A Socio-Ecological Approach to Conserve and Manage Riverscapes in Designated Areas: Cases of the Loire River Valley and Dordogne Basin, France

Abstract

The environmental management of rivers faces a substantial geographical problem: due to their elongate shape and their position at the valley bottom, the area that they cover is fragmented by territorial borders. Therefore, only very few river basins or substantial parts of them have yet been assigned as dedicated sites (nature reserves, parks, etc.). Commonly, these sites occur in a scattered pattern within the riverscape and belong to different administrative units, which makes coordinated conservation and management difficult. Moreover, access to documented results is limited, and the practical experience of site managers remains an unexploited source of knowledge. Here, we compare two sites, the Loire valley (with a large zone protected by a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Natura 2000 sites network, and a French Regional Natural Park, which are partially overlapping) and the Dordogne watershed (entirely belonging to the first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of this kind and a French Public Basin Establishment). The targets concerning conservation and sustainable management of these sites differ, however, they all focus on cultural and ecological sustainability. Combining reports and interviews with the respective site managers with literature back searches, and analyzing these data with case study and content analysis methods, we addressed the following questions: (1) What are the priority management issues, including threats that impact the site from outside, and how are they tackled? (2) Who are the stakeholders and what are their interrelationships? (3) What are the dynamics of socio-ecological systems related to riverscapes? (4) How to conserve and manage riverscapes with socio-ecological approaches? and (5) What are the best management practices from the Loire River Valley and Dordogne basin cases that can be harnessed in other riverscapes? We show that the Loire River Valley and Dordogne River basin present positive examples for a transdisciplinary socio-ecological approach to conserving and managing riverscapes, integrating diverse stakeholder knowledge in participatory decision-making, recognizing the natural character of the river, and coupling social and hydrological systems. The greatest achievement of the site managers is that they have built up trust and found feasible solutions for satisfying the different interests of diverse stakeholders. Ingenuity and perseverance, combined with excellent moderation skills, were the most important characteristics leading to success. The overall target of this paper is to evidence problems and their solutions concerning the management of dedicated sites that are connected to rivers, to encourage the creation of further sites of this type, and to facilitate cooperation between different types of dedicated sites.

1. Introduction

River systems, including their floodplains and deltas, are among the most threatened and deteriorated ecosystems on the planet. More than half of all river systems across the globe reveal deep anthropogenic impacts on freshwater biodiversity. Less than half of the world’s rivers remain free-flowing [1], while the least impacted rivers are mostly small-sized and occupy only 13.4% of the world river basin surface [2]. Freshwater biodiversity is in sharp decline due to human impacts on lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and groundwater [3]. The Living Planet Index for the populations of freshwater mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes declined by 84% from 1970 to 2016 [4]. Almost one in three freshwater species is threatened with extinction, exhibiting a higher risk of extinction than terrestrial species [5]. Multiple stressors include pollution, overexploitation, river modification and canalization, damming and diversion, water scarcity and security, invasive species, and disease; additional pressures arise from land-use change (especially in fast-developing countries), climate change impacts, and globalization [6,7,8,9,10,11]. A similar crisis to the one faced by freshwater biodiversity can be observed in the diversity of cultural heritage linked with rivers and floodplain wetlands [12], partly resulting from identical causes [13].

Nature conservation has been widely applied as an environmental policy and practice to safeguard biodiversity [14], such as the Natura 2000 device in the European Union (EU), originally established in 1979 (Birds Directive), reinforced by the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive in 1992 and by the Green Infrastructure policies in 2013 [15]. However, past legal designations traditionally relied on the protection of the selected parcels of land from human development and activity by some form of legal designation. They rarely extended to entire catchments and due to the elongated shape of rivers, it is difficult to squeeze river conservation into the traditional way of site conservation [14]. Consequently, targeted legislation, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), was developed in the early 2000s to support the conservation and management at the river basin scale in Europe. It consolidates the domains of river conservation and river management. While river conservation stresses the ‘non-use’ values of river systems, river management highlights the ‘use’ values, from a holistic view [16]. Stepping into the 21st century, the term ‘riverscape’ has developed rapidly in scientific research with nuanced interpretations and perspectives [17]. Riverscape refers to the river channel and its floodplains, emphasizing the effects of the entire catchment on streams [18] and including natural and cultural attributes and interactions. It considers rivers’ longitudinal (upstream to downstream), lateral (channel to floodplain), and vertical (groundwater to channel) dimensions and their dynamics over time [19]. Riverscapes are conceptualized as complex, coupled, and interacting social-ecological systems [20,21,22]. Apart from providing resources and habitats, the river systems also link people, places, and all live organisms; they support different ways of life and inspire diverse cultural philosophies and ideas [12,13,23]. The riverscape approach addresses a continuous and multi-scale context for river conservation and management [24]. The need for conserving riparian zones has been recognized by scientists and authorities, with regulatory policies and guidelines gradually established [25]. Novel river management tools and actions, such as environmental flows [26], dam removal [27], species relocation and rewilding [28], and nature-based solutions [29], have been implemented with varying degrees of success.

However, despite often being located inside the conservation units, it has been inadequately examined how designated protected areas can benefit inland waters (rivers, lakes, springs, ground waters, and wetlands) [30]. Many challenges exist in conserving and sustainably managing riverscapes. First, many of the world’s rivers are insufficiently protected in their respective upland areas and in terms of hydrological connectivity; it also remains ambiguous whether to consider a river at the boundary of a protected area as being locally protected or not [31]. Second, the biological and cultural integrity of given sites are rarely considered jointly in conservation programs and indicator systems [32]. Third, practitioners (i.e., water engineers) traditionally adopt simplistic technical-fix approaches, such as relying on hydraulic infrastructures [33], without a comprehensive understanding of human behaviors in conservation planning and implementation, overriding the river’s territorial values, identities, and place-making for local communities. This lack of understanding is also likely to lead to the failure of implementing certain conservation measures, as their success is highly dependent on broad stakeholder understanding of and buy-in to the importance of the measures [34], as evidenced by the recent failure of France’s national program on the removal of obsolete flow barriers [35]. Collective decision-making that crosses jurisdictional and departmental boundaries at the watershed level is therefore required [36]; however, a ‘basin of responsibility’, legally connecting all inhabitants of a watershed [12] is generally missing. All these research gaps are addressed in this paper with two case studies of riverscape management, the Loire and Dordogne rivers.

A socio-ecological approach to conserving and managing riverscapes moves beyond the human–nature dichotomy [37]. Rather, it is often conceptually related to biocultural linkages [38] and combines biological evolutionary potential with human development connected to the riverine nature [13,39]. It promotes a learning mechanism with adaptative strategies shaped to the natural wet-and-dry cycle from both humans and non-human biota, and eventually a harmonious co-existence between them in riverscapes [12]. Attention is given to the locally grounded river knowledge, cultural beliefs, and practices [13,23,40]. Therefore, it differs from the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) or Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) approaches, which promote participatory governance but remain restricted to an expert paradigm [41]. A socio-ecological approach can also be differentiated from the novel water–energy–food–ecosystem (WEFE) nexus [42] as, so far, this nexus does not (yet) include the in-depth consideration of human–river-relationships as a value for decision-making. Moreover, river justice (i.e., an equitable share of water between nature and human peoples) has yet only begun to be considered in management concepts [43].

There are, however, attempts to cover the above important gaps, such as the incompleteness of conservation approaches due to the fragmented nature of designated areas in relation to the river basin or riverscape, and the insufficient consideration of the natural and human–nature aspects in one approach to river management. UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere program [44], the Ramsar Convention [45], and the option for a double designation as World Heritage Sites of both cultural and natural values [46], or national approaches such as the French regional natural parks ( PNR; e.g., [47]) are conservation tools that aim to harmonize human uses and nature. Currently, there are few of those dedicated to entire riverine landscapes or river valley sections, such as the Middle Elbe Biosphere reserve [48].

In our study, we provide a comparative analysis of two of those sites concerning their efficiency in preserving biological and cultural diversities, their management approaches, and the potential lessons that may be learned for the creation and management of other designated sites in riverscapes. Both sites are situated in France: the Loire River Valley and the Dordogne Basin Biosphere Reserve. Parts of the Loire River Valley are designated as a World Heritage site with a double entry for cultural and natural values, and as a PNR (both areas are partially overlapping). The Dordogne Basin Biosphere Reserve is the only one of this kind covering an entire watershed. In both case study sites, the tension between a historically developed landscape with important biodiversity and tourism, on one side, and the increasing water demand for hydropower use and agriculture under climate change stress, on the opposite side, is evident. The status of the biological and cultural elements has recently been reviewed for both sites [49,50], but studies on the management practices in the sites are scarce [51]. Our study focuses on the practical and long-term experience of the managers of the respective sites and how they develop and maintain long-term relationships with the different social levels and know where to act at each level. The power of site managers and their institutions is relatively restricted; thus, they need to engage efficiently in political decision schemes; therefore, interviews were conducted to reveal how these complex challenges were mastered. Contrary to the classical, evidence-based policies, which often suppose that a detailed description of the problems suffices to leverage immediate action, the stepwise, multi-level and reiterative setting up of communication turned out to be a more sustainable procedure. Eventually, the study provides deep insights into the experience of these approaches, which serve as examples for conserving and managing inland waterbodies of other sites worldwide.

