AQUA ! Patrimoines de l'eau - Water Heritage
AQUA !
The AQUA !
ID: 315413052865-04
Lobbying Activity
Response to European Water Resilience Strategy
25 Feb 2025
European water standards must integrate the reality of water heritages and move toward a society-centered view of water management. Europe's rivers, ponds, lakes, water bodies, wetlands and canals are the result of a long history of interaction between nature and society, spanning several millennia. The water in our environment is thus a physical and cultural, social and economic, material and symbolic phenomenon: all these dimensions are intertwined. Only an integrative, global and open vision of water will support sustainable ecological transformation. This complex, hybrid reality of water heritages, their new ecosystems and their multiple uses is already highlighted by scientific research, in the Water-Energy-Food-Society-Ecosystem Nexus. Still today, this European approach does not match with this full complexity, neither with the local scale and the riverside communities realities on the field. Water heritages are human and natural constructions. Aquatic socio-ecosystems are the result of centuries of interaction between nature and human activities. To be effective, their management must recognize this hybrid reality. Hydraulic structures also create ecosystems and ecosystem services. Man-made infrastructures are not simply impacts. They may also generate new environments favourable to biodiversity and contribute to sustainable water management. The services rendered by water need to be better evaluated. Aquatic ecosystems, whether natural or man-made, provide numerous ecological and social services. Before intervening, it is essential to fully understand these benefits, which are too often underestimated. River restoration must be rigorous. Restoration projects are too often poorly monitored and the results uncertain. It is crucial to develop more robust and objective methods for assessing their success, including the social dimension. Water policies must include social issues. Water management is not just about ecology and natural sciences. Social, economic and heritage interests must be taken into account to avoid biased decisions. Local perceptions and realities must guide management. Expectations and perceptions of rivers vary according to the players involved, the uses to which they are put, and their impact on the environment. Water management is a question of shared governance. Water management must be democratic, involving all stakeholders. Only participatory governance can guarantee sustainable and equitable management of water resources.
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