCommunicationDETEC&SwissFederalOfficeofEnergySFOE,Bern.

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18.2

MontanAqua: an assessment of the socio-economic and institutional setting

HomewoodChristine1

1 Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 4, CH-1700 Fribourg (christine.homewood@unifr.ch)

Part of theproject “Approaching water stress in the Alps – Water management options in the Crans-Montana-Sierre region, Valais (Montanaqua)”fromtheSwissNationalResearchProgramme«SustainableWaterManagement»(NRP61),myworkaimsatassessingthesocio-economicandinstitutionalsettingintheregion.

Themainobjectiveofthistransdisciplinaryprojectistodevelopstrategiesmovingtowardsamoresustainablewaterre-sourcesmanagementintheCrans-Montana-Sierreregion(Valais),togetherwithactorsinvolved.Thespatialperimeterisnot limited to the Crans-Montana tourist resort (communes of Icogne, Lens, Chermignon, Montana, Randogne andMollens),butisextendedtothewholevalleyside,includinghighmountainareasaswellasurban(Sierre)andperiurbanmunicipalities(Miège,VenthôneandVeyras)situatedclosetotheRhoneRivervalley.ThestudyregionissituatedinthedriestpartofSwitzerlandandhasbeensubjecttodynamiceconomic,tourismandurbandevelopmentduringthelastdecades.Theproposedresearchonmoresustainablewatermanagementoptionswillevaluateco-ordinationandadaptati-onofwaterdemandtowateravailabilityunderchangingbiophysicalandsocioeconomicconditions.

BasedontheframeworkofBourdieu’stheoryofpractice,theresearchfocuswillbeontheanalysisoftherelationshipsbetweensocio-economicchangeandthewaterscapeoftheCrans-Montana-Sierreregioninordertounderstandtowhatextentandhowwatersupplyisnegotiated.Thehypothesisisthattheshapeofthewaterdistributionsystem,initsorien-tationsandfragmentations,isaresultofsupply-orientedmanagement,whichisintheprocessofbeingtransformedto-wardsdemand-drivenmanagement.

REFERENCESBourdieu,P.(1980) :Lesenspratique.Ed.deMinuit,Paris.Mollinga, P. (2008):Water, Politics andDevelopment  : Framing a Political SociologyofWaterResourcesManagement.

WaterAlternatives1(1) :7-23.Reynard,E.(2000):Gestionpatrimonialeetintégréedesressourceseneaudanslesstationstouristiquesdemontagne.Le

casdeCrans-Montana-AminonaetNendaz(Valais).Thèsededoctorat.UniversitédeLausanne,Lausanne,InstitutdeGéographie,TravauxetRecherchesn°17,2vol.

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18.3

Water and women in rural Amhara: A ‘naturalized’ connection reflecting a restricting political agenda in Ethiopia

MeyerUrsula

Institut de Géographie, Chemin du Musée 4, Université de Fribourg (ursula.meyer@unifr.ch, ursula.meyer@unil.ch)

TheconnectionbetweenwaterandwomenintheruralcontextofacountryoftheGlobalSouthcommonlyseemstobetheconcernofdevelopmentprojectexpertstreatingthesubjectmostlyfromalocalactor’sperspective.Bydoingso,po-litical,historicalandsocietalframeconditionsareoftennotsufficientlyconsideredinunderstandingwhywomenareso‘naturally’connectedtowaterandfailtoimprovetheirstatusinsocietybeyondtheirusualfunctionasdomesticwatermanagers. The presentedMA thesis suggests an alternative approach to understanding women’s social role in ruralEthiopiansocietyaspartofabroaderpowersetting.

ByapplyingPierreBourdieu’sthreeconceptsofHabitus, FieldandSymbolic ViolencetowatersupplyinaruraldistrictinAmhara,improvedaccesstodrinkingwaterfortheruralpopulationcannolongerbeassessedpurelypositively.Ratherthistheoreticalapproachrevealshiddenpowermechanismsfunctioningindifferentsocietalrelationsthatspeakforaclearlyrepressivepoliticalregime.Suchpowerrelationsareespeciallyefficientbecauseoftheirincorporationintosocialpracticesofboth,thepowerfulandthepowerless.

