No abstract

Involving citizens in river and flood risk management is critical for risk reduction and sustainable development within river basins, but local community input is often limited. This is partly due to the difficulty of quantifying the perceived values and risks related to the rivers, because these are based on personal knowledge and opinions. There is a need for more data on locals’ opinions and how they are spatially distributed across the river basin. Studies analyzing how perceived risks match evidence-based data can be a first step to including local knowledge in the decision-making process and pose the basis to enhance preparedness. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of flood risk and its spatial distribution across the river basin. Respondents are asked their perception of the role of the river in terms of flood risk and management, as well as to pinpoint on a map the areas they identify as the most dangerous during floods. The approach is tested on the Tagliamento River in the Italian Alps, characterized by debates regarding flood protection, flood management and ecological conservation. The flood risk perception map shows good agreement between perceived risk and existing flood risk assessment maps in the lower basin, where major floods happened in recent memory (1966). In the upper basin, despite having suffered frequent floods, participants are more uncertain about the risks. There is interest in being involved in the risk management debate, and most respondents believe that risk reduction and river conservation are compatible. Land use planning is identified as a factor that can increase flood risk. The results point to the necessity to tackle together conservation, risk management and land use planning in order to develop risk-oriented river management strategies. Our study demonstrates how online participatory mapping can be used to improve the understanding of citizens’ perceptions and expectations with regards to their river, and support participation in sustainable river management.

Sustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural ecosystem services by locals, and how preferences change across the river landscape. We investigate how locals value the river and whether their preferences are affected by characteristics such as place of residence, age, frequency of visits and relation to the river. The questionnaire was filled in by more than 4000 respondents, demonstrating huge interest and willingness to contribute to the project. A striking 85% of respondents identify a spiritual value of the river, suggesting a strong emotional connection. River conservation is the main priority for most respondents across the different groups. The map of favorite places shows that most of the river is appreciated by locals, with a high preference for the landscape of the braided middle course. The most valued area of the river, located in the middle course, faces threats due to dam construction projects, which would modify the natural course of the river and likely impact the favorite places of the locals. Our study highlights discrepancies between management choices and citizens´ values and priorities, and shows the need for including river values and cultural ecosystem services in river management and their potential role for tackling conflicts. More generally, this work points out that any river intervention should be pondered carefully accounting for its environmental impact also in terms of loss of river values.

<p>Sustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. We present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural ecosystem services and flood risk by locals, and how preferences change across the river landscape. We investigate how locals value the river and whether their preferences are affected by characteristics such as place of residence, age, frequency of visits and relation to the river. The approach is tested on the Tagliamento river, the last major free-flowing river in the Alps, which is characterized by debates on flood protection, flood management and ecological conservation. The questionnaire was filled in by more than 4000 respondents, demonstrating huge interest and willingness to contribute with their opinion on this topic. A participatory map of favorite places shows that most of the river is valued/appreciated by locals, with a high preference for the landscape of the braided middle course. River conservation is the main priority for most respondents across different stakeholder groups, highlighting the need for nature-based solutions in flood-risk management and demonstrating the mismatch between management choices and citizens´ values and priorities. Land-use planning is identified as a factor that can increase flood risk. The results highlight the necessity to tackle conservation, risk management and land-use planning together in order to develop risk-oriented river management strategies. More generally, this work points out that any river intervention should be pondered carefully accounting for its environmental impact also in terms of loss of cultural ecosystem services.</p>