Contenu du sommaire : Mélanges 2005

In Europe the need for high-quality freshwater has been increasing by a factor often since the beginning of the 20th century. Due to their geographic position and topographic feature the Alps are a major freshwater collector and hydrological storage system. Thus the Alps provide considerable amounts of various water resources feeding fundamental needs for human and natural life in the alpine region, but evenly in adjacent areas. The reliable availability and high quality of alpine freshwater resources are of growing concern to the European Community. Some of these concerns to be mentioned are the production of electricity by hydropower plants, an ever increasing demand of drinking, irrigation and industrial water as well as the use for providing tourist infrastructures, in particular for generating artificial snow. All these activities impose an enormous strain for the irritable ecological systems of the Alps. Thus, water is often regarded as a commodity for agricultural and industrial production or for trade. Social, ecological and vital implications in the different alpine eco-spheres are not considered. Therefore new strategies for a sustainable management of water resources are required in the Alps. Additionally a relocation of management and control of access and use of the alpine water resources into external alpine areas has taken place within the last years. The use of hydropower and privatization and liberalization of the European water sector are some examples among others. This leads to a decreasing self-determination of the alpine area, i.e. of its political entities. Prerequisites for a responsible utilization of alpine water resources comprise the direct participation of stakeholders as decision takers. Environmentally benign and innovative water management and water marketing solutions offering adequate economic perspectives have to be developed. These solutions may serve as model for water management systems not only in the Alps but also in regions where access to freshwater is not guaranteed and therefore vital.

Reventing avalanches means maintaining greater control over mountain activities. Several factors have made it necessary to change the mechanisms used to control activities in order to improve safety ; professionalisation of occupations, expansion of resorts, increasing numbers of visitors, improved sports and rescue techniques, scientific progress, changes in regulations. The interplay between knowledge, physical expertise and social control divides mountain « territories » according to responsibilities.

The article endeavours to analyse the representations of the local population of a mountain area affected tourism development by examining the discourse of the inhabitants. Using the example of Verbier in the Valais region of the Swiss Alps, we attempt to show that the relations between the resident population and the local area depend on a tourism-based productive system and that these relations are strongly influenced by tourism-based representations of both the local area and the landscape. Going beyond this observation, our analysis reveals that the touristic places and the landscape, originating a priori in their perception by people from outside the area, become transformed into identity attributes that are used by die resident population to define the relationship that they have with their local area. The representation of certain places in the Verbier local area is examined. These are found to be subjected, in varying degrees, to this process of identification.

Abstract ; Many upland villages today are faced with a rapid afforestation of former fields and pastureland. This phenomenon leads to various problems concerning biological conservation and environmental quality. This paper presents a landscape-scale method for diagnosing biological richness and above all its evolution in this context of afforestation. Three approaches are used ; a naturalist approach to determine the actual potential biological richness (in terms of both species richness and species quality), a spatial approach to describe and assess landscape dynamics, and a social approach to understand how inhabitants feel about their local landscape and the changes affecting it. This method was applied to the district of Hermillon, Savoie (France). The results show that efficient land management aimed at limiting the negative effects of afforestation should be considered in a practical way while combining biological conservation and environmental quality.

Summary : In the early XIXth century, civil servants and local administrators in Isère attempted to eliminate the risk of flooding both by fitting against deforestation and by building protective structures. The present study of the measures taken shows the limits of centralized administration and the importance of local authorities and citizen participation.