Abstract
Abstract Adaptive management strategies are required to manage multi-actor and multifunctional river landscapes. Such strategies need to be inclusive of perspectives of different stakeholders. We present a case study of a pilot engineering project in the Dutch river Waal, which drastically changed the appearance of the river landscape. We study perceptions of four stakeholder groups (residents, recreational anglers, recreational boaters and shipping professionals) regarding the impacts of this intervention on landscape values, including aesthetics, naturalness, biodiversity, flood safety and accessibility. Results show that stakeholders differ in which functions of the river landscape they find important and how they perceive the longitudinal dams to influence the landscape. They also differ in levels of place attachment and trust in the responsible authority. Shipping professionals stand out for their more negative evaluations of the dams compared to the other stakeholders, while especially residents demonstrate high levels of place identity and connection with nature. Residents also feel that the dams are improving flood risk safety in the area, and they positively evaluate knowledge and skills of Dutch water managers. These results provide water managers with much needed insights into landscape functions valued by different stakeholder groups and those perceived as most endangered by landscape interventions.
Highlights
Dealing with climate change and the consequent floods and longer drought periods has rapidly gained prominence on the global and European policy agendas (Stein et al, 2016; Wiering et al, 2017)
We report on the perceptions of four stakeholder groups on a major river landscape intervention and discuss how these can serve as a starting point for adaptive river landscape management
This paper reports the results of a perception survey study carried out among different stakeholder groups after the dams were constructed
Summary
Dealing with climate change and the consequent (near) floods and longer drought periods has rapidly gained prominence on the global and European policy agendas (Stein et al, 2016; Wiering et al, 2017). In the Netherlands, the focus of river management since the mid-19th century has been on technological aspects of flood prevention, aimed at controlling water (Wolsink, 2006; Warner et al, 2012). This technical approach to flood risk reduction was successful and received widespread public support until the 1970s. In the past decades, people living along the rivers have increasingly protested against the policy of dike enhancement, and new discourses in river management emerged focussing on nature protection and landscape quality (Van Heezik, 2007). The main example of such an integrated river management approach in the Netherlands is the flood protection programme ‘Room for the River’ launched in 2006 and characterized by making more space for the river (Warner et al, 2012)
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