2. Methods

Managers of designated sites are challenged by a large array of projects, technical details, and representative duties. The documentation of their work is mostly restricted to synthetic reports in the local language, which are rarely published at the international level. Moreover, the exchange of practical experiences between sites generally occurs during a limited number of workshops or personal meetings. To make this relevant expert knowledge available to a greater public (both academic and managerial) and to combine published and unpublished data, our study adopted a mixed-method design that combined different research methods. In the case studies, the practical experience of the site managers (resulting from the interviews) was complemented by the results of literature surveys. This mixed approach is an efficient tool to overcome the restrictions of both methods (lacking scientific rigor in the reported experiences and lacking spatio-temporal coverage in the scientific studies) and overcome methodological hurdles in inter- and transdisciplinary studies [40,52]. The content analysis of the interviews with different site managers allowed us to systematically analyze their statements.

2.1. Empirical Data Collection

From March to June 2020, the author team organized six semi-structured interviews under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair on River Culture—Fleuves et Patrimoine with the head of Mission Val de Loire (MVL), the head of the Biodiversity and Landscapes Department of Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Natural Park (Le Parc Nature Régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine, PNR LAT), and the Deputy Director of the Territorial Public Establishment of the Dordogne Basin (Établissement Public Territorial du Bassin de la Dordogne, EPIDOR). The interviews were performed in a two-step procedure, including the first round with identical questions and later, detailed questions that arose from the replies. The questions for the first round of interviews included the following questions: (1) What are the priority management issues, including threats that impact the site from outside or within the park/basin and how do you tackle them? (2) Who are the stakeholders and what are their interrelationships? (3) What are the dynamics of socio-ecological systems related to riverscapes? (4) How to conserve and manage riverscapes with socio-ecological approaches? and (5) What are the best management practices from the Loire River Valley and Dordogne basin cases that can be harnessed for other sites? All interviews were recorded and transcribed into a textual corpus. Through content analysis, we identified the socio-ecological system of the riverscapes and analyzed their socio-ecological management approaches. Eventually, we cogitated the results into a table of best management practices by management themes, a synthesis of the research findings.

2.2. Qualitative Data Analysis

Content analysis is a rule-guided research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from verbal, visual, or written documents [53,54]. This analytic process links the results to the context or the environment in which they were produced and is reliable, systematic, and objective [53,55]. Content analysis can take on a quantitative and/or qualitative approach, either inductively or deductively, depending on the research questions [56]. The method is not linked to any particular science, but can be applied in limitless disciplines, including anthropology, political science, psychology, and business [56,57,58]. This study used qualitative content analysis to analyze the transcripts of six detailed interviews to identify the first-hand management experience in the two specific sites and to transform them into realistic lessons. The analytic and iterative procedures are composed of three steps: (1) data extraction, organization, and re-contextualization, (2) systematic classification and categorization, and (3) compilation. The textual data was analyzed in NVivo^® 12 (Version 12, released by QSR International Pty Ltd., Doncaster, Australia in 2018), a Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) software, with a coding process [59]. Specifically, a cluster analysis was performed with the open-source software IRaMuTeQ (R Interface for Multidimensional analysis of Texts and Questionnaires, http://www.iramuteq.org (accessed on 1 September 2022)). The program is developed in the Python language and anchored in the R software. Using statistical calculations on the textual data allows for an in-depth qualitative analysis employing quantitative approaches.

In the first step of the interpretive process, we broke down the transcribed textual corpus into smaller meaning units—the constellation of sentences or paragraphs proving some of the insights that could answer the research questions [60,61] —following the correspondence of research questions (see Section 2.1). Each unit was manually labeled with a code—a word or short phrase that symbolically assigned a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a portion of language-based data [62]. This open coding process was repeated multiple times by re-reading the original text [63] and a list of codes was finalized and assembled into hierarchical formats [54]. In the second step, we created explanatory themes and categories to detect the patterns of similarly coded segments. Two concept-driven themes of ‘socio-ecological system phenomena related to rivers’ and ‘socio-ecological approaches for riverscape conservation and management’ were identified, followed by consistent sub-themes answering the question ‘How?’ [61] such as ‘institutional factors’, ‘identify and resolve conflicts’ and ‘rivers’ ecology–hydrology–economy nexus’ (see examples in

Table 1. Two examples of content analysis (Steps 1 and 2) were performed in NVivo^® 12; the themes were then used as two subtitles for ‘4. Results’.

Interview Transcript	Condensed Meaning Unit	Code	Sub-Theme	Theme
Old picture postcards show the region (the Loire River valley) at the end of the 19th century and reveal that there used to be a lot fewer trees...Nowadays, the animals are almost gone, and thus the landscape is becoming increasingly “wild” (woody plant succession) as the use of the floodplain for pastoralism is not economically feasible. The current conservation focuses more on aesthetics than on biodiversity...Conservationists of the “historical view” prefer to remove the vegetation to rediscover several monuments partially hidden by trees...A balance has to be found, in particular between the historical and the aesthetical approach.	No more economic use of floodplains The river landscape is getting ‘wild’ Historical view no longer exists Conservation focuses more on (cultural) aesthetics than on biodiversity Balance is needed	Adaptative approaches Biodiversity conservation vs. landscape aesthetics ‘Wilderness’ vs. (historical) cultural landscapes	Identify and resolve conflicts Synergies and trade-offs in adaptation decision-making	Socio-ecological approaches for riverscape conservation and management
PNR LAT does not influence the hydrological regime, as this is managed elsewhere (dams upstream), even though how it releases water has a big impact on the region and especially on birds, e.g., sterns and seagulls breeding on a sandbank...Their nests become damaged by rising water levels and untimely floods (if dams release too much water during early summer)... our target is to keep the water in the oxbow as long as possible, so the water can also flood meadows and forests (to provide nutrient for natural habitat).	Upstream dams cause changes in the hydrologic regime. Alteration of riparian habitats by dam releases is among critical conservation concerns. Water depth and velocity have direct effects on birds. A minimum amount of water release is required to flow into the oxbow.	The river’s hydrological regime determines the physical habitats and associated biotic communities. Flow regulation alters the river’s natural hydrological regime. Environmental flow is needed to maintain ecological integrity.	Rivers’ ecology–hydrology–economy nexus Effects of environmental flows	Socio-ecological system phenomena related to rivers

). To help extract the useful content for coding, we also created a word cloud [64] using NVivo^®’s query tool of ‘word frequency’ in the textual corpus and visualized the most frequently occurring words; they were further identified as 28 keywords of riverscape management—as the frequency of particular words decreases, so does its visual size. We then organized the collected codes into categories with a reductionist approach and developed analytical notes to facilitate the categorization process. Eventually, reasonable explanations of riverscape management experiences from the two case studies were reached.

Specifically, to identify different types of riverscape management conflicts (see Section 4.2.3), cluster analysis with the Max Reinert [65] method was developed in the IRaMuTeQ to discover textual data relationships. The clustering algorithm automatically breaks down the textual corpus into smaller text segments based on the co-occurrence of lemmas. Afterwards, it extracts a descending hierarchical classification of the lemmatized forms (i.e., the words reduced to their roots) using Pearson chi-square at a significance level of 5%, and aggregates the segments into respective clusters based on lexical similarity [66]. Each divided cluster aims to be internally homogeneous and as heterogeneous as possible compared to others [67]. This classification procedure produced six clusters, and we presented them in a dendrogram named with six binary terms [68]—they are therefore interpreted as six riverscape management conflicts (see also example in

Table 2. Example of a text segment for each cluster, performed in IRaMuTeQ. The six clusters were then identified as six management conflicts (see Section 4.2.3).

Cluster	Example of the Text Segment (Quotes from Interviews)
Cluster 1: Loire and Dordogne: Local interest vs. riverscape management	It has to be kept in mind that the goal is to understand and protect the landscape. There are many ways to reach this goal but the most efficient strategy is step-by-step (understanding the interaction), taking the time to comprehend the processes.
Cluster 2: Loire: tourism development vs. ecological conservation	Touristic activities are always made on the sandbanks. However, campfires and the landing of canoes are dangerous for birds. Little birds and eggs are destroyed thus, the park tries to establish nature reserves on the sandbanks. Specific regulations- defined local regulations are in place.
Cluster 3: Loire: natural landscape vs. cultural landscape	In 2020, the objectives for MVL have changed, the concern for biodiversity is equal to the concern for the monuments. The local people feel that they live in nature rather than in a cultural landscape with castles. The dimension of usages and their perceptions is essential. The river can be seen as a corridor and ecology is our life support system. In the future, the possibility exists that cultural elements (with no serious “historical” values) could be removed to recreate the ecological corridor, as streets, etc. have fragmented the landscape.
Cluster 4: Loire and Dordogne: social benefits vs. ecological resilience	Generally, the same problems occur all over the world: lack of sediments, water lacks the power to transport these sediments and there is not enough space for the development of floodplains where erosion and deposition of sediments can take place.
Cluster 5: Loire: cultural practice vs. nature conservation	It is important to keep farming on the meadows, as cattle browsing keeps the landscape open. PNR LAT wants to promote the direct selling of the products to keep farmers interested because there would not be any meadows without the farmers. Therefore, it is problematic that the number of traditional farmers is shrinking whereas big companies are increasing.
Cluster 6: Dordogne: water to generate electricity vs. water to maintain the ecosystem	The initiative IBD—(Initiative Bassin Dordogne) occurred in the period from 2013 to 2015 (L’Association Initiative Biosphère Dordogne). It is an agreement with EdF for the ecological restoration of habitats.