DerivingfromtheresultsoffieldresearchconductedinruralAmhara,theauthoroftheMAthesisarguesthatbygrantingeasieraccesstosafedrinkingwater,women’sdailyworkloadmightbereduced,hence,wateraccessimprovementsappearaspositive.But,asthe‘naturalized’connectionbetweenwaterandwomenisnotquestionedinabroaderpoliticalsense,improvementsinwateraccesshidethecurtailingeffectsuchtechnicalinterventionshaveonwomen’sroomformanoe-uvreandself-determinationinanoverallrepressivepoliticalsituation.Rather,theyserveanauthoritariangovernmenttodistractthepopulation’sandtheinternationalcommunity’sattentionfromthefactthatimprovedaccesstosafedrinkingwateronlyprovidesbasicneedandwelfare,butfurther,moreprofoundpersonalandpoliticalrightsandfreedomsaredeliberatelywithheldanddenied.

REFERENCESBiseswar,I.2008:Anewdiscourseon‘gender’inEthiopia,Researcharticle,AfricanIdentities,6/4,405-429Dörf ler, Th., Graefe, O. &Müller-Mahn, D. 2003: Habitus und Feld, Anregungen für eine Neuorientierung der

geographischen Entwicklungsforschung auf der Grundlage von Bourdieus „Theorie der Praxis“, GeographicaHelvetica,58/1,11-23

Lefort,R.2007:Powers–mengist–andpeasantsinruralEthiopia:theMay2005elections,JournalofModernAfricanStudies,45/2,253-273

O’Reilly, K. 2006: „Traditional”women, „modern“water: Linking gender and commodification inRajasthan, India,Geoforum,37,958-972

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18.4

Water Scarcity in Inner-Alpine Regions Options for sustainable water use in the Crans-Montana-Sierre region (Valais)

SchneiderFlurina,RistStephan,WeingartnerRolf,HerwegKarl,LinigerHanspeter,SchädlerBruno,KauzlaricMartina,ReyEmmanuel1,GraefeOlivier,HoelzleMartin,HomewoodChristine2,ReynardEmmanuel,BonriposiMariano3

1 Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Gruppe für Hydrologie and Centre for Development and Environment–CDE2 Geography Unit, University of Fribourg3 Institute of Geography, University of Lausanne

Climatechangeaswellassocietalandeconomicdevelopmentwillinfuturesignificantlymodifythesupplyandconsump-tionofwater,andconsequentlyfuelexistingorcreatenewconflictsofinterest.DryvalleysintheAlpswillbeparticular-lyaffected,asonehastoassumethatintheseregionsgeneralwaterofferwillbecomeevenscarcerandseasonaldistribu-tionmightbechangingsignificantly.Atpresent,theuseanddistributionofwaterisgenerallyorganizedatthecommunallevelandfollowshistoricallyevolvingnormsandregulations.

Watermanagementistheexpressionofahistoricallyevolvinginteractionbetweenbiophysicalandsocialfactors.Theregu-lationofthesesocio-ecologicaldynamicsisthecoreofwatermanagement,whichdetermineswherewateristappedandstoredasapublicgood,andhowitisdistributedtothedifferentwaterusersaccordingtosociallynegotiatedrules.Untilnow,onecouldusuallyassumethatwatersupplyismoreorlessconstant–takingintoaccountnaturalannualandseasonalfluc-tuations.Asaresult,watermanagementfocusedondistributingavailablewater;itdidthisaccordingtowaterdemand.Onethereforetookitforgrantedthatwateryieldwasnotalimitingfactor.Butasthismightchange–atleastseasonally–duetoclimatechange,watermanagementneedstobefundamentallyrevisited:whatchangesintheavailabilityofwaterresour-cesshouldweexpectandhowcanactorswhodecideonthedistributionanduseofwaterreactconstructivelytothesechan-ges?Thesearethecentralquestionsaddressedby“MontanAqua”,aresearchprojectbrieflypresentedhere.

