Abstract
The increasing number of water abstractions and water-use conflicts in alpine regions represents a significant threat for these fragile aquatic ecosystems. The use of tools, like multicriteria analysis (MCA), can support related decision-making processes towards sustainable solutions. In this paper, an innovative approach to assess water withdrawals sustainability by integrating the MesoHABSIM (Mesohabitat Simulation Model) into an MCA framework is presented and discussed. The methodology was implemented by replacing, within the MCA assessment, Water Framework Directive biological indicators with the MesoHABSIM based river Habitat Integrity Index, related to watercourse discharge and morphology, which allows quantifying the impacts of withdrawals on river ecosystems and fish communities. The resulting MCA procedure considers four criteria (energy, environment and fishing, landscape, economy) and requires only the use of measurable indicators based on watercourse discharge and its continuous monitoring. It was tested in Aosta Valley region (NW Italy) to both ex ante and ex post scenarios, for different types of water withdrawals and, currently, 20 experimentations, involving 58 hydropower plants and 12 farmer consortia, are ongoing. The proposed MCA process demonstrated its applicability with an increased decision-making quality and involved stakeholders’ satisfaction and is being officially endorsed in the regional River Strategic Plan.
Highlights
The Alps, in which most of the major European rivers have their headwaters, are crucial for water accumulation and freshwater supply for large parts of Europe
This paper presents an innovative decision-making process recently adopted in Aosta Valley, a small region in North-Western Italy, for the assessment of water withdrawals
The approach is based on the application of multicriteria analysis (MCA), considering four criteria and the corresponding stakeholders, with the objective of identifying the optimal flow release scenario to be implemented downstream of the withdrawal point in order to ensure sustainable river management
Summary
The Alps, in which most of the major European rivers (e.g., the Danube, the Rhine, the Po, and the Rhone) have their headwaters, are crucial for water accumulation and freshwater supply for large parts of Europe. For this reason, they are often defined as the natural “water towers” of Europe [1]. For flood protection purposes and hydropower (HP) generation, different types of adaptations to human needs affect natural watercourses in the great part of the Alpine region, even at high altitudes, strongly affecting the aquatic ecosystem’s status and biodiversity [3]. Apart from large HP plants and reservoirs, which allow for the accumulation of energy, thousands of smaller schemes are present in the Alps [3]
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