Seminario NazionaleMONITORARE LA PERFORMANCE DEI PROCESSI

DI GOVERNANCE FLUVIALE

France’s River contracts

Alexandre BRUN & Llewella MALEFANT

Unversité Montpellier III

MILANO

10 maggio 2017

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s :

t h e f r e n c h s u c c e s s t o r y

W h y c o n t r a c t s h a v e b e c o m e c r u c i a l i n w a t e r m a n a g e m e n t ?

W h a t a r e t h e c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e i r i m p l e m e n t a t i o n ?

W h a t a r e t h e i n t e r e s t s a n d l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e r i v e r c o n t r a c t s ?

Tarn River (River contract « Tarn Amont » 2007-2015)

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s : d e f i n i t i o n

B e f o r e w e g o f u r t h e r , w h a t a r e w e

e x a c t l y t a l k i n g a b o u t ?

• River contracts are programs which have been developed over several

years of studies and work

• They apply to the water shed scale. For an example, there is a river

contract the Saône, which is a sub-drainage basin of the river Rhône

• The contracts are made for 5 to 7 years and are renewable

• They are not mandatory (In other words, it is a motivational arrangement

which completes the local rules)

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s : g o a l s

T h e r i v e r c o n t r a c t s a r e l e a d i n g t o :

1. Fight against industrial, urban and agricultural pollution

2. Improving the flood risk management

3. Promote and support waters ecological restoration

4. Raise awareness for the users (industry, agricultural-sector … )

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s : p h i l o s o p h y

Create and improve the wastewater treatment

plants

Working on the drinking water network to

reduce losses

Maintain and renovate river dams

P A R T 1 : F I X t h e

p a s t m i s t a k e s Growing vegetation to

prevent erosion

Acquiring land to prepare flooding

expansions

Training and sensitization of the

industrial and agricultural sector etc.

in order to improve practices

P A R T 2 : P R O T E C T

f o r a s u s t a i n a b l e

f u t u r e

F i n a n c i n g r i v e r s c o n t r a c t s

• The river contracts are funded by the public sector (like the state, the

water agencies, the regions, the departments and the cities).

• Each public sector funds his own measures. The contract allow a project

to be coordinate in time and space around water challenges

• Indirectly, private users (industry, farming …) are participating to the

contracts thanks to taxes. The latter are proportional to itch users

pollution and consomption. The taxes supply the water agencies

budget which fund mainly the river contracts.

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s : g o v e r n a n c e

• The political leadership is ensured by a so called river committee. The elected

local authorities and the contract funders and also the associates to participate

in the leadership.

• The technical, administrative and financial leadership is ensure by a structure

which gathers the municipalities on a water-shed scale.

R i v e r s c o n t r a c t s :

A 5 s t e p s p r o c e d u r e

PHASE 1 –HYDROGRAPHICDISTRICT PROGNOSIS

A preliminary rapport is created based on a territorial prognosis. A local structure isdesignated to conductthe contract.

PHASE 2 –COMITEE RIVERS ESTABLISHMENT

The contract ispresented to all the parties and a river committeeis constituted.

PHASE 3 – PUBLIC AUTHORITIES VALIDATION FOR THE RIVER CONTRACT

The final project isapproved by a river committee

PHASE 4 – THE RIVER CONTRACT IS EXECUTED

After the signatrea contract last 5 to 7 year with an mid termevaluation

PHASE 5 –CONCLUSIONS, OVERVIEW AND RENEWAL OF THE CONTRACT

The contract can berenewed if the River committee decideso.

S i t u a t i o n a n d s t a k e s

S i t u a t i o n a n d s t a k e s

River contracts spat ia l repart i t ion :

247 contracts

M o s t o f t h e m a r e s o o n

t o b e f i n i s h e d

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1981 - 1983 1983 - 1994 1994 - 2004 2004 - 2010 2010 - TODAY

RIVERS CONTRACTS IN FRANCENombre de contrats de rivière

M a i n r e a s u l t s

M a i n r e a s u l t s

• Urban area :

• Creation of thousands of water treatment plant

• Creation of new underground water network

• Rural area :

• Land acquisition for better flood risk managment

• Hydrolic systems are improved

• New experiment are conduct and river renaturation are tested

Dordogne River (River contract « Dordogne Atlantique » 2008-2013)

M a i n r e a s u l t s :

t h e « D o r d o g n e A t l a n t i c » c a s e

The Dordogne water shed

M a i n r e a s u l t s :

t h e « D o r d o g n e A t l a n t i c » c a s e

P r o s a n d c o n s

Encourage solidaritybetween upstream and downstream

Coordinateefficientlyactions in the water shed scale

++ Private actors and users are not involved enough

The contract must not substitute legal planning

--

I n f o s

I t a l i a n s p e a k i n g :

M. Julien Bigué, directeur de l’Association des ingénieurs des Rivières du Rhône et des Alpes

Mail : julien.bigue@arraa.org

Site web : http://www.riviererhonealpes.org/

A d d i t i o n a l p u b l i c a t i o n :

BRUN Alexandre, 2014. « France’s Water Policy : The Interest and Limits of River Contracts »

in Schneier-Madanes (G.), Globalized Water : A Question of Governance, Netherlands,

Springer, 139-147.