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International audience; This paper describes how participatory foresight methodologies can be used to identify long term (2050) agricultural impacts of increasing water scarcity and drought risk aw well as adaptive strategies. It is based on a case study conducted in Mediterranean Southern France as part of two long term research projects on hydroclimatic change. The methodology consisted in organising foresight seminars with a group of experts and three groups of farmers. Participants were first invited to react and debate on four visions of regional agriculture in 2030, constructed by researchers before the seminars. A second series of workshops was then organised to analyse how these scenarios could be affected by climate change. These workshops were based on the results of the VULCAIN research project (http://agire.brgm.fr/VULCAIN.htm) which estimated future climatic changes (temperatures, rainfall, evapo-transpiration) and resulting hydrological impacts (decrease of river base flow,longer drought periods). The communication describes this participatory process and its outcome; Cet article présente une démarche de prospective participative visant à identifier les impacts à long terme (2050) pour le secteur agricole d'un accroissement de la rareté de l'eau et du risque de sécheresse ainsi que les stratégies d'adaptations. Il s'appuie sur un cas d'étude réalisé dans le sud de la France, dans le cadre de deux projets de recherche portant sur le changement hydro-climatique. La méthodologie mise en oeuvre consiste à organiser des ateliers de prospective avec un groupe d'experts d'une part, et trois groupes d'agriculteurs d'autres parts. Les participants aux ateliers ont d'abord été invités à réagir sur des visions préétablies de l'agriculture en 2030. Une deuxième série d'ateliers a ensuite été organisée pour analyser comment l'agriculture correspondant à chacune de ces quatre visions pourrait être impactée par le changement climatique et hydrologique. Cette deuxième série d'ateliers est basée sur les résultats du projet VULCAIN qui a permis d'estimé les changements climatiques futurs à l'échelle régionale (températures, précipitations, évapotranspiration) ainsi que les conséquences hydrologiques de ces changements (variation du régime des cours d'eau). L'article décrit le processus participatif mis en place et les principaux résultats qui en ressortent.

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International audience; With the promulgation of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD), stakeholders' involvement in water management planning and public consultation has become mandatory for member states. This paper investigates the case of France, where water management has been based on a distinctive form of participatory democracy for over 40 years. It first analyses how public participation and expert opinion fit into the water-management planning procedure and compares this to what occurs elsewhere in Europe and the United States. It then proposes an operational method for initiating the participatory process with an analysis of the stakeholders' viewpoint at the watershed level. The method, which relies on interviews, is applied to two watersheds located in southern France. The results of the two case studies illustrate how the stakeholders' viewpoint analysis can give access to practical knowledge and experience and to a wider range of perspectives and options. The case studies highlight the idea that the mobilisation of non-scientific (or lay) knowledge, values and preferences can improve the quality of the identification of the issues at stake, the formulation of a generally complex and unstructured problem and the identification of a large panel of alternative solutions. The paper then proposes some recommendations for implementing the provisions of the WFD

In many Mediterranean coastal areas, agriculture, drinking water supply, tourism and industry strongly depend on groundwater resources. As a result of the significant economic development during the last three decades along the coast, abstractions from coastal aquifers have increased tremendously, frequently leading to overexploitation and saltwater intrusion. In such situations, policy makers try to reduce water abstraction well licensing, to set up quota or pricing and to increase alternative water supply. Geological, hydrogeological and socio-economical studies as a pluridisciplinary approach are then leaded in parallel on a coastal Mediterranean aquifer- the Roussillon - in order to design effective water management strategies on a sensitive area to seawater intrusion risk. Geology supplies geometry and architecture of the different aquifers, hydrogeology assess the seawater intrusion risk while socio-economic study conducts consultations stakeholders analysis in the aim of suggest water management and policy option acceptable for mostly. Results of a consultation of 35 interviews on the concerned area are given. This paper then highlights economic interests at stake, diversity of viewpoints expressed by stakeholders and political dimension of the issue, which are likely to be encountered for all similar situations on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.

International audience; Groundwater resources are part of larger social-ecological systems. In this chapter, we review the various dimensions of these complex systems in order to uncover the diversity of elements at stake in the evolution of an aquifer and the loci for possible actions to control its dynamics. Two case studies illustrate how the state of an aquifer is embedded in a web of biophysical and sociopolitical processes. We propose here a holistic view through an IGM-scape that describes the various possible pathways of evolution for a groundwater related social-ecological system. Then we describe the elements of this IGM-scape starting with physical entities and processes, including relations with surface water and quality issues. Interactions with society bring an additional layer of considerations, including decisions on groundwater abstraction, land use changes and even energy related choices. Finally we point out the policy levers for groundwater management and their possible consequences for an aquifer, taking into account the complexity of pathways opened by these levers.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]GEUSI; International audience; In developed countries, a number of factors are leading a growing number of households to drill private boreholes as independent water supplies. This chapter describes this phenomenon based on two case studies conducted in Southern France and Western Australia. It shows that, while the development of private wells was encouraged by the authorities in Perth, it is a major source of environmental, public health, economic and social concern for French water utilities. Household's motivations to develop independent supply are then investigated. We finaly discuss how water utilities need to adapt their management practices (setting tariffs, demand forecasting and resource protection) to take into account this phenomenon.