River Restoration: Political, Social, and Economic Perspectives

Description

River Restoration River restoration initiatives are now widespread across the world. The research efforts undertaken to support them are increasingly interdisciplinary, focusing on ecological, chemical, physical as well as societal issues. River Restoration: Political, Social, and Economic Perspectives provides a comprehensive overview of research in the field of river restoration in humanities and the social sciences. It illustrates how, in the last thirty years or so, such approaches have evolved and strengthened within the restoration sciences. The scientific community working in this domain has structured itself, often regionally and circumstantially, to critically assess and improve restoration policies and practices. As a research field, river restoration tackles three thematic axes: Human-river interactions – especially perceptions and practices of rivers, and how these interactions can be changed by restoration projectsPolitical processes, with a particular interest in governance and decision-making, and a specific emphasis on the question of public participation in restoration projectsEvaluation of the social and economic benefits of river restoration River Restoration: Political, Social, and Economic Perspectives encompasses these three topics, and more, to provide the reader with the most up-to-date and holistic view of this constantly evolving area. The book will be of particular interest to human and social scientists, biophysical scientists (hydrologists, geomorphologists, ecologists), environmental scientists, public policy makers, design or planning officers, and anyone working in the field of river restoration. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Series Foreword Acknowledgments List of Contributors Part 1 Introduction Chapter 1 What are the Political, Social, and Economic Issues in River Restoration? Genealogy and Current Research Issues 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Genealogy of research on societal issues in river restoration 1.3 A scientific community organized regionally and occasionally around river restoration projects 1.4 1.5 A diversity of researchers’ positions with regard to operational action 1.6 A book to share a diversity of societal approaches in the field of river restoration Notes References Part 2 People–River Relationships: From Ethics to Politics Chapter 2 Ethics of River Restoration: the Imitationist Paradigm 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Three challenges of river restoration 2.3 Restoration ecology as a type of biomimicry 2.4 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 3 Restoring Sociocultural Relationships with Rivers: experiments in Fluvial Pluralism 3.1 Introduction 3.2 What is river restoration? 3.3 Placing river restoration in its biophysical and sociocultural contexts 3.4 Emerging approaches to knowing and valuing rivers differently in Aotearoa New Zealand 3.5 Conclusions Acknowledgments Notes References Chapter 4 Political Ecology and River Restoration 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Political ecology: a critical approach to environmental issues 4.3 Political ecology and river restoration 4.4 Restoring the ecological continuity of rivers: controversies involving different meanings of the river 4.5 Conclusions: What does political ecology have to offer river restoration? Notes References Part 3 Governance and Power Relationships Between Stakeholders Chapter 5 The Policy and Social Dimension of Restoration Thinking: Paying Greater Attention to “Interdependency” in Restoration Governing Practice 5.1 Introduction 5.2 River restoration and the importance of interdependencies between public policies and between public and private rights 5.3 River restoration and interdependencies in territorial construction 5.4 River restoration and interdependencies of sciences and knowledge forms 5.5 Conclusions References Chapter 6 From Public Policies to Projects: Factors of Success and Diversity Through a Comparative Approach 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Toward a multifunctional, ecosystem-based paradigm for river restoration 6.3 Political factors that determine river restoration 6.4 Field-testing the river restoration new paradigm: from operation acceptance to rejection 6.5 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 7 How to Better Involve Stakeholders in River Restoration Projects: The Case of Small Dam Removals 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The role of stakeholders in dam removal in two different institutional contexts 7.3 From the involvement of the stakeholders to the enrichment of the project 7.4 Some key points to improve stakeholders’ involvement 7.5 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 8 Letting the Political Dimension of Participation in River Restoration have its Space 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Participation and river restorations 8.3 Participation in Swiss river management 8.4 Processes of depoliticization at work 8.5 Recommendations for taking into account the political dimension of participation 8.6 Conclusions References Part 4 Evaluation of Socioeconomic Effects Chapter 9 What is the Total Economic Value of River Restoration and Why is it Important? 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Defining and valuing the total economic value of river restoration 9.3 Estimation and application of river restoration total economic value 9.4 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 10 Valuation of Ecosystem Services to Assess River Restoration Projects 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Analytical framework of ecosystem services valuation 10.3 Case studies of ecosystem services valuations in river restoration project assessments 10.4 Case studies analysis: valuation of ES for assessing river restoration projects 10.5 Conclusions Acknowledgments Notes References Chapter 11 Public Perspectives of River Restoration Projects 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Theoretical foundations of public perspectives 11.3 Two empirical examples of how to include residents’ perspectives 11.4 Conclusions and Implications Acknowledgments References Part 5 Diversity of Methods, Diversity of Knowledge Chapter 12 Social Surveys: Methods for Taking into Account Actors’ Practices and Perceptions in River Restoration 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Survey methods for studying the social dimensions of river restoration 12.3 Choosing between interviews and questionnaires for river restoration surveys 12.4 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 13 Documents on River Restoration: Temporal and Spatial Analyses of Written Discourses 13.1 Introduction 13.2 What kind of documentary material can be used for what purpose? 13.3 What are the methods of documentary analysis and what results do they produce? 13.4 When to use a documentary approach? The pros and cons compared to survey methods 13.5 Conclusions Notes References Chapter 14 Participatory Approaches: Principles and Practices for River Restoration Projects 14.1 Introduction 14.2 What are good practice principles for participatory river restoration? 14.3 What methods could be used for participatory river restoration? 14.4 Conclusions References Chapter 15 Economic Benefits: Operationalizing their Valuation in River Restoration Projects 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Main phases of a valuation study and points of attention 15.3 Conclusions Note References Part 6 Conclusions Chapter 16 Social, Economic, and Political Stakes of River Restoration: : A Dynamic Research Field Facing Several Challenges to Strengthen Links with Practitioners 16.1 Humanities and social sciences now fully engaged within the field of restoration 16.2 Analysis of people–river relationships: from ethics to politics 16.3 Understanding of governance and power relationships between stakeholders 16.4 Evaluation of socioeconomic effects of river restoration projects 16.5 Strengthening collaborations between HSS and restoration stakeholders Notes References Index EULA