Perception of braided river landscapes: Implications for public participation and sustainable management - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Environmental Management Année : 2013

Perception of braided river landscapes: Implications for public participation and sustainable management

Yves-François Le Lay
Hervé Piégay
Anne Rivière-Honegger
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 931792

Résumé

Over the past century, the ecologically-diverse, braided Magra River in Italy has narrowed, incised, and lost many gravel bars due to the riparian vegetation encroachment following the decrease in bedload supply and channel degradation. Motivated by the European Water Framework Directive, river scientists and managers are beginning to plan projects to conserve and restore these dynamic mosaics of rare habitats and processes. To support this objective, a study was conducted to assess how braided rivers are perceived by different social groups in the area. In June, 2006, 127 people were surveyed using a photo-questionnaire consisting of ten photographs that depicted riverscapes with different proportions of water, vegetation, and bed material. Respondents were asked to score each photograph in terms of aesthetic value, beneficial uses, and river management needs. Results showed that the photographs depicting gravel bars were perceived as less aesthetically pleasing, so therefore they need an active management. However, these perceptions differed amongst groups of participants, reflecting their interests and objectives. This paper identifies a distance between scientific and popular attitudes and discusses implications for public participation, support for braided river restoration policy, and environmental education.

Dates et versions

halshs-00862406 , version 1 (16-09-2013)

Identifiants

Citer

Yves-François Le Lay, Hervé Piégay, Anne Rivière-Honegger. Perception of braided river landscapes: Implications for public participation and sustainable management. Journal of Environmental Management, 2013, 119, pp.1-12. ⟨10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.01.006⟩. ⟨halshs-00862406⟩
155 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More