).

The last step was the writing-up process. We extracted the relevant latent content—an extended interpretive level to find the underlying meaning of the text [60,69]—from the generated categories and then elaborated in detail on the essence of the studied phenomenon. For each theme/sub-theme, we cited representative direct quotations from the interviews to present their objectivity [57]. The trustworthiness [70] of the research findings, i.e., the credibility—how credible the analysis procedures are [61], and transferability—how generalizable the results will be [54], was also examined with a member checking. Co-authors read the results and judged whether they are reasonable and logical [71,72]. The author team further collectively developed the generalizable inference, a table of best management practices.

2.3. Supplementary Literature Review

The comprehensive literature study included the concepts of river socio-ecological systems, riverscape conservation and management, current conservation programs and their challenges, and the socio-ecological approaches for riverscape management. It was also used to establish a comparison with other designated river conservation sites. Recently, a global study has been undertaken to analyze the patterns and processes of biological and cultural diversities of more than thirty river systems worldwide, including chapters on the studied rivers (see [50], for the Loire and [49], for the Dordogne). The cited and analyzed literature relevant to the research questions of our study was used here to provide supplementary information in addition to the results delivered by the interviews, but due to the great heterogeneity and number of articles, it was not considered for the textual analysis described above (Section 2.2).

2.4. Case Study Analysis

Case study as a research method is defined as ‘an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used’ [73]. It enables a holistic, in-depth investigation of a phenomenon through complete observation, reconstruction, and analysis [74]. This study used a multiple case study to investigate two French cases of riverscape management by understanding their differences and similarities, as well as analyzing the data, both within each situation and across situations [75,76,77]. Information from both the interviews and the literature surveys (Section 2.2 and Section 2.3, above) were considered here. In this way, the study widely explored the research questions and provided convincing suggestions that were intensely grounded in empirical evidence [78], aiming to make the findings valuable for other similar settings (i.e., global riverscape management).

3. Study Sites

Both studied rivers are situated in France and flow to the Atlantic. PNR LAT and MVL coordinate the conservation of biological and cultural diversity in the Middle Loire. The EPIDOR is the coordinator of the Dordogne basin. All three institutions have the common target to devise solutions for sustainable use and conservation for the respective regions but they are all different legal forms, and none of them has regulative power.

As the longest national river in France, the Loire River has a length of 1012 km and drains 117,054 km², stretching from the Mediterranean hinterland to the Atlantic Sea (for detailed analyses of the biophysical and cultural setting see [79] and [50], respectively). The studied middle stretch of the Loire River in central France has a length of 280 km and an area of 800 km². This cultural landscape was registered on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2000; it includes the main channel, floodplains, and adjacent hillslopes of the river from Sully-sur-Loire, east of Orléans, up to Chalonnes-sur-Loire, west of Angers (Figure 1). The river still has a near-natural character because of the limited number of dams in the headwater and the distance between the dikes in the middle and lower sections of the river. A series of castles make the Loire River Valley one of France’s most popular tourist destinations [50]. The UNESCO site is managed by the MVL, a Syndicat Mixte de Gestion (In France, a Syndicat Mixte is a public establishment for local cooperation which can associate territorial authorities, such as département, as well as groups of authorities, such as communauté d’agglomération) created in 2002 with the support of the two French regions, Centre-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire. By coordinating between different communalities and municipalities in the valley, MVL develops strategies to conserve and manage the biocultural heritage of the site and engages local communities in the decision-making process.

PNR LAT in the Loire Valley was created in 1996. Like MVL, it is managed by a Syndicat Mixte de Gestion created with the support of the two French regions in the middle Loire valley. Today, it is one of the 58 French regional natural parks (PNRs), which are certified every 15 years by the state, regional and local authorities. The management of PNRs consults its member communities and partners, including NGOs, supported by a scientific council. PNRs aim to combine the conservation of biodiversity and cultures with the sustainable development of agriculture, industries, and infrastructures. PNR LAT includes 116 towns and villages and covers an area of 2708.58 km². It is integrated into the EU’s Natura 2000 (The Natura 2000 network is a European policy for the preservation of biodiversity that takes into account the challenges of human activities. These sites are designated to protect a number of habitats and species representative of European biodiversity. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively. In Europe, the network represents 27,522 sites and covers 18% of the land. As of December 2018, France had 1779 sites. Nature 2000 sites are managed by local stakeholders with a steering committee defining conservation objectives and management measures for each site. These measures are then implemented in the form of charters and contracts co-financed by the European Union) network of nature protection areas (Figure 1).

The Dordogne River is 480 km long and runs through south-central and southwest France. It is the fifth largest watershed in France, with an area of 24,000 km² (see [49] and [80] for detailed analyses of the biophysical and cultural settings, respectively). Below the confluence with the Garonne River (downstream Bordeaux), the joint estuary of the two rivers flowing into the Atlantic is called Gironde. Since the last century, the upper section of the river has undergone a series of hydroelectric power dam constructions (Figure 2). The Dordogne River was designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2012, making it one of the few Biosphere Reserves in the world dedicated to an entire watershed. Some areas in its central region are fully protected by Natura 2000 rules. With an area of 24,000 km², it is the largest Biosphere reserve in France. In accordance with UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, its main target is to monitor and maintain the quality of water and aquatic environments as an indicator measuring the territory’s commitment to sustainable development. The Dordogne River basin is famous in Europe for tourism because of the cultural and architectural heritage, including a ski resort and thermal baths in the mountainous headwaters, the wine-growing landscape downstream, and various facilities for water sports such as swimming, fishing, and white-water sports [81]. The biosphere is coordinated by EPIDOR, a non-state public organization founded in 1991 and recognized in 2006 by order of the Basin Coordinator Prefect of the Adour-Garonne River basin. EPIDOR is a founding member of the French association of EPTBs (EPTBs are the Public Territorial Basin Establishments (Les Etablissements Publics Territoriaux de Bassin) in France. They are specialized mixed syndicates that act on each river catchment, which often has an interdepartmental, interregional or even international dimension) [82]. The main objectives of EPIDOR are to formulate integrated strategies for the sustainable management of the Dordogne River basin and to ensure the coordination of the Biosphere Reserve. In the last three decades, EPIDOR has facilitated dialogue and interactions between the national electricity company that uses the dams for hydropower (EdF, Électricité de France) and the public institutions of the Dordogne River basin for a joint management scheme to reduce the effects of the dam on aquatic environments and promote other activities, such as fishing, swimming, and tourism. The hydropeaking agreement also aims to reduce the impacts of the hydropower plants on other users of the river, for example, the canoe and kayak activity. There are dozens of canoe-renting professionals operating on the Dordogne and the estimated annual number of canoes per day during the summer season is about 500,000. Mediations and recommendations were made, and EdF has improved the information provided to the public. At present, there is a regular prevision given to the public concerning the powerplant operation (and the discharge flowing out of the dams) during spring and summer through its website [83].

4. Results

4.1. The Socio-Ecological Systems of the Loire and Dordogne Riverscapes, and Management Challenges

Both the Loire River Valley and the Dordogne River basin are registered on the UNESCO list due to their unique biocultural heritage formed over many centuries of interactions between the river, the land, and the populations. The chateaux and historic architecture in the Loire River Valley manifest the Renaissance history in France; the gastronomy, horticultural and agricultural practices are developed relying on the riverine environments, such as viticulture [50,84]. Agriculture (part of which is irrigated) is the economically and politically dominant activity in the Dordogne River basin. Many farms are practicing polyculture, with cattle breeding and orchards in the upstream and cereals (corn) in the downstream zone of the river [85]. At the same time, the environmental quality of the Dordogne supports many touristic activities and makes the region famous for its biological and cultural diversities [49,81].

4.1.1. The Natural Flow Regime and Biotic-Cultural Adaptations to It (River Culture)

Both rivers are subject to seasonal flow variations with a predominant flood period in winter and spring (January to March), alternating with low waters in summer and autumn (July to October). However, unpredictable fast flood events may occur throughout the year and result in a respectful and even fearful relationship with the rivers in the past. Today, damming in the headwaters has considerably reduced the flood risk. Traditions of sustainable resource use, adapted to the natural rhythm of floods and droughts in these riverscapes, have evolved in both valleys for centuries and have created strong cultural linkages with nature, such as sustainable fisheries, traditional navigation, and periodical use of resources in the floodplains [49,50]. These traditions sustain biodiversity, such as the pollard trees (see Section 4.2.3.2). Farmers are the primary water users in the Dordogne River basin [85]. They are well organized in associations but may create environmental pressures by over-drafting the water for irrigation or by discharging wastewater. In the Loire River Valley, irrigation farming is currently highly debated; on the other hand, river-bound practices continue to decline because of fewer economic benefits. For example, only two traditional fishermen remain in the middle section of the river.

4.1.2. Dams and Their Impacts

Dams prevent sediment transport from upstream, resulting in riverbed incision and disconnection of floodplains, but they also block access to spawning grounds for migratory fish. Depending on the demand for hydropower and water management at the dam, untimely summer floods may destroy bird nests on the sandbanks, or reduce the height and duration of naturally occurring floods.

