Managing Alpine Streams for Resistance and Resilience

Corina Del Fabbro, Andrea Koopmans, John Garcia, Daniel Angst

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Outline

Introduction

Input: Video Interview with CT Robinson (Eawag)

Impacts of Hydropower

Restoration / Manage- ment of Alpine Stream Systems

Conclusion

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Grande Dixence, Canton Valais

Alpine Streams - Situation

Heavily influenced by human activity

‘classical’: irrigation, drinking water, hydropower

‘new’ : Water for artificial snow making >90% of suitable waterways in Switzerland

are used for Hydropower

More sensitive to Climate Change than other European Regions

faster degradation than other systems

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Large Dams (>15 m) in Switzerland - http://www.swissdams.ch/dams/damMap/default_d.asp

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Alpine Streams - Importance

Ecosystem Services Provisioning

Fresh Water Hydropower

Regulating Flood Regulation Erosion Regulation Water Purification

Cultural Recreational Value

SupportingMillenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005

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http://image55.webshots.com/155/5/97/57/476359757UImnrR_ph.jpg

Video Interview

Dr. CT Robinson, Eawag. Sorry for the bad Sound, please refer to the Transcript

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Ecological Impacts of Hydropower

Physical effects: temperature Flow regime

Biotic: Biotic assemblages Barrier

Landscape: Change of structure

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Contra, Canton Ticino

Socio-economic impacts of hydropower

Hydropower

Fishery

Local communities

Landscape

Tourism

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Verzasca Dam, Canton Ticino

Lake Reschen

Management for Resistance and Resilience – Socio-Economic Factors

Monitoring water supply and water quality for communities downstream.

Monitoring hydrological dynamics.

Prioritizing environmental objectives in policy and decision making processes.

Participatory and transdisciplinary approaches involving communities in decision making

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Management for Resistance and Resilience - Ecology

Flow regime Restoring natural flood regime Increases temporal and spatial variability of

the System (‘patchiness’)➡ possibly increases Biodiversity? -> Evidence of Hysteresis, but longer term data is missing.

Connectivity ? Dams are a barrier for migration, and thus

gene flow -> genetic erosion

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Conclusions

Dams have mostly positive socio-economic effects

Dams have negative effects on ecology and many ecosystem services

Integration of economical, sociological and ecological issues in the management to minimize negative effects

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References

U Bundi (Ed.) (forthcoming) ALPINE WATERS, Series : The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Approx. 400 p., Springer, Berlin (Scheduled for Release January 2010)

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING: WETLANDS AND WATER Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.

CT Robinson and U Uehlinger, 2008. EXPERIMENTAL FLOODS CAUSE ECOSYSTEM REGIME SHIFT IN A REGULATED RIVER. Ecological Applications, 18 (2) pp. 511-526

CT Robinson, U Uehlinger and MT Monaghan, 2004. STREAM ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE TO MULIPLE EXPERIMENTAL FLOODS FROM A RESERVOIR. River Research and Applications, 20: 359-377

www.swissdams.ch Retrieved 22nd May 2009

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