FOWARA
Problems in the realisation of forested water retention areas:
natural and social scientific studies in the Rhine catchment
The main objective of the project is to develop and test strategies for a sustainable management of forested water retention areas of regional and local significance under the assumption of an increasing probability of flooding events. With a multidisciplinary approach recommendations (tree species, origins, ecological flooding, maximal flooding time, frequency and water heights, influential factors of the implementation and possibilities for the realisation, etc.) for decision makers for a future sustainable land-use and water management of water retention areas will be developed. This will help to maintain on the one hand the function, stability, biodiversity and the growth potential of temporary flooded forests and on the other hand the multi-functional value of the forest stands for forest owners and the society. The results will be used to develop a model to precisely predict the further development of forested water retention areas not only at the study sites of the present project but also of the whole NW-Europe area. The planning authorities dealing with these sites will therefore be addressed in the project's dissemination strategy. The project outputs will considerably decrease the lack of knowledge in this context and will help to estimate the economical and ecological impact resulting from the creation of water retention areas at forested sites. For this purpose, the impact of recent flooding events on the forestry in already existing water retention areas will be analysed. A further important aim is to elucidate social political relationships of all groups of interest in the context of flood prevention and to use this knowledge to efficiently deliver the results to decision makers, public society and scientists. This actions together with awareness rising campaigns performed in the project will increase the general awareness of the need of water retention areas and will improve the implementation of planned projects which so far are often inhibited by political actors at the local level.
For these purposes, in different already existing water retention areas in the catchment of the river Rhine in France, The Netherlands and Germany working hypotheses for a sustainable management of forested water retention areas will be tested. This includes (1) ecological flooding and (2) planting of assumed tolerant tree species at selected field sites. The selection of these species as well as the regimes of flooding are based on the results of a pilot project which will be finished by the end of 2002. For a further improvement of our approaches, it is strongly required that
(1) the vegetation (structure and distribution) will be described and that the visible damages of vegetation will be standardised, assessed and correlated with site-specific parameters and flooding regimes,
(2) the physiological basis of the damages observed and the physiological adaptation capacity of different plant species, mainly tree species, to flooding as well as the role of a pre-disposition of flooded trees for an infection with pathogenic fungi will be elucidated, and
(3) changes in the growth patterns, the regeneration and the diversity of vegetation as a consequence of flooding events will be characterised.
(4) In addition, the biogeochemical functioning of alluvial forests after re-flooding and the resilience capacity to restore important ecosystem functions have to be analysed. This will mainly include the nutrient transfer through the soil to the groundwater and nutrient accumulation in plants.
These steps are necessary to allow predictions about consequences of the realisation of water retention zones at other sites than that studied in the present project and are prerequisites for the development
(5) of a model to predict stand dynamics and forest development as caused by land-use changes from forests to forested water retention areas. With this model approach, it will be possible (a) to simulate post-flood development of forested sites (mortality, regeneration, immigration) under different disturbance regimes (natural, retention areas) and various flooding intensities, (b) to develop impact assessments for various flooding regimes (relevant criteria are biodiversity, tree composition, accessibility, forest structure), and (c) generate impact assessments for the social science part of the project, i.e. scenarios of forest development.
The realisation of aim (5) is only possible in a multidisciplinary approach by co-operation of ecologists/physiologists with experts of ecosystem modelling as given in the present project. The results will be applicable not only at the study sites in the Rhine region but also in the whole NW-Europe area.
Based on preliminary studies conducted by the Institute of Forest Policy, social science analyses should provide information about the prospects and limitations of flood protection planning in the Rhine drainage basin.
In order to achieve this goal, conflict-rich and conflict-poor areas within the entire Rhine region will first be located, analysed and compared in order to determine whether there is any evidence of the formation of participatory processes with regard to the planning and implementation of flood protection measures. The particular aim of this study is the policy advise, that would be in line with the specific demands of flood protection planning, which the general abstract research of planners often ignore, or is unknown.
The research plan of the social-political part of FOWARA will utilise qualitative research design, with the aid of methods from empirical social research. These comprise of (1) problem-centred expert interviews, (2) participatory monitoring of the planning process, and (3) the work of focus groups.
The problem-centred expert interviews (1) serve in the first step as a means of exploration of suitable research areas. Secondly, these interviews, through the incorporation of preliminary hypotheses and directness, generate essential tools for problem analysis.
These problem-centred expert interviews will be supplemented with participation in planning meetings and the planning process (2) (working groups meetings, round tables). Depending on the individual situation of the research area, the participatory observations could potentially play a supporting roll in the data collection.
The third method of the research plan will be the initiation and moderation of focus groups (3). These constitute discussion forums that, in addition to illustrating possibilities for participatory conflict analyses, also provide a good conceptual platform where social science subproject can be links to the remaining predominantly scientifically- and technically- oriented subprojects.
Starting from a 4-level conflict resolution model (clarification of quasi-conflicts, search of win-win situations, compromise oriented debates, and agreement through majority decisions), the main objective of the focus group is to calculate the odds of conflict resolutions. They should also, on the other hand, serve the purposes of a social science experiment that puts participatory problem resolution to the test. Through the analysis and evaluation of the discussion forums, problems and odds of participation in planning and implementation of flood protection measures could be deduced.
The integration of the natural science research groups into the different discussion forums in the beginning requires less new research results but instead should provide input representing the contemporary status of knowledge. However, these assist in the elimination of information deficits of the actors, through the search of win-win situations and compromises. Once the study has progressed, new findings could be introduced into the discussion. Specifically, we plan to initiate a workshop that will bring scientists and stakeholders together to take part in the participatory process. The special attraction and demand for focus groups lies in the controlled coming-together of political actors with scientific and social researchers, resulting in an immediate information exchange.
The transfer of the results obtained and the tools developed in the project to decision-making authorities plays a crucial role for the success of the present project; one important aim therefore is to efficiently disseminate the project results to relevant target groups. For this purpose, it is planned to involve such authorities in FOWARA. As observers of the project, the most important decision making authorities along the Rhine river have already been directly contacted. In Germany, the Gewässerdirektion Südlicher Oberrhein/Hochrhein is involved as a formal partner responsible for Baden-Württemberg. Additionally, the authorities responsible for water management of the German States Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen will be involved as observers of the project progress. In France this function will be fulfilled by the Conservatoire des Sites Alsaciens [responsible for protected areas along the Rhine] and the Service de la Navigation [responsible for polder management]; from The Netherlands, the Dutch Forest Service in The Netherlands (?Staatsbosbeheer?) is involved. These authorities will be invited to all the meetings and internal workshops held throughout the duration of the project. They will be informed directly on the progress of FOWARA and accompany the project as advisers in order to ensure the implication of the project outputs.
As an important organisation concerning the Rhine river, the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) will be contacted and the results will be provided.
As mentioned above, the results of FOWARA will not only be relevant for the Rhine river but also for other river systems across the North-West Europe area. Major river systems include the Thames River (England), the Loire, Seine, Meuse river systems (France) as well as the River Danube (Germany). The responsible water management authorities will be contacted, informed about FOWARA and be invited to participate at the international workshops held. They will be supplied with results of FOWARA (booklets, brochures, etc.).
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The French and German field sites of the study area.
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Project Co-ordinator:
Institute of Forest Botany and
Tree Physiology Chair of Tree Physiology
University of Freiburg
Georges-Koehler-Allee
Geb. 053/054
D-79110 Freiburg Germany
phone +49 (0)761 203 8300
fax +49 (0)761 203 8302 |
