Université de Fribourg

Montanaqua: tackling water stress in the alps: water management options in the crans-montana-sierre region (valais)

Schneider, Flurina ; Bonriposi, Mariano ; Graefe, Olivier ; Herweg, Karl ; Homewood, Christine ; Huss, Matthias ; Kauzlaric, Martina ; Liniger, Hanspeter ; Rey, Emmanuel ; Reynard, Emmanuel ; Rist, Stephan ; Schädler, Bruno ; Weingartner, Rolf

In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 2016, vol. 25, no. 3, p. 191–193

Transdisciplinary research is considered an appropriate mode of knowledge production in the search for pathways towards a more sustainable governance of natural resources. However, the co-production of new knowledge between scientists of different disciplines and nonacademic stakeholders is a challenge that requires novel research designs, methods, and approaches. The MontanAqua team has ...

Université de Fribourg

Scales of justice in water governance: hydropower controversies in Switzerland

Schneider, Flurina ; Buser, T. ; Graefe, Olivier

In: Water Policy, 2015, vol. 16, no. S2, p. 137

One significant challenge for the operationalization of water justice arises from the many dynamic scales involved. In this paper we explore the scalar dimension of justice in water governance through the insights derived from empirical research on hydropower production in the Swiss Alps and the application of the geographical concept of politics of scale. More specifically, we investigate how...

Université de Fribourg

Interdisciplinary assessment of complex regional water systems and their future evolution: how socioeconomic drivers can matter more than climate

Reynard, Emmanuel ; Bonriposi, Mariano ; Graefe, Olivier ; Homewood, Christine ; Huss, Matthias ; Kauzlaric, Martina ; Liniger, Hanspeter ; Rey, Emmanuel ; Rist, Stephan ; Schädler, Bruno ; Schneider, Flurina ; Weingartner, Rolf

In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 2014, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 413–426

Modeling of future water systems at the regional scale is a difficult task due to the complexity of current structures (multiple competing water uses, multiple actors, formal and informal rules) both temporally and spatially. Representing this complexity in the modeling process is a challenge that can be addressed by an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. The assessment of the water system...

Université de Fribourg

Assessing the sustainability of water governance systems: the sustainability wheel

Schneider, Flurina ; Bonriposi, Mariano ; Graefe, Olivier ; Herweg, Karl ; Homewood, Christine ; Huss, Matthias ; Kauzlaric, Martina ; Liniger, Hanspeter ; Rey, Emmanuel ; Reynard, Emmanuel ; Rist, Stephan ; Schädler, Bruno ; Weingartner, Rolf

In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2014, p. 1–24

We present and test a conceptual and methodological approach for interdisciplinary sustainability assessments of water governance systems based on what we call the sustainability wheel. The approach combines transparent identification of sustainability principles, their regional contextualization through sub-principles (indicators), and the scoring of these indicators through deliberative...

Université de Fribourg

Exploring water governance arrangements in the swiss alps from the perspective of adaptive capacity

Schneider, Flurina ; Homewood, Christine

In: Mountain Research and Development, 2013, vol. 33, no. 3, p. 225–233

In times of increasing uncertainty because of climate and socioeconomic changes, the ability to deal with uncertainty and surprise is an essential requirement for the sustainability of alpine water governance. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the adaptive capacity of water governance arrangements in the Swiss Alps and to propose options for reforms. To this purpose, we...