Rivers and Society: Landscapes, Governance and Livelihoods

272 Pages·2017·24.284 MB·English

by  Malcolm Cooper, Abhik Chakraborty, Shamik Chakraborty

Rivers and Society
Rivers and their watersheds constitute some of the most dynamic and complex
landscapes. Rivers have sustained human communities, and human societies
have utilized and altered river fows in a number of ways for millennia. How-
ever, the level of human impact on rivers, and on watershed environments, has
become acute during the last hundred years or so.
This book brings together empirical research and theoretical perspectives on
the changing conditions of a range of river basin environments in the contempo-
rary world, including the history and culture of local societies living in these river
basins. It provides theoretical insights on the patterns and nature of the inter-
action between rivers and their use by human communities. The chapters are
written from a variety of positions, including environmental science, hydrology,
human ecology, urban studies, water management, historical geography, cultural
anthropology and tourism studies.
The case studies span different geographical regions, providing valuable insight
on the multifaceted interactions between rivers and our societies, and on the
changing riverscapes in different parts of the world. Specifc detailed examples
are included from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Iran, Japan, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, South Africa, UK and USA.
Malcolm Cooper PhD is Emeritus Professor, College of Asia Pacifc Studies, Rit-
sumeikan Asia Pacifc University, Japan.
Abhik Chakraborty PhD is Lecturer in the Center for Tourism Research, Wakay-
ama University, Japan.
Shamik Chakraborty PhD is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for
the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan,
and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Integrated Research System for Sustain-
ability Science, Japan.
Earthscan Studies in Water Resource Management
Water Policy, Imagination and Innovation
Interdisciplinary Approaches
Edited by Robyn Bartel, Louise Noble, Jacqueline Williams and Stephen Harris
Rivers and Society
Landscapes, Governance and Livelihoods
Edited by Malcolm Cooper, Abhik Chakraborty and Shamik Chakraborty
Transboundary Water Governance and International Actors in South Asia
The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin
Paula Hanasz
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Nile Basin
Implications for transboundary water cooperation
Edited by Zeray Yihdego, Alistair Rieu-Clarke and Ana Cascao
Freshwater Ecosystems in Protected Areas
Conservation and management
Edited by Max C. Finlayson, Jamie Pittock and Angela Arthington
Participation for Effective Environmental Governance
Evidence from European Water Framework Directive Implementation
Edited by Elisa Kochskämper, Edward Challies, Nicolas W. Jager and Jens Newig
China’s International Transboundary Rivers
China’s International Transboundary Rivers
Lei Xie and Jia Shaofeng
For more information and to view forthcoming titles in this series, please visit the Rout-
ledge website: www.routledge.com/books/series/ECWRM/
Rivers and Society
Landscapes, Governance
and Livelihoods
Edited by Malcolm Cooper, Abhik
Chakraborty and Shamik Chakraborty
First published 2018
by Routledge
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© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Malcolm Cooper, Abhik
Chakraborty and Shamik Chakraborty; individual chapters, the
contributors
The right of Malcolm Cooper, Abhik Chakraborty and Shamik
Chakraborty to be identified as the authors of the editorial material,
and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
With the exception of Chapter 11, no part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
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ISBN: 978-1-138-93090-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68008-8 (ebk)
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Contents
List of fgures vii
List of tables ix
Preface x
Acknowledgements xi
Contributors xii
1 Introduction: the rivers and society debate revisited 1
ABHIK CHAKRABORTY
2 Rivers as socioecological landscapes 9
ABHIK CHAKRABORTY AND SHAMIK CHAKRABORTY
3 Rivers and communities: can we drought proof a
catchment or an entire country? 27
RONNIE MCKENZIE
4 Arid lands, saline lands: water in the form of a major river
under stress, the Murray-Darling system in Australia 47
MALCOLM COOPER
5 Life, identity and work in an arid river basin: the case of
the Zayandeh-Rud (life-giving river) in central Iran 60