The discharge of both rivers is regulated by dams that serve different purposes. At the Loire, only the headwaters are dammed for hydropower generation, flood control, and maintaining minimum water levels for cooling of nuclear power plants during dry summer periods (i.e., to provide sufficient cooling water for the nuclear power plants along the river; [79]). However, water stress often occurs in summers when the water levels are deficient [86], as with the extreme drought in 2022. On the other hand, in the Loire, joint efforts driven by the local population and NGOs such as European Rivers Network [87] resulted in that planned barrages were not constructed, and some dams were even removed in tributaries, and a joint river management plan was established (https://www.plan-loire.fr/home.html (accessed on 1 September 2022)), resulting in that the ecological integrity of the Loire River remains relatively high, which is indicated by its biodiversity [50,79].

In the Dordogne River basin, several dozen dams and reservoirs were built for hydroelectricity generation between 1920 and 1970 [49]. Altogether, they produce one-seventh of the French total hydroelectric power and are controlled by the national electricity company, Électricité de France (EdF; [85]).

A specific environmental problem in this context is the sudden release of water in periods to address sub-daily peaks in electricity demand. These rapid and frequent flow variations (‘hydropeaking’) result in deleterious effects on the fauna and flora of the stream bottom and the banks [88,89]. (see Section 4.2.3.4)

4.1.3. Conservation and Biodiversity

For both rivers, efforts to preserve biodiversity are high and yield variable results. The Loire has a still-existing population of Atlantic salmon and a relatively high fish species richness [90]. PNR LAT manages four Natura 2000 sites, including the large ‘the Loire from Ponts-de-Cé to Montsoreau and Thouet Valley’. Institutions such as the STERNE 2.0 database (Système Territorial d’Etudes et de Recherches Naturalistes et Ecologiques; http://www.sterne2.com/ (accessed on 1 September 2022), [91]), the biodiversity observatory (https://www.biodiversite-centrevaldeloire.fr/decouvrir/l-observatoire (accessed on 1 September 2022)), a document center (https://centrederessources-loirenature.com/ (accessed on 1 September 2022)) and the Loire LTER site (Zone Atelier Loire, https://www.za-loire.org (accessed on 1 September 2022)) were created to make ecological information available to the public and to coordinate research. Apart from projects for habitat restoration such as the re-mobilization of overgrown gravel bars and re-connection of floodplain water bodies [92], many projects deal with the combatting of invasive species [93]. PNR LAT also initiated the restoration of numerous floodplains, e.g., the meadows at the île de Blaison in 2013 and the Baffou marshes from 2013 to 2014 (for other related policies and actions for biodiversity conservation, refer to Appendix A).

The Dordogne River basin involves more than 20 Natura 2000 sites, mainly with wetlands, cavities and limestone hillsides. The river and its tributaries constitute a rich aquatic environment that provides essential habitats for migrating fish such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), allis shad (Alosa alosa), twaite shad (Alosa fallax), European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio), European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), and endangered mammal species such as the otter (Lutra lutra) and the European mink (Mustela lutreola). EPIDOR is the leading manager of the ‘LIFE River Dordogne’ restoration program [94], covering a 280 km long fluvial corridor with an EUR 8.8 M budget, which is financed with 60% coming from the EU. The aim of the project is to improve the ecological state of natural environments and habitats, strengthen the policies and management mechanisms, and develop the methods and know-how that can be used to continue actions after the project and allow it to be replicated in other territories. Specifics include the increase in the natural alluvial habitats, such as alluvial and riparian forests and muddy riverbanks, and the restoration of the spawning grounds of migratory fish [49].

Both the Loire and Dordogne rivers are no longer used for fluvial transportation, and their waterways are only used for tourist and leisure activities [85,95]. The longitudinal connectivity of both rivers was also improved by means of fish passages [96]. The water quality of the rivers has continuously improved since the successful implementation of the European WFD in 2000 [97], however, temperatures are continuously rising [98].

4.1.4. Tourism and Problems That Are Related to It

Ecotourism is promoted as a measure to preserve biodiversity values. It is defined as responsible travel to natural areas conserving the environment and improving the wellbeing of local people [99]. Balancing tourists’ interests with ecological requirements is a difficult task; for example, landing a kayak on sandbars may destroy or disturb bird nests (see Section 4.2.3.3). PNR LAT and EPIDOR have agreements with state police to support regulation for developing sustainable tourist activity. For example, a fine will be imposed on anyone who violates the provisions for not entering the bird breeding grounds (see Section 5.3). Other touristic activities include the use of beaches for sunbathing and bathing (the latter is mostly forbidden in the Loire and locally an important activity in the Dordogne), as well as cycling (see Section 4.2.3).

4.2. Socio-Ecological Approaches for Riverscape Management

Institutional arrangements pave the way for building an adaptive co-management scheme for complex socio-ecological systems (see challenges in Figure 3). They support collaborations and institutional interactions among user groups or communities, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations [100,101]. They also help trust-building and social learning [102].

4.2.1. The Roles of the Site Managers

The site managing institutions, MVL, PNR LAT, and EPIDOR, have no direct regulative power, but are responsible for developing recommendations and rules with local government bodies and ensuring their implementation by monitoring, supervision, and evaluation. They also attach great recognition of different needs and emphasize fair distributive arrangements among a wide range of scientific and non-scientific stakeholders; a transdisciplinary vision is placed at the core of the cooperation. In this section, we identify the specific role and functions of the site managing institutions and analyze their strategies for stakeholder involvement and conflict resolution.

4.2.1.1. Loire: Fields of Activity of the Institutions

In the Loire River Valley, MVL and PNR LAT are responsible for the socio-ecological conservation and management of the riverscape heritages. MVL (created in 2002) acts as a coordinator for the state, local authorities, and relevant stakeholders of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and develops diverse public activities. It targets preserving the cultural heritage in the Loire Valley with a gradual integration of ecological integrity, while PNR LAT is responsible for conserving species and the representative natural habitats in the protected regional park by balancing different interests, through contracts with the state. The two inter-regional joint associations create multistakeholder platforms to facilitate collaboration (see Section 4.2.2), coordinate their actions, and contribute to a transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge for long-term co-management of the riverscape. Specifically, MVL works closely with the municipality of Tours; a management framework that fits the political interest is defined during the municipal elections. However, it does not interfere much with the water basin agency (Agence de l’Eau Loire Bretagne).

PNR LAT works directly with river technicians and specifically designated authorities at the local scale. Through a contract a decree by the state, the park was created in 1996 and was renewed by decree in 2008 for 15 years (12 years plus and three additional years). It participates in the definition of the local management plan (SAGE, Schéma d’Aménagement et de Gestion des Eaux) and evaluates the river basin management plan (SDAGE, Schéma Directeur d’Aménagement et de Gestion des Eaux). The park is regularly consulted for socio-environmental impact studies, incidence studies, development projects, or technical advice in the context of the use of rivers or water resources (surface or groundwater).

4.2.1.2. Dordogne: Fields of Activity of the Institution

In the Dordogne River basin, the Dordogne Valley Summit of 1991–1992 brought 150 participants including politicians, commercial interests, and grass-roots organizations, and adopted a Valley Charter including 370 targets for water management, which became the primary reference for all future decisions concerning the river and its tributaries. The summit also led to the establishment of a new basin-wide public organization, EPIDOR, in 1991 [85]. Since then, EPIDOR has acted as a facilitator in conflicts between public institutions and local stakeholders, such as fishermen and EdF, thus contributing to overall coordination and consensus-building. The organization was recognized as an EPTB in 2006 to promote the sustainable development of the territory. In this function, it collaborates closely with the regional water authority for the Dordogne Basin (Agence de l’Eau Adour-Garonne). In 2012, the entire Dordogne River basin was classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In addition to the role of water resource manager, EPIDOR became the executive body of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and joined the world network of Biosphere Reserves [103]. In 2019, EPIDOR’s juridical status has changed to ‘Syndicat mixte ouvert’; with this new status, the New-Aquitaine region and a seventh department joined EPIDOR. In 2021, after 6 years of experimentation, 475 km of the rivers Dordogne, Isle, and Vézère were transferred from the French State to EPIDOR. EPIDOR is now the owner and manager of this public riverine domain, and is perceived as an important advocate for stakeholder involvement [104].

4.2.2. Stakeholder Involvement within the ‘Jeux d’acteurs’

Given the complexity of conflicts and challenges in the socio-ecological management of riverscapes, adaptive co-management tends to link scientists with resource users, government managers, and other stakeholders in collaborative problem-solving (Figure 4) [4]. Every manager of a dedicated site faces the problem of dealing with stakeholders at widely different levels of interest and of organization. On the one hand, site management requires synthesizing the interests of different user groups, lobbies, NGOs, and communalities to develop management plans and integrate them into a management plan that complies with the overall goals of the site (and the specific objectives of the type of site, e.g., a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve). On the other hand, the management plan needs to align with plans by other institutions that often have regulatory power, such as the river basin agencies (i.e., Water Agencies in France), regional or national governments, or large economic players such as electricity providers (Figure 5 and Figure 6). Therefore, the measures and forms of stakeholder involvement are the keys to the success of managing the riverscape’s socio-ecological complexity.

