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The social dimensions of a river’s environmental quality assessment

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Abstract

Integrated water resources management, promoted in developed countries, obliges to integrate social aspects with hydrological and ecological dimensions when assessing river quality. To better understand these social aspects, we propose a mixed-method to study public perceptions of an impounded river. Since the 1930s, the management of the Ain river (France) has been challenged by conflicts about the river’s quality. We surveyed (using interviews and mental maps) various stakeholders along the river. The results based on textual and content analysis show variations in the public’s perceptions according to the residence area, practices, and the degree of emotional attachment to the river. The assessment of environmental quality needs to take into account different types of knowledge, sometimes conflicting, that reveal and shape the variety of waterscapes which compose the Ain River. The social dimensions highlight integrated water management’s inherent complexity by considering the river basin as a place to live and by involving multiple stakeholders.

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Acknowledgements

This research project was part of a research program entitled “Living the Ain River: 19th–21st century”, which was funded by the Rhône Basin LITER (Long Term Ecological Research), the Rhône-Méditerranée Water Agency, and Électricité de France (EDF).

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  1. CNRS UMR 5600 Environnement Ville Société, ENS de Lyon, 15 Parvis René Descartes, University of Lyon, 15 Parvis René Descartes, BP 7000, 69342, Lyon Cedex 07, France

    Anne-Lise Boyer, Silvia Flaminio, Yves-François Le Lay & Marylise Cottet

  2. UMR 6049 ThéMA, Université de Franche-Comté, University of Franche-Comté, 32 rue Mégevand, 25030, Besançon Cedex, France

    Emeline Comby

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  1. Anne-Lise Boyer
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  2. Emeline Comby
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Correspondence to Anne-Lise Boyer.

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Boyer, AL., Comby, E., Flaminio, S. et al. The social dimensions of a river’s environmental quality assessment. Ambio 48, 409–422 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1089-9

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