KAZEM VAFADARI MEHRIZI
6 Rivers and water security: supply adaptation strategies in
the city of Chennai, India 77
SHARANYA SETHURAM AND MALCOLM COOPER
7 The Velho Chico: perceptions and conficts 93
LUCIGLEIDE NERY NASCIMENTO1
vi Contents
8 Rivers as vernacular landscapes: place and experience in
making the Clutha River, New Zealand 117
ANDREA FARMINER
9 Keep it fowing: the restoration ecology of indigenous
culture and language along the Missouri River 134
DEAN P. GOOD EAGLE FOX AND ALESIA MALTZ
10 The end of the Los Angeles River: a paradox 150
T.S. MCMILLIN
11 The river’s embrace: the Rhine-Meuse delta (re)imagined 169
EVELINE R. DE SMALEN
12 Art custodians of our rivers: Basia Irland, Daniel
McCormick and Mary O’Brien 184
VALERIE BEHIERY
13 Hydrocitizenship: concepts and insights from
the Lee Valley, UK 202
GRAEME EVANS
14 River Tourism 220
MALCOLM COOPER
15 Social landscape and environment: the Hérault River in
Southern France 233
JEREMY S. EADES
16 Concluding remarks and the way forward 246
SHAMIK CHAKRABORTY, ABHIK CHAKRABORTY,
AND MALCOLM COOPER
Index 254
Figures
2.1 Map of Kizu River Watershed showing the Biwako Yodogawa
Watershed (right) and its location in the Japanese Archipelago 14
2.2a The Taki River Basin is known for lush natural vegetation
cover and numerous waterfalls and is an important habitat for
the giant salamander 15
2.2b However, large artifcial structures such as bridges and
roadways that impede material fow and fragment the river
basin are conspicuous at the downstream parts of the Kizu watershed 16
2.3 Map of the Takatsu River Watershed and its location in the
Japanese Archipelago 18
2.4a A boat foats along the water’s edge at the Takatsu River
Basin. During the 20th century’s economic development,
most of the notable rivers in Japan were dammed, and
comparatively free-fowing rivers such as the Takatsu are rare 19
2.4b The Common Oriental Clam: this humble creature is an
important marker species for downstream watershed health 19
3.1 Indicative single mass plot for rainfall 30
3.2 Reducing rainfall record: Orange River Catchment 30
3.3 Typical 2-basin water resource system 31
3.4 Naturalizing a stream fow record 33
3.5 The critical period for a storage system 35
3.6 Calculation of the risk of failure and reliability 37
3.7 The actual seven-year performance of a storage system
compared to the expected 38
3.8 Hydrology and resource system analyses 39
3.9 Typical stages in the analysis process 41
3.10 Example of a simple inter-basin transfer for drought proofng
the Bloemfontein Area of South Africa 43
3.11 High level system schematic of Figure 3.10 44
4.1 Murray–Darling Basin 48
5.1 Map of the Zayandeh/Gavkhouni drainage basin 61
5.2 The Shahrestan Bridge, Esfahan 73
6.1 The water resources of Chennai 84
viii Figures
6.2 Chennai’s population growth, water demand, and supply gaps 85
6.3 Chennai’s water supply system for many people – storage of
water for two or three days in jars 86
7.1 Sao Francisco River, Brazil 94
7.2 The Sao Francisco River Watershed 95
7.3 Hydropower stations: past 97
7.4 Infrastructure for irrigation 98
7.5 Percentage of water volume available (volume útil) in
Sobradinho reservoir during two years of extreme droughts:
2001 and 2015 102
7.6 The civil society against the Inter-basin water transfer
project: protests in Brasília 108
8.1 The Clutha River system, Otago, New Zealand 123
8.2 Personal placescapes layering the Clutha River vernacular
landscape – a well-worn picnic bench, heritage board and
old bridge abutment overlooking the Clutha River in the
Beaumont Gorge 130
10.1 The Mouth of the Los Angeles River 151
10.2 Sign at the end of the Los Angeles River 153
10.3 Lower Los Angeles River near Willow Street 158
10.4 Confuence with the Rio Hondo 162
10.5 The beginning of the end 164
12.1 Basia Irland. Ice Book TOME II at Dusk 191
12.2 River guide adds water to the Canteen 192
12.3 River Fork Ranch Flood Plain Wall 198
13.1 Lee Valley and Neighbouring Towns 205
13.2 Cultural Ecosystem Mapping, Hackney Wick, lower Lee Valley 212
13.3 Graffti and foating cinema Hackney Wick, lower Lee Valley 215
14.1 A simplifed illustration of the range of factors that affect the
ability of the tourism industry to use rivers for touristic purposes 223
Tables
3.1 Reservoir yields for different record lengths 36
4.1 Murray–Darling Basin long-term annual infow and water use 52
7.1 Geography and demographic characteristics 93
7.2 Hydropower Stations 100
7.3 Changing River Flows 104
13.1 Stewards and stakeholders in the Lee River system 207
14.1 The use of river systems for tourism and other industries 224