4.2.2.1. Mission Val de Loire

‘There are four levels: Vu (seen) = tourist, vécu (lived) = inhabitant, su (known) = worker on the field, administré (managed) = politics. The key lies in knowing where to act at each of these four levels. [...] The power of the Mission Val the Loire is not very significant; therefore, it is important to know exactly where to apply the power—we act as a mediation actor.’ (Bruno Marmiroli, Director of the MVL)

MVL is committed to advising the local community, the inhabitants, and politicians. It organizes regular meetings (i.e., mediation meetings, meetings of local authorities, and regional meetings) to inform and counsel authorities in more than 160 communes within the heritage site. These meetings also provide an exchange platform among different local actors and enable the co-production of knowledge through workshops and interactive events. Since 2017, heritage conservation has to be taken into account by local authorities in the Loire Valley when drafting urban plans (PLU (Local Urban Plan) and PLUi (Local Intermunicipal Urban Plan)), and MVL supports these by assessing how urban planning may interfere with heritage values. It also communicates directly with citizens by publishing action sheets for projects taking place in the Loire Heritage site every three years. Since 2002, MVL organizes a public meeting every two years, the ‘Rendez-vous du Val de Loire’, gathering more than 500 participants each time to share their visions of heritage protection and promoting local projects. Conferences, discussions, and exhibitions (e.g., ‘Regards de Loire’, a photographic exhibition at the Tours Château on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO inscription of the Loire River Valley [105]) are developed to introduce the cultural heritage of the Loire riverscape as well as to raise public awareness on heritage protection.

Citizens and the broad public are actively engaged in the management process. Inspired by the granted legal personhood of the Whanganui River in New Zealand in 2017, an urban planning laboratory in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Tours), le POLAU-pôle arts & urbanisme, initiated the project of the Loire parliament (le Parlement de Loire, https://polau.org/incubations/demarche-du-parlement-de-loire/ (accessed on 1 September 2022)) in 2019. This project is aimed at defending the rights of the Loire River and recognizes the river as a legal personality. It unfolds through a cycle of public hearings, publications and reports, arts and science events, and scientific studies, with the parliament’s commission composed of writers, archaeologists, architects, the MVL, researchers, and philosophers. In March and April 2022, in partnership with the Urban Planning Agency of the Agglomeration of Tours in France (l’Agence d’Urbanisme de l’Agglomération de Tours, ATU), the Loire parliament conducted a survey and a public hearing on bathing in the Loire River [106].

4.2.2.2. PNR LAT

‘PNR LAT works in a particular way with the stakeholders, establishing a European program (i.e., Natura 2000) mainly on the public domain of natural rivers but also on the private domain. The work makes us constantly negotiate and cooperate with the State and different regional actors to find the most appropriate way for management...For example, the riverbed is owned and ruled by the state, we hereby cooperate with the state, specifically on vegetation management. [...] The decisions of the Pilot Committee (CoPil) have a legal character and are binding. PNR LAT then seeks financial support for the project and he is responsible for the results.’ (Guillaume Delaunay, Head of Biodiversity and Landscape Department in PNR LAT)

Reconciling heritage preservation and local socio-economic development, PNR LAT works with the public and with local stakeholders such as farmers, fishermen, and landowners, and engages more with the state and regional authorities of the river basin, as well as private sectors. The park acts as a territorial facilitator. Its activities are supported by the European Natura 2000 and other programs, the state, and the region. It develops its projects for biodiversity conservation and provides technical and financial support, such as compensating for the economic losses due to conservation practices, and delivers programs for environmental education with ca. 100 events per year. The Natura 2000 program defines the targets for protecting species and habitat types in PNR LAT. Specific projects focus on rare species conservation (e.g., bats, Montagu’s harrier), conservation and management of rare habitats (e.g, meadows with Pulicaria vulgaris, or fritillary lily or riparian plant associations such as Chenopodion rubrii or Bidention tripartitae) and control of invasive species (e.g., the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) with a specific LIFE program named CROAA [107]).

PNR LAT works with local authorities on master planning, such as the preservation of natural landscapes, while assisting in the drafting of the PLU and PLUi (see Section 4.2.2.1 MVL for definitions). The Public Establishment for the Loire Basin (https://www.eptb-loire.fr/ accessed on 1 September 2022) is responsible for water and flood risk management at the river basin level and controls the water level in the Loire by managing the dams in the upstream section. PNR LAT thus communicates and/or negotiates with it regularly. Special attention is paid to reserving water during drought or avoiding untimely releases of water. However, sometimes incidents occur; for instance, in the late spring of 2020, a large quantity of water was released by upstream dams and created a flood crest that overflowed sandbanks, drowning eggs and fledglings of sterns on sand banks and destroying bird nests in the entire Middle Loire.

Local stakeholders (i.e., farmers, private fishermen, and wine growers) participate in the management of PNR LAT with strong lobby groups. For decision-making on specific projects, PNR LAT establishes a steering committee (CoPil, comité de pilotage, composed of NGOs, the state, local authorities, and local actors) and organizes meetings with various stakeholders, scientists, site managers, state authorities, and NGOs to find consensus. An exemplary project is the ecological restoration of la Boire du Chapeau, a 2.25 ha oxbow along the Loire River located inside the natural park. In 2017, the city of Saumur led the reclamation and restoration of it in partnership with PNR LAT. A large community of stakeholders worked together to keep the water in the oxbow as long as possible, restoring meadows and forests for biodiversity purposes, i.e., with controlled grazing by specific cattle races.

Several NGOs, such as regional SOS Loire Vivante and the national League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) are involved in meetings, consultation, and conservation practices. In addition, they are responsible for specific data collection. For example, LPO counts the breeding bird species in the park, and the data are communicated to the regional conservation authority Regional Directorates for the Environment, Planning, and Housing (Directions régionales de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et du Logement, DREAL). Research institutes, such as the interdisciplinary research center CITERES (Cités, Territoires, Environnement et Sociétés, http://citeres.univ-tours.fr/ (accessed on 1 September 2022)) at the University of Tours, conduct research projects and educational activities on-site, and/or participate in the scientific council of PNR LAT.

4.2.2.3. EPIDOR

‘The maintenance of partnerships and contracts requires persistence and continuous exchange. Trustfulness is key. The stakeholders have trust in experience—experience working with EPIDOR. [...] EPIDOR builds its actions on consensus and tries to find solutions suitable for everyone, through interactive discussions to find consensus. No actions are taken against the will of the stakeholders, and orders are not made through strength or restrictions. [...] Long-term relationships, looking for issues of joint interest and trying to stay in touch and cooperate even when the relationship is under pressure, are very important for good cooperation.’ (Olivier Guerri, deputy director of EPIDOR)

EPIDOR has long experience and expertise in biodiversity conservation. It works in collaboration with the Adour-Garonne water agency (Agence de l’eau Adour-Garonne), the state, and local authorities. It also works closely with local stakeholders such as fishermen and farmers, who have strong lobby groups, and assumes the role of mediator to resolve certain situations of conflict. In 1999, EPIDOR set up a participatory approach to deal with the water level issues and reduced the conflicts by achieving a hydropeaking agreement with the water agency and EdF to ensure the needs and interests of dam operators, fishermen, and environmentalists, resulting in a strong reduction of the adverse effects of hydropeaking [108]. Other projects are initiated with local departments and municipalities. For example, EPIDOR started a project with four municipalities along Dordogne-Corrèze-Lot and invited 120 organizations to create a network for environmental education in the region. EPIDOR considers education very important and holds public meetings regularly; people can freely access information and policies. In 2020, EPIDOR coordinated a six-year EU LIFE project that aims to restore the habitats of migratory fish species, such as Atlantic salmon, sea lamprey, and allis shad, in three Natura 2000 sites of the Dordogne River [94]. Since January 2021, EPIDOR became the owner of the Public Fluvial Domain (DPF) (The Public Fluvial Domain (DPF) in France corresponds to the lower bed of rivers and lakes. It is considered a public domain under French public law managed essentially by the state) in place of the state after six years of experimentation. A new DPF management program was developed with other public actors to stimulate sustainable management in the watershed [109]. EPIDOR exerts considerable efforts to build partnerships with external experts, NGOs, and universities. Ecotourism is currently promoted with cycling and pedestrian tracks along the valley and kayaking in the river. EPIDOR tries to create a basin-scale joint committee to manage all departmental itineraries in order to enhance the competitiveness of international tourism, with support from the national project ‘Contrat de destination’ (destination contracts [110]). Additionally, EPIDOR actively participates in national and international cooperation programs within the network of Biosphere Reserve, French EPTPs, and others.

4.2.2.4. Cooperations beyond the Local Riverscape

Both the Loire River and Dordogne River valleys are included in the 20 flagship destinations in France by the ‘destination contracts’ supported by the state. This plan aims to strengthen the attractiveness and international competitiveness of French destinations with a strong regional identity.

International agencies such as UNESCO advocate the North–South–South dialogue in many aspects, including environmental management. The UNESCO recognition is considered a key tool for heritage conservation, but also for promoting international tourism at both study sites [111]. At the Loire, MVL maintains the international network of UNESCO Heritage Sites and the national network of the French World Heritage Sites Association (Association des Biens Français du Patrimoine Mondial, ABFPM). The international collaborative project Niger-Loire, led by UNESCO, was carried out from 2007 to 2011 to build the technical and institutional capacity of local authorities bordering the Niger River in Mali with lessons learned from the Loire River Valley [92,112] and the Nam Khan River partnership by MVL and PNR LAT, which intended to establish a regional nature park in Lao RDP.

