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APPEAU : Which agrosystems and public policies for a sustainable management of water resources ?

Author(s): D. Leenhardt, A. Reynaud, P. Durand, Ph. Le Grusse, J-C. Poussin, M-O. Cordier

Keyword(s): spatial water management, agriculture, modelling, participation, scenarios

Article:

Poster:

Session: Poster session 1

AbstractIntroduction
Spatial water management consists in coordinating water fluxes management with the

management of land areas which generate or regulate these fluxes (Narcy et Mermet, 2003). Agricultural lands and

activities are of major importance in this spatial water management since they represent a large proportion of the

overall territories and they have a large impact on water withdrawals and water pollution. It is then essential to

represent correctly agricultural activities in water management and planning tools.

Objective
The objective

of the APPEAU project is to improve decisions in water management and planning at territorial scales (catchments,

irrigated areas, etc.). The project aims more specifically to develop methods and tools based on mathematical

models to evaluate scenarios for a better joint planning of agricultural activities and water resources.

Methods
The project includes three kinds of activities conducted with two different approaches.
The

activities are:
- developing and implementing mathematical models for a better water quantity and water

quality planning
- building scenarios regarding agricultural context changes (particularly changes in cropping

systems and cropping systems patterns) or economical and regulatory context changes.
- Evaluating these

scenarios using the mathematical models developed.
The first approach consists in developing methods and tools

with targeted partners, on two specific questions: the water scarcity in an irrigated catchment (WP1) and the

remediation of water pollution in small catchments (WP2). Partners are local institutions and/or water users

associations. They are involved in designing, implementing and/or validating models and in building and/or evaluating

scenarios. All partners are aware of the progress in the work.
The second approach (WP3) consists in conducting

the three activities (modelling, and building and evaluating scenarios) in a collective organisation, gathering various

actors and institutions of the study area. This implies to represent all interactions (between actors, between processes

and between processes and actors) in the modelling.

Expected results

The expected methods and tools

produced by each work package are detailed in 3 other posters. At the project level, the expected result

concerns:
- the complementarity of approaches: how models developed for specific questions can

enhance the development of tools in participation? How participative approaches can orientate the development of

models and the choice of scenarios to be evaluated?
- the complementarity of models: in which conditions

hydrological models developed for water pollution remediation can improve integrated water management models

developed for water allocation?
- the advance in common methodologies: which trade-off between a

correct representation of the reality and modelling simplifications? how building and evaluating scenarios for an

efficient collective action?

Conclusion

This project aims at making several research teams of various

disciplines and institutions sharing there know-how on water management in order to decrease the environmental

impact of agriculture. It is funded by the French national Research Agency (ANR) within the “Agriculture and

Sustainable Development” (ADD) Program.

Events

The congress

Programme

Practical Infos

APPEAU : Which agrosystems and public policies for a sustainable management of water resources ?