Mountain Tourism and Water and Snow Management in Climate Change Context

Mountain tourism is mainly based on two particular territorial resources: landscape (Reichler, 2002) and snow (Gumuchian, 1983). In the European mountains, after a phase of development of summer tourism since the end of the 18th century, winter sports appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in Saint-Moritz (Engadine, Switzerland), and then spread to almost all mountain ranges (Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, etc.), as early as the inter-war period and especially after the Second World War...

Prospective integrated modelling of water scarcity risk in western Switzerland: lessons learned and new challenges for water security assessment

Water security is an emerging concept, whose assessment and quantification are under development, and of which water scarcity can be considered as a basic research need. This paper draws on four research projects conducted by the authors in western Switzerland and has five key messages: (i) scenarios that account for both hydro-climatic and socio-economic changes are necessary to grasp their respective impacts on water scarcity; (ii) the spatial and temporal resolution of integrated models need to be adapted to the issue tackled; (iii) the involvement of stakeholders in co-producing future water demand scenarios and testing the capacity of plausible adaptation strategies to reduce water tensions is needed to increase the plausibility of modelled situations; (iv) hydrological approaches must evolve towards a geographical integration of territories, in particular to better grasp the different water users, and (v) interdisciplinary research is necessary to assess both the quantity and quality of water resources, and to include both social and governance processes in modelling. Rooted in a comprehensive perspective, the authors argue that such methodological developments would help move towards a dynamic and prospective view of water security. La sécurité hydrique est un concept émergent, dont l’évaluation et la quantification sont en cours de développement. La quantification du stress hydrique peut être considérée comme une recherche de base pour la sécurité hydrique. Cet article s’appuie sur quatre projets de recherche menés par les auteurs en Suisse occidentale permettant de délivrer cinq messages clés : (i) des scénarios tenant compte à la fois des changements hydro-climatiques et socio-économiques sont nécessaires pour saisir leurs impacts respectifs sur la pénurie d’eau ; (ii) la résolution spatiale et temporelle des modèles intégrés doit être adaptée à la question traitée ; (iii) l’implication des parties prenantes pour coproduire des scénarios de demande en eau future et tester des stratégies d’adaptation permettant de réduire les tensions hydriques est nécessaire afin d’augmenter la plausibilité des situations modélisées ; (iv) les approches hydrologiques empiriques doivent évoluer vers une intégration géographique des territoires, notamment pour mieux appréhender les différents usagers de l’eau, et (v) des recherches interdisciplinaires sont nécessaires pour évaluer les ressources en eau en termes de quantité et de qualité, et pour inclure les processus sociaux et de gouvernance dans les exercices de modélisation. Dans une perspective globale, nous pensons que de tels développements méthodologiques permettraient d’évoluer vers une vision dynamique et prospective de la sécurité hydrique

Multipurpose use of hydropower reservoirs: Imaginaries of Swiss reservoirs in the context of climate change and dam relicensing

In the context of climate change, hydropower dams and reservoirs are being promoted as mitigation and adaptation tools. The reoperation of dam reservoirs is also being considered, particularly in countries where dams are currently undergoing relicensing procedures. In Switzerland, a country that is often considered to be the water tower of Europe, concerns are being expressed about the future of water resources. These concerns are reinforced by the fact that the country’s water system is heavily impounded by hydropower dams whose licenses are about to expire. Discussions are emerging on future hydropower production and on multipurpose projects in the context of hydropower dam reservoir reoperation. Building on previous studies in political ecologies of water and on studies of environmental and sociotechnical imaginaries, and relying on policy documents and interviews with water and energy stakeholders, we investigate the way in which multiple use of hydropower dam reservoirs is envisioned in Switzerland and in the Valais canton. At the moment in Switzerland, the idea of multiple use of dam reservoirs is far from being recognised as a water and energy management paradigm; it is, however, strongly associated with climate-related socio-environmental changes in the water sector and with changes in ideas about water, dam futures, energy and the social structure. We highlight the coexistence of three different environmental and sociotechnical imaginaries and connect these imaginaries with ongoing and future hydrosocial change

The importance of mountain geomorphosites for environmental education: examples from the Italian Dolomites and the Swiss Alps

Because of their specific physical characteristics (altitude, slope, orientation, climate), mountain environments have an important natural diversity. In particular, their geodiversity is generally much larger than in the lowlands, and because mountain geosites are often very aesthetic, mountain areas present a great potential for geoheritage, geoconservation and geotourism studies. This paper reviews six reasons why this potential is high and concludes that mountain areas are particularly interesting to develop educational programs on three current environmental issues: climate change; natural hazards; and human impacts on particularly sensitive geomorphological environments. Then, the paper reviews the principal research in the field of geoheritage currently carried out on these three topics and presents two case studies in the Italian Dolomites and the Swiss Alps

Integrated Water Resources Management in Federations: The Examples of Brazil and Switzerland

International water institutions worldwide consider integrated water resources management (IWRM) to be the most sustainable way to manage water. Governments have modified their legal and institutional framework in order to apply integrated water management tools in the river basin. Institutional challenges are common in federations due to complex power sharing at national and subnational levels. This article discusses the implementation of the hegemonic model of IWRM in federations, based on a review of the literature for two different federal countries: Brazil and Switzerland. Due to the centralized character of Brazilian federalism, adjustments made in recent decades aimed to adapt the water management model through a hegemonic approach of participation and decentralization, shaped by international experiences and institutions. Some challenges concern vertical interplay, concerning coordination between levels and effective implementation of decentralization and participation. In contrast, Switzerland has a non-hegemonic model of water management, which is varied and fragmented throughout the country. As management is decided and applied locally, the main challenge concerns horizontal interplay, with regionalization and coordination of water uses