River Restoration: Political, Social, and Economic Perspectives (Advancing River Restoration and Management)

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 projects Political processes, with a particular interest in governance and decision-making, and a specific emphasis on the question of public participation in restoration projects Evaluation 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 1 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Contents 7 Series Foreword 9 Acknowledgments 10 List of Contributors 11 Part 1 Introduction 15 Chapter 1 What are the Political, Social, and Economic Issues in River Restoration? Genealogy and Current Research Issues 17 1.1 Introduction 17 1.2 Genealogy of research on societal issues in river restoration 22 1.3 A scientific community organized regionally and occasionally around river restoration projects 24 1.4 27 1.5 A diversity of researchers’ positions with regard to operational action 48 1.6 A book to share a diversity of societal approaches in the field of river restoration 49 Notes 50 References 51 Part 2 People–River Relationships: From Ethics to Politics 63 Chapter 2 Ethics of River Restoration: the Imitationist Paradigm 65 2.1 Introduction 65 2.2 Three challenges of river restoration 67 2.3 Restoration ecology as a type of biomimicry 69 2.4 Conclusions 75 Notes 76 References 76 Chapter 3 Restoring Sociocultural Relationships with Rivers: experiments in Fluvial Pluralism 80 3.1 Introduction 80 3.2 What is river restoration? 82 3.3 Placing river restoration in its biophysical and sociocultural contexts 83 3.4 Emerging approaches to knowing and valuing rivers differently in Aotearoa New Zealand 85 3.5 Conclusions 93 Acknowledgments 95 Notes 95 References 95 Chapter 4 Political Ecology and River Restoration 103 4.1 Introduction 103 4.2 Political ecology: a critical approach to environmental issues 104 4.3 Political ecology and river restoration 106 4.4 Restoring the ecological continuity of rivers: controversies involving different meanings of the river 110 4.5 Conclusions: What does political ecology have to offer river restoration? 113 Notes 115 References 116 Part 3 Governance and Power Relationships Between Stakeholders 121 Chapter 5 The Policy and Social Dimension of Restoration Thinking: Paying Greater Attention to “Interdependency” in Restoration Governing Practice 123 5.1 Introduction 123 5.2 River restoration and the importance of interdependencies between public policies and between public and private rights 127 5.3 River restoration and interdependencies in territorial construction 129 5.4 River restoration and interdependencies of sciences and knowledge forms 132 5.5 Conclusions 136 References 138 Chapter 6 From Public Policies to Projects: Factors of Success and Diversity Through a Comparative Approach 142 6.1 Introduction 142 6.2 Toward a multifunctional, ecosystem-based paradigm for river restoration 143 6.3 Political factors that determine river restoration 146 6.4 Field-testing the river restoration new paradigm: from operation acceptance to rejection 151 6.5 Conclusions 157 Notes 157 References 158 Chapter 7 How to Better Involve Stakeholders in River Restoration Projects: The Case of Small Dam Removals 161 7.1 Introduction 161 7.2 The role of stakeholders in dam removal in two different institutional contexts 163 7.3 From the involvement of the stakeholders to the enrichment of the project 168 7.4 Some key points to improve stakeholders’ involvement 174 7.5 Conclusions 178 Notes 178 References 179 Chapter 8 Letting the Political Dimension of Participation in River Restoration have its Space 183 8.1 Introduction 183 8.2 Participation and river restorations 184 8.3 Participation in Swiss river management 186 8.4 Processes of depoliticization at work 191 8.5 Recommendations for taking into account the political dimension of participation 194 8.6 Conclusions 197 References 198 Part 4 Evaluation of Socioeconomic Effects 203 Chapter 9 What is the Total Economic Value of River Restoration and Why is it Important? 