In the Dordogne River basin, the Dordogne Biosphere Reserve conducts international cooperation under the UNESCO MAB international network (https://en.unesco.org/mab (accessed on 1 September 2022)). The French MAB committee organizes study trips, training courses, meetings, and exchanges in connection with the French Biodiversity Agency (l’Office Française pour la Biodiversité, OFB, https://www.ofb.gouv.fr (accessed on 1 September 2022). MAB France supports the creation of the first Biosphere Reserve in Moldova to build a transboundary reserve of the Danube Delta; exchanges are also made between the Dordogne River and the Austrian government, which plans to protect the Danube River section flowing through Austrian territory. In addition, the Dordogne River has worked with the Jacques Cartier River in Quebec, Canada, since the 1970s on scientific and technical cooperation for restoring the aquatic environments and increasing their salmon resources, as both rivers have been home to Atlantic salmon (S. salar), and contributing to its nomination for Canadian Heritage River status.

4.2.3. Identify and Resolve Conflicts

‘The main duty of MVL is to explain equitable ways between ecology, cultural heritage and society to the stakeholders. [...] The biological and cultural aspects have to be combined for the successful management of the site. [...] Currently, an attempt is made to integrate ecology more into the work. [...] the next plan (to be written in 2021) needs to include ecology and biodiversity, as the old plan mainly focused on infrastructure and territory development.’ (Bruno Marmiroli, Director of the MVL)

‘The philosophy of the PNR LAT includes the local people in the conservation instead of excluding them from the landscape. [...] One lesson is the essentiality of farmers, as it is impossible to conserve meadows without farmers.’ (Guillaume Delaunay, Head of Biodiversity and Landscape Department in PNR LAT)

‘It is difficult to make quick decisions as it takes time to find joint solutions. This is especially difficult with lobby groups, so when there is a blockage, an attempt is made to find alternative ways to avoid polemics. Situations can develop differently than originally planned.’ (Olivier Guerri, Deputy director of EPIDOR)

While riverscapes provide diverse ecosystem services with restored ecosystem functions and become popular tourist destinations, new societal needs arise which may induce conflicts between humans and nature. In addition, the institutional arrangement may also create conflicts resulting from the dynamics of power inherent in novel institutional arrangements [113].

To identify the specific types of riverscape management conflicts, we used cluster analysis on the interview textual corpus, resulting in six main co-occurring word classes extracted as clusters with variable relative weight and significant forms (Figure 7 and Figure 8). In decreasing order by size, Cluster 3 was the largest cluster including 21% of texts, and mainly focused on aspects related to the conflicting interests between preserving the natural and cultural landscapes in the Loire River valley, followed by Cluster 6 (19% of texts) focusing the water use conflicts under the control of hydroelectric dams mainly in the Dordogne River basin; Cluster 1 (17.7% of texts, ‘local interest vs. riverscape management’); Cluster 4 (15.7% of texts, ‘social benefits vs. ecological resilience’), the latter two with equal shares in both river sites. The last two clusters are clusters 2 and 5, both including 13.3% of texts, focusing on ‘tourism development vs. ecological conservation’ and ‘cultural practice vs. nature conservation,’ respectively, both in the Loire River valley. In the following, we present and discuss each cluster as a specific type of conflict in riverscape management and provide examples of conflict resolution. Where needed, the issues for Loire and Dordogne rivers are kept in separate text sections, in order to include the site-specific, first-hand experience of the respective managers.

4.2.3.1. Loire: Natural Landscape vs. Cultural Landscape

Since the maintenance of the banks for commercial navigation on the Loire River has been abandoned, the habitats are better preserved, but the riverbed incision favors the stabilization of sand bars, and more and more of the riparian zone is overgrown by natural tree vegetation (see review in [50]), which reduces the visibility of the river and the historical buildings and the cultural landscape registered as UNESCO heritage site. Conflicts emerge debating whether the forest with its ecological dynamics (especially in floodplains) should be maintained, or if trees should be cut to make the châteaux visible to ‘recreate’ the historical scenery. A solution is the ‘Windows on the Loire’ (Fenêtres sur la Loire) project in 2013 and 2014 to enhance the visibility of the cultural landscapes of Loire Valley and the Loire River [114]. The works identified 36 windows and started in 2014 in the municipalities of Ménars, Saint Denis-sur-Loire, and La Chaussée Saint-Victor by felling and pruning some trees on the banks of the river, prioritizing the ‘window views’ of the popular cycling route La Loire à Vélo. Considering the ecological sensitivity of the site, the work was only carried out in winter to disturb birds as little as possible [115].

4.2.3.2. Loire: Cultural Practice vs. Nature Conservation

An intangible river-related cultural heritage is traditional farming, grazing, and fishing, which have been severely depleted as these professions are not economically feasible anymore in the Loire River Valley, and they have a weak lobby group. The last few remaining professional fishermen have contributed to conservation planning by reporting catch data relevant to stock estimations of endangered migratory fish species such as allis shad and eel (e.g., the Monitoring eel colonization of the Cher basin—2020 project carried out by the Loire Public Establishment), but recently, strict conservation rules and quality thresholds make this collaboration more and more difficult, despite the fact that leisure anglers continue to catch these species.

In the case of fallow management in the floodplain, a specific project for the conservation of natural meadows by traditional agricultural activities, L’éleveur et l’oiseau ([116,117]; Figure 9), was developed for the farmers in the Mayenne, Sarthe, Loir, and Loire valleys near Angers, to provide habitats, i.a., for the rare corn crake (Crex crex), a rail-like bird species, and the marsh fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) plant. Periods and selection of goat or cattle races for grazing and mowing practices were specifically adapted to support the target species (i.e., sufficiently late in the year to allow reproduction) and biodiversity in general [118]. Moreover, mowing is only carried out at limited speed with ‘a scaring bar’ or a centrifugal circuit with ‘refuge bands’ to allow nesting birds or other animals to flee during mowing. In winter, when the meadows are flooded, the cattle are fed with hay produced in the floodplain during summer.

Another example is the maintenance of old trees for safeguarding biodiversity, such as beetles and bats. Special contracts are made to maintain the pollard trees (willows, poplar, ash, oak) that are regularly cut at the height of about 1.5 m to produce wood used for braiding or other purposes, and the floodplain meadows that shelter an extensive biodiversity of insects, birds, and mammals. Furthermore, the PNR LAT park office provides selling services for its agricultural products, to make them more popular.

4.2.3.3. Loire: Tourism Development vs. Ecological Conservation

The UNESCO World Heritage site The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes is an effective brand for destination marketing. In 2019, with the region’s celebration of 500 years of the Renaissance, the Centre-Val de Loire region received 9.4 million visitors in total, of which 18% were foreigners. Tourism spendings reached EUR 3.4 billion, representing 5% of the regional GDP [119]. Conflicts occur when tourist behaviors are not compatible with the need for ecological conservation. An example is canoeing in the PNR LAT: several enterprises offering canoeing are autonomous, and it is not easy to control their activities. A solution was devised through an agreement between the park and the police: a fine must be paid if tourists enter the protected sandbanks during the breeding season.

Another solution is the development of ecotourism, such as the 900-km cycle route La Loire à Vélo along the Loire River [120], with more than 300 service stops, offering visitors the opportunity for in-depth experiences and to wander, rest and recover in the tranquil scenery of riverscapes. In 2012, La Loire à Vélo was estimated to have had an economic impact of EUR 17 million [121]. In 2019, La Loire à Vélo in the Centre-Val de Loire region recorded more than 47,000 bikes per meter cycling path [119].

4.2.3.4. Dordogne: Water to Generate Electricity vs. Water to Maintain the Ecosystem

On the one hand, the hydropower plant of the river takes a strategic part in adjusting the electricity supply–demand balance in real-time, and contributes to the safety of the French and European electricity systems. On the other hand, it impacts the aquatic environment (vegetation, fishes, and amphibians) and other uses of the river (angling, aquatic leisure, and tourism). In France, hydropeaking management concerns 144 of about 600 large dams [88]; there are no legal thresholds for hydropeaking, and rules are negotiated case by case [89]. In the Dordogne River basin, the ‘hydropeaking challenge’ (2004), and finally the agreement on hydropeaking control to ‘reduce the impact of hydropower plants on the Dordogne basin’ for the period 2008–2012, was signed by the state, the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, EdF, and EPIDOR, with varied operational mitigation measures. Since then, the agreement has regularly been prolonged. Such measures included, for example, preventing dewatering of spawning grounds of salmon and brown trout (Salmo trutta); minimum flows shall be increased from 10 m³/s to 30 m³/s and even 80 m³/s from mid-November to mid-May, assuring that 90% of the spawning grounds will stay underwater [122]. The optimization of existing fish ladders is also necessary for the conservation of migratory freshwater species ascending the river for spawning, such as the ‘fish lift’ at the Tuilières dam. The agreement reduced the hydropower conflict and allowed for the testing of new ways to operate the power plants (specific rules to respect minimum discharge and discharge variation speed). Working together, EPIDOR and EdF also improved the information provided to the public. At present, there is a regular prevision given to the public through an internet website [83] concerning the powerplant operating (and the discharge flowing out of the dams) during spring and summer. The hydropeaking agreement also takes into account the importance of other major activities, such as the canoe–kayak activity. Dozens of canoe-renting professionals currently operate on the Dordogne. The estimated annual number of canoes rented is about 500,000.

