# Identifying ten critical points when implementing projects for restoration of ecological river connectivity: An interdisciplinary perspective

Maria Alp, Fanny Arnaud, Carole Barthélémy, Ivan I. Bernez, Anne Clemens, Marylise Cottet, Simon Dufour, Marie-Anne Germaine, Christelle Gramaglia, Stéphane Grivel, et al.

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Maria Alp, Fanny Arnaud, Carole Barthélémy, Ivan I. Bernez, Anne Clemens, et al. Identifying ten critical points when implementing projects for restoration of ecological river connectivity: An inter-disciplinary perspective. 14. European Conference on Ecological Restoration, Society for Ecological Restoration, Aug 2024, Tartu, Estonia. **hal-04804308**

HAL Id: hal-04804308

https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04804308v1

Submitted on 26 Nov 2024

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IDENTIFYING TEN CRITICAL POINTS WHEN IMPLEMENTING PROJECTS FOR
RESTORATION OF ECOLOGICAL RIVER CONNECTIVITY: AN
INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

Maria Alp¹, Fanny Arnaud², Carole Barthélemy³, Ivan Bernez⁴, Anne Clemens⁵, Marylise Cottet²,
Simon Dufour⁶, Marie-Anne Germaine⁷, Christelle Gramaglia⁸, Stéphane Grivel⁹, Céline Le Pichon¹⁰,
Laurent Lespez¹¹, Marie Lusson⁸, Oldrich Navratil¹², Hervé Piégay², Jérôme G. Prunier¹³, Anne-Julia
Rollet⁶, Evelyne Tales¹⁰, Nicolas Lamouroux¹

¹UR RiverLy, INRAE, France

²UMR 5600 EVS, CNRS, ENS de Lyon, France

³Laboratoire Population Environnement Développement, UMR 151, Aix-Marseille Université, France

⁴UMR DECOD, Institut Agro, France

⁵GRAIE, France

⁶UMR 6554 LETG, Université Rennes 2, France

⁷UMR LAVUE 7218, CNRS, Université Paris Nanterre - Mosaïques, France

⁸UMR G-EAU, INRAE, France

⁹AgroParisTech, France

¹⁰UR HYCAR, INRAE, France

¹¹UMR 8591 LGP, CNRS, Université de Paris-Est Créteil, France

¹²UMR 5600 EVS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, France

¹³Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS, France

Abstract

Projects aiming at restoration of ecological river connectivity are at the centre of an important
controversy taking place in the French public arena for several years. The implementation of the
national restoration policy is being put into question by several actors. Basing upon the work of an
interdisciplinary group of researchers of the French Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Network
(Réseau des Zones Ateliers, CNRS), we first synthesize currently known biophysical and socio-
economic effects of connectivity interruption in its longitudinal, lateral and vertical dimensions.
Spotlighting the multitude of pressures riverine ecosystems are exposed to, the variability of
territorial contexts and the associated uncertainties, we insist that the decision to restore or not to
restore connectivity cannot be based exclusively on science and technical expertise. The (co-
)construction of a restoration project should always be inscribed within a project of water resource
management at the scale of a territory and accompanied by a democratic decision-making process.
We identify ten critical points to take into account at different stages of restoration project
implementation in order to collectively define ecological and societal objectives, choose most
appropriate restoration measures, evaluate their effects in a robust way, and importantly, achieve
projects that would be supported by the stakeholders and local population in spite of the associated
uncertainties. We underline the importance of considering several spatio-temporal scales within
restoration projects: historical versus future perspective, local versus regional, national or
international scale.