Stakeholders' perception of the relevance of water and sediment connectivity in water and land management

Smetanová, Anna, Paton, Eva Nora, Maynard, Carly, Tindale, Sophie, Fernández-Getino, Ana Patricia, Marqéus Pérez, María José, Bracken, Louise J., Le Bissonnais, Yves and Keesstra, Saskia D. (2018) Stakeholders' perception of the relevance of water and sediment connectivity in water and land management. Land Degradation & Development, 29 (6). pp. 1833-1844. ISSN 1085-3278

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2934

Abstract

Using concepts of connectivity in challenges regarding land and water management (flooding, erosion, nutrient leaching, landslides) can only be fully harnessed if knowledge is communicated well between scientists and stakeholders. Proper communication requires prior understanding of end-users' perception of connectivity as a useful framework. Therefore, we analysed (a) perceptions of ‘connectivity’ for stakeholders involved in water and land management across Europe, (b) potential for stakeholders to apply connectivity-related measures in their management decisions, (c) stakeholders' biggest challenges in water and land management, and (d) stakeholders' expectations for future connectivity research agendas. We studied 85 questionnaires from 19 countries using a grounded theory approach. One third of stakeholders understood connectivity in its scientific context, whereas 39% perceived connectivity indirectly through their personal experiences (e.g., water and sediment fluxes and erosion). Half of stakeholders' perceived links and challenges were related to availability of data and methods, communication, and institutions or policy, whereas others believed they were related to water quality and quantity, soil erosion and quality, and climate change. Half of the stakeholders considered connectivity management important, and one third showed high interest in managing connectivity. Adopting connectivity into management is hindered by institutional- and policy-based management limitations, insufficient data and methods, and ineffective knowledge transfer. Explicitly considering heterogeneity of stakeholder perceptions is required for projects regarding management of connectivity at European, national, and local scales.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding information: The authors express their thanks to 85 anonymous stakeholders andvolunteering scientists from ES 1306 COST Connecteur (in alphabeti-cal order according to surname): Charles Bielders, Alexander Borg,Axel Bronstert, Marco Cavalli, Stefano Crema, Frédéric Darboux, JoséDelgado, Dagana Dordevic, Carla Sofia Ferreira, Jaime GarcíaMárquez, Recep Gűdoĝan, Marie Alice Harel, Tobias Heckmann,Tamara Hochstrasser, Marijana Kapović, Anna Kidová, Tobias Krüger,Melisa Ljusa, Elve Lode, José A. López‐Tarazón, Manuel Esteban LucasBroja, Rens Masselink, Hannu Marttila, Eva Mockler, Tony Parsons,Maria Piquer‐Rodriguez, Ronald Pöppel, Thorunn Pétursdóttir, JerzyRejman, Wolfgang Schwanghart, Jolanta Święchowicz, Brigitta Tóth,Marko Vainu, Damià Vericat, Martin Welp, and David Zumr. The pro-ject was supported by COST‐STSM ES1306‐011215‐063624. AnnaSmetanová received support from AgreenSkills' fellowship (Marie‐Curie FP7 COFUND People Programme, grant agreement 267196).
Uncontrolled Keywords: stakeholders, water and sediment connectivity, perception, management potential, knowledge transfer
Subjects: F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
K400 Planning (Urban, Rural and Regional)
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Elena Carlaw
Date Deposited: 16 Sep 2021 15:59
Last Modified: 16 Sep 2021 16:00
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/47234

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