Last Week, Réserves Naturelles de France and Tetraktys members of the Waterwise team held the 1rst workshop of the project in les Contamines-Montjoie, one of the French pilot sites of the project.
The workshop lasted half a day, during which 12 participants coming from different backgrounds were invited to discuss their perspectives on the future availability of water resources, both for ecosystems and for human needs, in the context of climate change.
In a valley where skiing is the mainstay of the economy, this subject was discussed at length, against a backdrop of diminishing snow cover and rising costs for resorts and users. Discussions also focused on the possibilities and difficulties of transferring some of the winter visitors to other seasons. Smoothing out tourist flows encourages year-round life in the villages, but depends on the availability of fresh spots, the ability of local authorities to provide drinking water throughout the season, and the impact of bivouacs and bathing on aquatic ecosystems.
Another major issue discussed was the importance of raising awareness about water scarcity in an area where it is often considered an infinite resource, and the need to prioritize water uses in the event of a shortage in the future.
This data, along with a series of interviews conducted with local stakeholders in the past weeks, will be used to provide a document summarizing local perceptions of the area’s hydro vulnerabilities. In time, these results will be re-used for other workshops alongside Waterwise models to help the local community identify ecosystem-based, sustainable adaptation solutions for their territory.
