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Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience
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Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 19020

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Robert L. Wilby

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Loughborough University
Interests: hydroclimatology; regional climate change; downscaling; climate impacts; freshwater environments; heatwaves; floods; droughts
Dr. Harriet Orr

E-Mail
Co-Guest Editor
Climate Change, Environment Agency, Bristol, UK
Interests: fluvial geomorphology; river temperatures; upland management; ecosystem services
Dr. Nigel Watson

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Environmental Governance, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, UK
Interests: natural resource governance; water resources; integrated catchment management; water governance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Resilience has emerged as a common paradigm in policy discourse around environmental risks such as climate change. This trend reflects growing social and political awareness of environmental risks and also an acceptance that society must plan to cope with the impact of risks that cannot be mitigated entirely.

Despite the general consensus that resilience is desirable, there are many perspectives on what it means, how to measure it, and how to use it as a basis for decision-making. This presents a particular challenge for managers of river catchments, who must prepare for risks from climate change and other pressures whilst balancing the competing needs of multiple stakeholders.

This Special Issue explores catchment resilience from alternative disciplinary perspectives to ask how it can be used as a basis for river catchment management. These water-related perspectives include social dimensions, flooding, geomorphology, agriculture, coastal zones, and ecology. The collection will also include a synthesis paper.

Prof. Robert L. Wilby
Dr. Harriet Orr
Dr. Nigel Watson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Resilience
  • Catchment
  • Management
  • Climate
  • Policy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 258 KiB  
Article
Social Ecological Dynamics of Catchment Resilience
by W. Neil Adger, Katrina Brown, Catherine Butler and Tara Quinn
Water 2021, 13(3), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030349 - 30 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4134
Abstract
Catchment resilience is the capacity of a combined social ecological system, comprised of water, land, ecological resources and communities in a river basin, to deal with sudden shocks and gradual changes, and to adapt and self-organize for progressive change and transform itself for [...] Read more.
Catchment resilience is the capacity of a combined social ecological system, comprised of water, land, ecological resources and communities in a river basin, to deal with sudden shocks and gradual changes, and to adapt and self-organize for progressive change and transform itself for sustainability. This paper proposes that analysis of catchments as social ecological systems can provide key insights into how social and ecological dynamics interact and how some of the negative consequences of unsustainable resource use or environmental degradation can be ameliorated. This requires recognition of the potential for community resilience as a core element of catchment resilience, and moves beyond more structural approaches to emphasize social dynamics. The proposals are based on a review of social ecological systems research, on methods for analyzing community resilience, and a review of social science and action research that suggest ways of generating resilience through community engagement. These methods and approaches maximize insights into the social dynamics of catchments as complex adaptive systems to inform science and practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience)

Review

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18 pages, 2064 KiB  
Review
Resilience in Complex Catchment Systems
by Lindsay Beevers, Melissa Bedinger, Kerri McClymont and Annie Visser-Quinn
Water 2021, 13(4), 541; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13040541 - 20 Feb 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4889
Abstract
In this paper, we explore how we can use catchment resilience as a unifying concept to manage and regulate catchments, using structured reviews to support our perspective. Catchments are complex systems with interrelated natural, social, and technical aspects. The exposure, vulnerability, and resilience [...] Read more.
In this paper, we explore how we can use catchment resilience as a unifying concept to manage and regulate catchments, using structured reviews to support our perspective. Catchments are complex systems with interrelated natural, social, and technical aspects. The exposure, vulnerability, and resilience of these aspects (separately and in combination) are the latent conditions, which, when triggered by a hydrohazard, result in catchment impacts. In complex catchment systems, resilience is the ability to bounce back, the ability to absorb, and the ability to transform. When all three abilities are accounted for, we are forced to consider the interactions of the catchment system. Six main complexity concepts can be used to frame how we approach evaluating catchment resilience. These concepts are: natural-social-technical aspects, interactions, spatial scales, time scales, multiple forms of evidence, and uncertainty. In analysing these complexity concepts, we have found that there are several gaps in current practice. Requirements for future methodological approaches are suggested. Central to any effective approach is the incorporation of a linking systems or interaction analysis, which draws together the natural-social-technical system in a meaningful way. If our approaches do not begin to acknowledge the interdependencies and interactions, we may miss substantial opportunities to enhance catchment resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience)
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19 pages, 2911 KiB  
Review
Resilience Viewed through the Lens of Climate Change and Water Management
by Robert L. Wilby
Water 2020, 12(9), 2510; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092510 - 9 Sep 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4188
Abstract
Resilience is not a new idea but there has been an upsurge in efforts to operationalize the concept within water management. This review begins with a synopsis of related themes around persistent and emerging pressures on freshwaters; environmental thresholds (or tipping points); ‘safe’ [...] Read more.
Resilience is not a new idea but there has been an upsurge in efforts to operationalize the concept within water management. This review begins with a synopsis of related themes around persistent and emerging pressures on freshwaters; environmental thresholds (or tipping points); ‘safe’ operating conditions; multiple stable states; regime shifts. A case is made for viewing and managing the resilience of water systems at nested scales. Indicators are needed to track evolving climate risks as well as to measure socio-ecological responses. Catchment properties can identify those river systems that are more or less likely to return to a pre-disturbance state; resilience further depends on institutional and social landscapes. Ideally, allied notions of resistance and reliability are applied alongside resilience to broaden the portfolio of adaptation measures. Water managers would also benefit from more consistent use of resilience terminology; incentives to build back better after catastrophes; strategic monitoring of incipient threats and tipping points; availability of long-term adaptation indicators; coordinated efforts to reduce non-climatic pressures on freshwaters (especially in headwaters); evidence-based, practical guidance on adaptation measures that build resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience)
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14 pages, 1970 KiB  
Review
Resilience of Primary Food Production to a Changing Climate: On-Farm Responses to Water-Related Risks
by Tim Hess, Jerry Knox, Ian Holman and Chloe Sutcliffe
Water 2020, 12(8), 2155; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082155 - 30 Jul 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4557
Abstract
Water is a fundamental component in primary food production, whether it be rainfall, irrigation used to water crops, or for supplying drinking water for animals, while the amount of water in the soil determines it capacity to support machinery and animals. We identify [...] Read more.
Water is a fundamental component in primary food production, whether it be rainfall, irrigation used to water crops, or for supplying drinking water for animals, while the amount of water in the soil determines it capacity to support machinery and animals. We identify that UK agriculture is exposed to five main water-related risks: agricultural drought, scarcity of water resources, restrictions on the right to abstract water, excess soil water, and inundation. Projected milder, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers by the end of the century will change the frequency, persistence, or severity of each of these risks. This paper critically reviews and synthesizes the scientific literature on the impact of these risks on primary food production and the technological and managerial strategies employed to build resilience to these changing risks. At the farm scale, the emphasis has been on strategies to build robustness to reduce the impact of a water-related risk. However, collaborative partnerships allow for a more optimal allocation of water during times of scarcity. Enhancing cross-scale interactions, learning opportunities, and catchment-scale autonomy will be key to ensuring the agricultural system can build adaptive and transformational capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perspectives on River Catchment Resilience)
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