6.5.2 The Interplay of Stakeholders and Their Motivations,
Cognitions and Resources
The recognition of the needs for drought adaptation in France as a whole is strong at
the national level, whereas it appears to be in only an extremely early phase in this
northwestern part of France. The Governance Assessment Tool, based on
Contextual Interaction Theory (see Chap. 3), enables a comparative analysis of key
governance factors representing the freshwater use as the main water use. The
governance context influences these processes through its impact on these actor
characteristics: the drivers of processes are ultimately people, representing sometimes themselves, but often organizations or groups and themselves driven by their
motivations, cognitions and resources.
In the Vilaine catchment, except for emergency measures, there is no global plan
set up to manage drought vulnerabilities induced by climate change. The current
situation of low drought risk perception, compared to a more significant flood risk
perception, is explained by a lack of drought risk awareness, due to the absence of
critical drought events in the past years in the region and the lack of a culture of
drought forecasting and risk communication. However, it is expected that as
drought perceptions are raised, drought adaptation measures can rapidly be
designed and implemented by the efficient, existing water governance for freshwater in the basin, which is supported by a dense stakeholder network driven by
IAV.
In the territory affected by the management of the Arzal dam, a key issue is that
the acceptance of climate change (cognitions) as a reality or at least as a relevant
issue for the stakeholders involved is very weak. This is identified as a major
problem and a root cause for the low degree of openness towards adaptation
(motivation). However, plain interests also play a role in this low motivation of
Governance dimensions
Extent
Coherence
Flexibility
Intensity
Levels & Scales
Actors & Networks
Problem Perceptions & Goal
Ambitions
Strategies & Instruments
Responsibilities & Resources
Governance Criteria for Drought Management
Colours red : restrictive ; orange : neutral, green: supportive
Fig. 6.7 Visualization of the main conclusions of the assessment of the drought governance
context in the Arzal dam and reservoir, Vilaine catchment, France
6 The Governance Context of Drought Policy and Pilot Measures …
131
Cognitions and Resources
The recognition of the needs for drought adaptation in France as a whole is strong at
the national level, whereas it appears to be in only an extremely early phase in this
northwestern part of France. The Governance Assessment Tool, based on
Contextual Interaction Theory (see Chap. 3), enables a comparative analysis of key
governance factors representing the freshwater use as the main water use. The
governance context influences these processes through its impact on these actor
characteristics: the drivers of processes are ultimately people, representing sometimes themselves, but often organizations or groups and themselves driven by their
motivations, cognitions and resources.
In the Vilaine catchment, except for emergency measures, there is no global plan
set up to manage drought vulnerabilities induced by climate change. The current
situation of low drought risk perception, compared to a more significant flood risk
perception, is explained by a lack of drought risk awareness, due to the absence of
critical drought events in the past years in the region and the lack of a culture of
drought forecasting and risk communication. However, it is expected that as
drought perceptions are raised, drought adaptation measures can rapidly be
designed and implemented by the efficient, existing water governance for freshwater in the basin, which is supported by a dense stakeholder network driven by
IAV.
In the territory affected by the management of the Arzal dam, a key issue is that
the acceptance of climate change (cognitions) as a reality or at least as a relevant
issue for the stakeholders involved is very weak. This is identified as a major
problem and a root cause for the low degree of openness towards adaptation
(motivation). However, plain interests also play a role in this low motivation of
Governance dimensions
Extent
Coherence
Flexibility
Intensity
Levels & Scales
Actors & Networks
Problem Perceptions & Goal
Ambitions
Strategies & Instruments
Responsibilities & Resources
Governance Criteria for Drought Management
Colours red : restrictive ; orange : neutral, green: supportive
Fig. 6.7 Visualization of the main conclusions of the assessment of the drought governance
context in the Arzal dam and reservoir, Vilaine catchment, France
6 The Governance Context of Drought Policy and Pilot Measures …
131