4.2.3.5. Loire and Dordogne: Local Interest vs. Riverscape Management

In France, the Water Agencies provide consultation for management in the entire watershed, but their competencies at the local level are restricted, so site managers have to juggle between basin-wide and local policies. For the Loire, a solution adopted by MVL is to connect local projects, particularly regarding riverscape heritage protection, to the political interests of the municipalities and suit them for the current political landscapes, which are often drafted during the mayoral election period and gain political support.

At the Dordogne site, EPIDOR has overcome the problem that most conservation programs focus only on individual conservation areas or restoration projects along the river, driven by different regional or local actors, by providing basin-wide coordination, e.g., since 2017, the ‘Dordogne 2050’ project, involving all stakeholders of the basin [81]. EPIDOR also resolves conflicts among local stakeholders, e.g., the case of the invasive catfish (Silurus glanis). This species is highly appreciated as game fish by anglers, however, it has a strongly negative effect on the local and migratory fish fauna. EPIDOR, therefore, discussed with all relevant stakeholders and found a joint solution with the support of provisional fishing, regular scientific monitoring of the species in the fish passages at dams, and the commercialization of catfish meat in gastronomy (rather than catch-and-release).

4.2.3.6. Loire and Dordogne: Social Benefits vs. Ecological Resilience

A specific use-conflict between humans and nature in both studied riverscapes is damming. Solutions balancing between flood protection/hydropower production and ecosystem functioning include actions to reduce their environmental impacts, within the trend under the government’s goal to attain ‘good ecological status’ for all French rivers following the WFD [123]. At the Loire, an attempt was made to erase, decommission or reconfigure old dams in tributaries, such as partly removing the Poutès dam in the Allier River, and the non-construction of planned rivers in the mainstem [50,124]. The Dordogne River basin changed the way of dam operation with a hydropeaking control to limit the ecological impacts (see Section 4.2.3.4). In a second step, facing the lack of water and sediments in floodplains, erosion, and deposition of sediments, some constructed embankments were removed to restore floodplain habitats and favor the reinstallation of natural vegetation (e.g., poplar and willow, sandy gravelly beaches, vegetated islands, and alluvial woodlands). A similar sediment-mobilization process also took place in the Loire River basin [125]. Lastly, MVL, PNR LAT, and EPIDOR made significant efforts to engage river-related stakeholders and local communities in collective policymaking, creating a shared understanding of human–riverscape interactions and associated trade-offs. Their experiential, aesthetic, and cultural appreciations are integrated and encouraged for the stewardship of riverscapes.

5. Discussion and Synthesis

Today, management issues on water and territory are too often dissociated. In river-related conservation programs, rivers are often seen as the boundary of the protected area, or only the river (i.e., the aquatic environment) is considered in conservation programs, neglecting the aquatic–terrestrial transition zone, where humans and other biota interact with water [12]. Facing the new challenge of the loss of biocultural diversity and under the increasing uncertainty induced by climate change, conserving and managing riverscapes with a transdisciplinary socio-ecological approach explicitly recognizes the coevolutionary pattern, the coupling of a social system with ecological and hydrological systems, and requires integrating diverse stakeholder knowledge in participatory decision-making [12,126]. The two case studies, Loire River Valley and Dordogne River basin, present positive examples in this regard (see the following sections, as well as a series of integrative plans and policies, which are presented in the Annex).

5.1. Jeu d’acteurs (Site Managers’ Interactions with Different Types and Levels of Stakeholders)

Innovative institutional arrangements, such as MVL and PNR LAT in the Loire River Valley and EPIDOR in the Dordogne River basin, are created to guarantee stakeholder involvement, facilitate between the local, regional, and state authorities, and ensure the comprehensive implementation of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. They also represent the public organizations that coordinate top-down and bottom-up governance decisions (see also [21]). In management practices, conflicts among biodiversity conservation, landscape aesthetics, tourism development, and local and regional development are explicitly identified and often resolved through effective communication and collaboration among ecologists, social scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers [127]. Sustainable tourism is encouraged at both river sites, and international cooperation (e.g., support for Global North–South cooperation on river basin management) is carried out with the UNESCO international networks. The social-ecological approach they adopt embeds the conservation of riverine ecosystems into the complex socioeconomic, political, and cultural realms. Specifically, the natural character of the river, (i.e., the river’s ecological well-being) is increasingly ‘given a voice’ [32], for example, through the organization of the Loire parliament. Such an initiative is in line with the trend of worldwide recognition of natural rivers with the potential for legal personhood [43,128]. This further confirms the importance of human–river relationships (River Culture), not only as a facilitator for transferring sustainable management solutions into practice, but also as a source of strategies that can be used for this management, respecting the local socio-ecological background and political structures [12,13].

5.2. Lessons for Other Designated River Sites

The Dordogne Basin Biosphere Reserve and the Loire Valley World Heritage site are designated riverine sites. Only a few other designated sites of this type cover entire watersheds (

Table 3. Examples of designated river sites including references.

Name	Country	Size	Protection Type	Protection Purpose	References
Delta del Paraná Biosphere Reserve	Argentina	887.14 km2	Biosphere reserve	Natural	[129]
Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve	Germany	3428.47 km2	Biosphere reserve	Natural and cultural	[130,131]
Five-country Biosphere Reserve Mura–Drava–Danube	Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia	9328.2 km2	Biosphere reserve	Natural and Cultural	[132]
Lower Valley of the Omo	Ethiopia	165 km2	UNSECO World Heritage Site	Natural and Cultural	[133]
Paris, Banks of the Seine	France	3.65 km2	UNSECO World Heritage Site	Cultural	[134]
Riverland Ramsar site	Australia	306.4 km2	Ramsar site	Natural	[59]
Tara River Basin Biosphere Reserve	Montenegro	1628.89 km2	Biosphere reserve	Natural	[135]
Terres de l’Ebre Biosphere reserve	Spain	3677.296 km2	Biosphere Reserve(covers a World Heritage site)	Natural	[136]
Trebon Basin Biosphere reserve	Czech Republic	700 km2	Biosphere reserve	Natural	[137]
Upper Middle Rhine Valley	Germany	272.5 km2	UNSECO World Heritage site	Natural and cultural	[138]

) but most of them have overlapping socio-environmental management issues.

Only a few examples can be mentioned here and compared with our study sites. The Biosphere reserve Mura–Drava–Danube is the first to cover an area in five different countries: Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia. It was established in 2021 and includes four previously designated biosphere reserves. It covers the ‘largest and best-preserved river system in Central Europe and serves as a showcase for international management’ [132]. The Austrian site accommodates many hydropower dams, which makes it particularly interesting with respect to the situation of the Dordogne in our study [139]. Two LIFE projects and Natura 2000 contributed to the restoration of the Drava, serving as a ‘flagship restoration case’ with measures including the removal of bank protection structures, as well as the widening of the riverbed [140].

The Biosphere reserve along the middle section of the Elbe River contains the largest contiguous floodplain forests in Central Europe through five German federal states [131]. Similar to the Loire and Dordogne sites, the Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve has to mitigate problems connected to extreme water events, hydrological alterations, and conflicts between conservation and energy production, as well as threats to migratory birds, and the management of the river as an international navigation route provides additional challenges. To tackle the continuous dike failures and the lack of space to mitigate floods in Lenzen, near Brandenburg, the dikes were relocated to regain a natural flooding regime. Comparably to the sites in France, the involvement and cooperation of stakeholders were essential for the success of this project. Putting a project into active cooperation with the government and other stakeholders is important, and like EPIDOR cooperates with the EdF, the Elbe Biosphere Reserve cooperates with the local agricultural holding company [141]. The conflict between nature and the production of energy, in form of biomass in the Elbe Biosphere reserve, hydropower in the Dordogne, or dams on the Loire, is a common theme.

The Upper Rhine River is subject to habitat fragmentation and severe modification, and is severely impacted by navigation, agriculture, and, similarly to the Dordogne, the production of hydropower [142]. Amongst the solutions were the establishment of fish passes, the reconnection and creation of side channels, species reintroduction, habitat rehabilitation, and the supply of gravel. The lack of sediments, the lacking power of the water to transport these sediments, and the insufficient space for the development of floodplains where erosion and deposition of sediments happen, also occur in the Loire. To create habitats in the Vieux Rhine at Strasbourg, artificial erosion was initiated and sediments were released [143]. International collaboration was crucial to make this possible. Additionally, international cooperation and systematic wastewater treatment improved the water quality [144]. Concerning exchanges with the UNESCO heritage site Middle Rhine valley, the Rhine site works on a light concept, which is strongly connected to tourism and the conservation of monuments. Cooperation between the Loire and the Rhine UNESCO heritage sites could help to compare and optimize management by combining cultural and ecological aspects.

5.3. Identify Best Management Practices

There is a large degree of heterogeneity in local water governance, just as there are differences in the biophysical properties of cities that influence ecohydrology [145] but there are also overarching issues that arise from comparisons at a larger scale. In the following, we outline a preliminary list of different challenges and assign the respective best management practices (

Table 4. Description of each best management practice and associated challenges.