Thetransdisciplinaryresearchproject“MontanAqua”investigateswaterrelatedproblemsandissuesofthestudyarea,theCrans-Montana-SierreregionintheValais,integratingbiophysicalandsocioeconomicdimensions.Itisdividedintothreeworkpackages (doctoral theses) andone synthesispackage (post-doc).Availablewater resourceswill bemeasuredandmodelledinandforthedifferentaltitudinalzones,fromthePlaine-MorteglacierdowntotheRhonevalley(WP1).Thestudy of water use will focus on drinking water, energy production, agri- and viticulture, as well as tourism (WP2).Decision-makingrelatedtowaterusewillbestudiedthroughthesocioeconomicstructure,incorporatingvariouslevelsfromthemunicipalitytothecanton(WP3).

Thesynthesispackage(SP)aimsatinvestigatingthelinksexistingbetweentheissuesaddressedbythethreeworkpackages,usingthemultifunctionallandscapeasanintegrativebridgingconcept.Thisconceptimpliesstudyingthedifferentandsimul-taneousfunctionsofspecificpartsofalandscape(e.g.vineyardsandalpinepastureland),aswellasanalyzingtheinteractionsbetween,andprioritiesofthesefunctions.Onthebasisofsuchananalysis,itispossibletodeduceexisting,competing,andcontradictoryclaimstothelandscapemadebythedifferentpartsofthepopulation.Byshowinghowthemultifunctionalityoflandscapesismodifiedunderdifferentclimatechangescenariosandsocio-economicdevelopmentoptions,itwillbepossib-letohighlightfutureactor-specificclaimstolandscapesandmakethemaccessiblefordiscussionandplanning.

Theaimofthesecoordinatedinterdisciplinarystu-dies is to develop options for optimal and at thesame timebalanceddistributionandmanagementofwaterresources.Localactorswillbeinvolvedinadialogueaboutwhatmightconstituteoptimalandbalancedmanagement,whileconsideringbiophysi-calandsocioeconomicfactorslikelytochange.Theproject thus creates a space for transdisciplinarycommunication aiming at the co-production ofknowledgebetweenresearchersandrepresentativesofpolicymakers,administrationandcivilsociety.

PICTURE1:Thestudyarea:Crans–Montana–Sierre

(Photo:BrunoSchädler)

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18.5

Les bisses et leurs modes d’organisation au XXIe siècle, un modèle de gestion durable ?

SchweizerRémi1

1 Institut de Hautes Etudes en Administration Publique (IDHEAP), Quartier UNIL Mouline, CH–1015 Lausanne (remi.schweizer@idheap.unil.ch)

L’approvisionnementeneaud’irrigationdesrégionsdemontagnesubissantunclimatsecouaridea,detouttemps,rep-résentéundéfimajeurpourlescommunautéss’installantdansceszones.Surleplanmatériel,cetteluttepourl’eaus’esttraduiteparlaconstructiondecanauxd’irrigationplusoumoinsspectaculaires–dontlesbissesduValaisreprésententuncélèbreexemple–,tandisquesurleplansocial,elleamenéàlamiseenplacedemodesdegestionetd’organisationcommunautairesquireprésententdebonsexemplesdeCPR institutions(Ostrom1990)etquisontcaractériséspardesmo-dalitésdepartageetdedistributiondel’eauparticulièrementstrictes.