205 9.1 Introduction 205 9.2 Defining and valuing the total economic value of river restoration 206 9.3 Estimation and application of river restoration total economic value 213 9.4 Conclusions 219 Notes 220 References 220 Chapter 10 Valuation of Ecosystem Services to Assess River Restoration Projects 224 10.1 Introduction 224 10.2 Analytical framework of ecosystem services valuation 228 10.3 Case studies of ecosystem services valuations in river restoration project assessments 229 10.4 Case studies analysis: valuation of ES for assessing river restoration projects 239 10.5 Conclusions 241 Acknowledgments 242 Notes 242 References 243 Chapter 11 Public Perspectives of River Restoration Projects 247 11.1 Introduction 247 11.2 Theoretical foundations of public perspectives 248 11.3 Two empirical examples of how to include residents’ perspectives 251 11.4 Conclusions and Implications 260 Acknowledgments 263 References 263 Part 5 Diversity of Methods, Diversity of Knowledge 267 Chapter 12 Social Surveys: Methods for Taking into Account Actors’ Practices and Perceptions in River Restoration 269 12.1 Introduction 269 12.2 Survey methods for studying the social dimensions of river restoration 270 12.3 Choosing between interviews and questionnaires for river restoration surveys 275 12.4 Conclusions 282 Notes 283 References 284 Chapter 13 Documents on River Restoration: Temporal and Spatial Analyses of Written Discourses 287 13.1 Introduction 287 13.2 What kind of documentary material can be used for what purpose? 289 13.3 What are the methods of documentary analysis and what results do they produce? 298 13.4 When to use a documentary approach? The pros and cons compared to survey methods 304 13.5 Conclusions 304 Notes 305 References 305 Chapter 14 Participatory Approaches: Principles and Practices for River Restoration Projects 308 14.1 Introduction 308 14.2 What are good practice principles for participatory river restoration? 309 14.3 What methods could be used for participatory river restoration? 313 14.4 Conclusions 317 References 318 Chapter 15 Economic Benefits: Operationalizing their Valuation in River Restoration Projects 322 15.1 Introduction 322 15.2 Main phases of a valuation study and points of attention 324 15.3 Conclusions 341 Note 342 References 342 Part 6 Conclusions 347 Chapter 16 Social, Economic, and Political Stakes of River Restoration: : A Dynamic Research Field Facing Several Challenges to Strengthen Links with Practitioners 349 16.1 Humanities and social sciences now fully engaged within the field of restoration 349 16.2 Analysis of people–river relationships: from ethics to politics 350 16.3 Understanding of governance and power relationships between stakeholders 352 16.4 Evaluation of socioeconomic effects of river restoration projects 357 16.5 Strengthening collaborations between HSS and restoration stakeholders 361 Notes 363 References 363 Index 365 EULA 381 "River restoration has expanded exponentially in the last three decades, with increased investment by government agencies, private developers, and NGOs. The available literature -- both scholarly works and government guidance manuals -- has grown proportionately, but has been almost entirely about ecological, hydrological, and geomorphological aspects of restoration. Yet the primary issues faced by many restoration programs have more to do with legal, economic, and institutional barriers and public perception and acceptance, than with physical and ecological constraints (though these can be formidable as well). Diverse issues such as the installation of habitat structures and replanting along a small creek by a local group, or a major program to restore complex habitat, a more natural flow regime, and sediment supply to a river below a dam, require an understanding of the social dimensions of river restoration projects. For anyone funding, permitting, planning, designing, or building river restoration projects, a concise, up-to-date, clearly organized treatment of the critical socio-economic issues relevant to river restoration will be a very useful asset. Most people involved in restoration projects (ecologists, engineers, landscape architects, hydrologists) lack a strong background in the social sciences. Increasingly however, these professionals understand that they must consider social dimensions. This book will fill a critical gap in their libraries summarizing how social approaches can contribute to river restoration projects and policies. The aim of this book is to present and synthesize understanding from recent advances in social sciences related to river restoration. It will cover not only supposedly "intangible" social phenomena -- such as ethics, culture and justice -- but also very tangible practical aspects -- including policy, governance, project management, decision making and stakeholder interactions -- to give a complete picture of the sometimes complex interaction of issues in river restoration."-- Provided by publisher