Challenges	Best Management Practices	Examples	Sources
Invasive species (out-competition of native species, transmission of diseases, unprecedented ecosystem engineering)	Regular scientific monitoring of the species and its abundance. Detect, inspect, and create maps and databases. Create a quarantine system. Regulated, traditional fishing. Become part of the regional, national, or international observation network, share data, and exchange knowledge as well as management methods, e.g., field/airborne observations, eDNA sampling.	Silurus glanis in Dordogne River basin Invasive animals and plants in the Loire Valley	[147,148]
Unsustainable tourism (excessive numbers of visitors, disturbance of animal populations and/or habitats, trampling, littering)	Regulate tourist activities; work with the state police with measures for monitoring, controlling, and penalties. Designate specific areas for new activities, e.g., kite surfing. Undertake education and publicity for tourist enterprises about environment protection, cooperate with them on developing eco-tourism, e.g., organizing eco-tours.	A uniform notice board alerting canoeists to avoid beaching on breeding grounds A fine will be imposed on anyone who violates the provisions for not entering the bird breeding grounds Promotion of La Loire à Vélo	[47,120]
Water pollution in rivers (excessive nutrient input causing eutrophication, the release of toxic or hormone-like substances)	Reduce the external nutrient loading at sewage works, increase the use of phosphate-free detergents, establish regulations of storage for animal manure, improve animal manure application practices. Create a crop-free buffer zone along the river, and integrate it with river ecological restoration projects, e.g., re-meandering of streams. Prevent pollution from boat sewage, e.g., install toilets on all boats operating on the river; impose fines for littering.	Pollution control measures implemented with the European Water Framework Directive	Water Agencies (e.g., [149])
Morphological impacts by damming, straightening or channelization of the river, fixation of the riverbanks by riprap or concrete, interruption of the river-floodplain connectivity	(Partly) replace the concrete embankments with nature-based solutions, restore floodplains and river-floodplain connectivity, and create side channels. Remove obsolete dams, and equip dams with fish passes and fish stairs. Adopt an integrated watershed management scheme. Restore oxbows	The ‘fish lift’ at the Tuilières dam on the Dordogne River Partial removal of the Poutès dam on the upper Allier River (Loire tributary) Restoration of oxbows, e.g., Boire du Chapeau	[150,151,152]
Altered river flow patterns due to flow management	Restore or mimic the river’s natural flow regime. Distribute a discharge calendar. Conduct anthropological research (with or by scientists) Create a water-use permitting system and protect and restore the environmental flows by modifying dam operations. Hydropeaking agreement with dam operators (e.g., EdF) and the state. Create a decision support system (involve relevant stakeholders, hold public meetings and hearings). Mediate between energy providers and downstream water users.	Hydropeaking control agreement“ Calendrier des debits” (helps users understand the flow patterns) An anthropological study examining how people perceived the flow patterns (especially in the Upper Valley) and helping to understand their broader social impacts	[83,109]
Invade floodplains by urban sprawl or development (e.g., construction of parking grounds)	Develop zoning bylaws that restrict certain development activities in riparian areas. Provide artificial sediment supply to maintain and/or restore floodplain habitats. Restore riparian areas with ecological design, e.g., multifunctionality with nature-based solutions, and meld them into the urban fabric.	The project L’éleveur et l’oiseau	[117]
Excessive release of water or water abstraction for agricultural/industrial use	Improve water use efficiency and equity. Establish a timely communication system at the river basin scale, especially between upstream–downstream. Keep a minimum water level (e.g., in oxbows) during drought.	Hydropeaking control in Dordogne River	[149,153]
Climate-induced changes in river flooding in terms of the size and frequency, as well as for droughts	Ensure the function of water level monitoring and early warning systems for river floods. Reinforce the flood protection system of riverside cities.
Lack of flood memory, flood is underestimated or misperceived by the population	Create a flood risk culture; organize public activities, use installations and historical marks of high waters to re-construct collective memories of flooding; build flood resilience among the population through public education. Carefully restore natural flood events, and make people appreciate natural floods.	‘Flood day (Jour inondable)’ artistic project in 2012	[154]
Lack of data and/or data coherency	Collect and consolidate data from different resources, e.g., NGOs, to create a database.	SOS Loire Vivante on monitoring dam removal Database on biodiversity for the entire Loire (e.g., sediment budget, hydrology) aiming to create a coherent picture	[87,155]
Lack of financial resources for ecological restoration, heritage conservation, etc.	Make the project’s prospects fit into the political interest. Seek funds to build international partnerships, e.g., from the EU, UNESCO, etc. Develop economic activities such as tourism and generate incomes for relevant stakeholders, e.g., farmers and fishermen.	EU’s LIFE CROAA project at Loire and LIFE River Dordogne program	[94,107]
Difficulties in engaging with a wider public	Organize interactive activities with the public, e.g., exhibitions, photo competitions, workshops, and public meetings. Use social media platforms, e.g., Facebook, to improve public engagement.	‘Regards de Loire’ exhibition at the Tours Chateau	[156]
Difficulties in engaging with stakeholders	Involve the interests of different stakeholders with open discussion and joint goals and solutions. Coordinate top-down and bottom-up management and governance decisions, identify the role of facilitators, e.g., MVL and PNR LAT. Create a steering committee to establish a long-term co-governance structure.	A steering committee (Copil, le comité de pilotage) with mixed stakeholders MVL conducts visioning exercises with the stakeholders e.g., based on historical documents Large meetings every 10 years with all stakeholders for renewal of the Vallée de Dordogne Charta	[47,109]
Lack of international cooperation, especially between Global North and Global South	Take advantage of the international networks, e.g., UNESCO, to promote North–South–South exchange and cooperation.	The Niger-Loire project	[157]
Difficulties in maintaining traditional cultural activities linked to the river (e.g., inadequate economic values)	Seek local practices that are beneficial for safeguarding native biodiversity and sign contracts with the practitioners. Seek financial assistance from regional or state institutions, and encourage communities to maintain traditional fishing, agriculture, etc. with the compensation of economic losses due to the conservation practices. Promote selling of the products with official labels of quality and origin, e.g., AOP/AOC (AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée, Controlled Designation of Origin) is a French label used to classify a product whose authenticity and originality comes from its geographical origin and the way it’s made. It is the highest level of designation. AOP (otherwise known as the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)) is the European equivalent of the AOC). Develop environmentally friendly tourism, e.g., cycling and pedestrian routes, and kayaking.	800 km cycle route of la Loire à vélo Loire Valley Wines Promotion of sustainable grazing in the Loire valley	[117,120,158]
Decreasing care for nature and interest in conserving the nature	Improve environmental education and cultivate environmental awareness in schools, and offer outdoor learning courses. Offer physical spaces and opportunities for people to interact with nature, e.g., wildlife photography and urban bird feeding. Create a public platform to introduce local biodiversity, and make flora and fauna appreciated by people.	ABC Atlas Contrat de destination to develop international tourism	[110,159]

) as a synthesis of the case studies of the Loire River Valley and the Dordogne River basin (Table 2), but we also included approaches from other river-related, dedicated sites (Table 3). By delivering examples of practical solutions, this list may serve as a first step to developing a complete databank for the best management practices of designated conservation sites of riverscapes. Specifically, we hope to provide a tool promoting the North–South–South dialogue with interdisciplinary solutions in sustainably managing global inland hydro-systems [146].

6. Conclusions

Despite many dedicated sites (e.g., UNESCO World Heritage Sites) bearing the name of rivers (or lakes), only very few of them actually include the socio-ecological nature of the hydrosystems and their floodplains in the conservation and/or management strategy. This study reveals the locally-specific features, but also the common issues in the management of dedicated sites that are connected to rivers. The experiences of the site managers have been highlighted, as this knowledge has hardly ever been made available to the concerned public. Examples were given of how site managers cope with different types of (i) social and environmental problems, (ii) stakeholders and public participation, and (iii) legal–political backgrounds, and moreover, how solutions can be implemented despite very restricted normative power and sponsoring. Comparisons with the case studies of the Loire and Dordogne rivers, both in France, and the preliminary review of Best Management Practices, may help site managers and planners in other geographical regions. A systematic and open-public databank for hydrosystem site management (independent of the type of dedicated site) is urgently needed to improve efficiency and avoid redundant trials. Such a databank should expose types of problems and associate them with the respective types of specific solutions in different socio-environmental settings. However, we are fully aware of the problem that solution approaches can not be copy-pasted from one site to another. The social structure (and thereby, the decision-making process), the biophysical setting (thus, the precise type of the problem(s) to be settled), the political setting (local to transboundary), and the societal “zeitgeist” (corresponding to the interest of the society in the proposed solutions) may differ considerably, as we discussed in the context of urban waterbodies and stream daylighting [52]. A comparison of success stories of projects, taking into account these four “spheres,” may help to gain inspirations for innovative problem-solving in specific sites, and represents a beginning of translational, transboundary, and transdisciplinary research, which is urgently needed to speed up the transfer of solutions from one site to others.

We hope that this pioneering study will support further action (a) to integrate the watery elements of already-existing dedicated sites into their management concepts, (b) to incentivize the creation of hydrosystem-focused dedicated sites worldwide, (c) to facilitate communication among site managers, and between them and the academia, and (d) to motivate further studies of this kind for other biomes or North/South collaborations.

Finally, our paper makes a plea for better cooperation between the different institutions dealing with dedicated sites, and for harmonization of and more connectivity between different types of dedicated sites across administrative and political borders.