Cesmodesd’organisationfont l’objetd’uneabondante littérature,notammentencequiconcerne lesbissesduValais.Toutefois, ces travauxadoptent souventuneperspectivehistorique, etuneminorité seulement traitede l’exploitationtellequ’ellesepratiqueàl’heureactuelle.Paradoxalement,endépitdecetteméconnaissancedesmodesdegestioncon-temporainsliésàl’exploitationdesbisses,ilaétéaffirméàplusieursreprisesdanslalittératurequecesderniersrepré-sentaient des « modèles de gestion durable  ». Or, des conclusions en termes de durabilité ne sauraient être tirées del’analysedesmodalitéshistoriquesdegestionetrequièrentaucontrairederépondreàunesériedequestions complexesquirestentpourl’heuresansréponse:commentcesmodalitésdegestionont-ellesévoluésenparallèleàlacomplexifica-tiondes réseauxd’irrigation et à l’évolution socio-économiquede son environnement  ? quelleplace reste-t-il pour lesmodalitéshistoriquesdegestion ?quelsrôlesjouentlasouplesseetl’informalitédanslagestionderéseauxautrefoisca-ractériséspardesmodalitéstrèsstrictesdedistributiondel’eau ?C’estàcesquestions,quinousparaissentcentralesdanslecontexteactuelderegaind’intérêt–patrimonial,touristique,maissurtoutplusrécemmentenvironnemental–dontlesbissesfontl’objet,quelaprésentecommunicationentendratoutd’abordrépondre,afind’offrirquelqueséclairagessurlamanièredontlesmodesdegestionquiencadrentlesusagesdesbissessecomposentàl’heureactuelle.

Dansundeuxièmetemps,l’objectifsera,sinond’apporteruneréponsedéfinitivequantaucaractèredurableounondessystèmesd’irrigationliésàl’exploitationdesbisses,entouslescasdeproposerunegrilledelecturenovatriceàmêmed’évaluerlesmodalitésdegestioncontemporainessousl’angledeladurabilité.Pourcefaire,notreanalyses’appuierasurle cadre théoriquedesRégimes Institutionnels de Ressources (RIR).Cecadre théorique,quiest le fruitdes réflexionsd’uneéquipedechercheusesetdechercheursmenéeparPeterKnoepfel, IngridKissling-NäfetFrédéricVarone (2001,2003),considèrequel’étatphysiquedesressourcesnaturellesestfonctiondel’ingénieriesocialequil’entoure,soit,plusspéci-fiquement,desrèglesquienrégulentlesusages.L’objectifestdetenircomptedelacomplexitédelagestiondesressour-cesetd’intégrerl’ensembledesdimensionsrégulatricespertinentesafind’enidentifier,dansdessituationsconcrètes,leslacuneset les incohérences.Lepostulatcentraldecemodèleconsisteàconsidérerquepluslesusagesd’uneressourceserontrégulésdemanièreétendueetcohérente,pluslesconditionsdesonexploitationpourrontêtreconsidéréscommedurables.Lamiseenœuvredececadrethéoriquenouspermettra,àtraversl’assimilationd’unréseaud’irrigationàuncomplexemultiressourcielcomposédesressourceseau, bisse(infrastructuresduréseau)etsol,d’élaborerunegrilledelec-turedontl’applicationrigoureuserendrapossiblel’évaluation,surleterrain,deladurabilitédesmodesdegestionmisenplace.

Cesdeuxobjectifs–clarifierlesmodalitésdegestionactuelleliésàl’exploitationdesbissesetélaborerpuistesterunegrilledelecturepourévaluerleurdurabilité–serontatteintsàtraversuneétudeempiriqueréaliséeàSavièse.Cettecom-mune, où la gestion est caractérisée par l’imbricationdemodes de gestion appartenant aux sphères privée, publique,communautaire(consortages)etassociatived’unepart,etparl’importancedelasouplesseetdel’informalitédel’autre,représenteunterraind’étudeparticulièrementricheenenseignements.

REFERENCESOstrom E. 1990, Governing the Commons: the Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, University Press,

Cambridge,280pp.KnoepfelP.,Kissling-NäfI.,&VaroneF.(Eds)2001,InstitutionelleRegimefürnatürlicheRessourcen:Boden,Wasserund

WaldimVergleich,Helbing&Lichtenhahn,Basel/Genf/München,258pp.KnoepfelP.,Kissling-Näf I.,&VaroneF. (Eds)2003, InstitutionelleRegimenatürlicherRessourcen inAktion,Helbing&

Lichtenhahn,Basel/Genf/München,376pp.