Integrating climate change into a conceptual framework for river basin management by the example of the Rhône river basin

Abstract

With the adoption of the European Water Framework Directive in 2000 European Member States have set ambitious goals for River Basin Management (RBM) to be reached in 2027. However, European rivers, indispensable for human life and irreplaceable hubs for freshwater ecosystems, are strongly impacted by existing anthropogenic pressures and highly sensitive to alterations of the hydrologic cycle induced by climate change. As, with global warming and human water use, multiple stressors impact water quantity and water quality, conserving and restoring good ecological and chemical status of rivers particularly in climate-sensitive regions such as the Rhône River Basin, has become a herculean task for water management. By modifying the conceptual model “Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response” (DPSIR), this thesis aims to show how climate change directly influences anthropogenic activities and natural conditions, thereby producing consequences for human water use and the ecological and chemical status of surface water bodies. Previous modifications of the DPSIR framework and policy responses towards integrating climate change into RBM guide the development of the “Driver-Pressure- State-Impact-Response-Climate Change” (DPSIR-CC) model. By the example of water management in the Durance catchment, a sub-catchment of the Rhône River Basin, the case study illustrates how climate projections and hydrologic models could inform water quality management. A qualitative to semi-quantitative analysis allows assessing how changes in the water environment could affect hydropower production and how ecological and chemical status of the Durance River could be impacted. Results obtained within the case study show that the model is suitable for water quality monitoring, since it allows analysing the interrelation between various causes which trigger changes in the environment. The case study, however, revealed a lack of consistent terminology, a weakness, which results from adopting the precursor model without establishing a novel definition for each component. Furthermore, it was found that additional research on climate change impacts on rivers and streams is needed in order to build a thorough understanding of emerging challenges for River Basin Management. Finally, this thesis has developed a structure, which allows water management tackling the herculean task of integrating climate change into a conceptual framework for water quality monitoring