Managing Alpine Streams for Resistance and Resilience Corina Del Fabbro, Andrea Koopmans, John Garcia, Daniel Angst 25 th May 20091Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Outline  Introduction  Input: Video Interview with CT Robinson (Eawag)  Impacts of Hydropower  Restoration / Manage- ment of Alpine Stream Systems  Conclusion 25 th May 20092Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems Grande Dixence, Canton Valais

Alpine Streams - Situation  Heavily influenced by human activity  ‘classical’: irrigation, drinking water, hydropower  ‘new’ : Water for artificial snow making  >90% of suitable waterways in Switzerland are used for Hydropower  More sensitive to Climate Change than other European Regions  faster degradation than other systems 25 th May 20093Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Large Dams (>15 m) in Switzerland th May 20094Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Alpine Streams - Importance  Ecosystem Services  Provisioning  Fresh Water  Hydropower  Regulating  Flood Regulation  Erosion Regulation  Water Purification  Cultural  Recreational Value  Supporting Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, th May 20095Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Video Interview Dr. CT Robinson, Eawag. Sorry for the bad Sound, please refer to the Transcript 25 th May 20096Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Ecological Impacts of Hydropower  Physical effects:  temperature  Flow regime  Biotic:  Biotic assemblages  Barrier  Landscape:  Change of structure 25 th May 20097Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems Contra, Canton Ticino

Socio-economic impacts of hydropower  Hydropower  Fishery  Local communities  Landscape  Tourism 25 th May 20098Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems Verzasca Dam, Canton Ticino Lake Reschen

Management for Resistance and Resilience – Socio-Economic Factors  Monitoring water supply and water quality for communities downstream.  Monitoring hydrological dynamics.  Prioritizing environmental objectives in policy and decision making processes.  Participatory and transdisciplinary approaches involving communities in decision making 25 th May 20099Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Management for Resistance and Resilience - Ecology  Flow regime  Restoring natural flood regime  Increases temporal and spatial variability of the System (‘patchiness’) ➡ possibly increases Biodiversity? -> Evidence of Hysteresis, but longer term data is missing.  Connectivity ?  Dams are a barrier for migration, and thus gene flow -> genetic erosion 25 th May Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

Conclusions  Dams have mostly positive socio-economic effects  Dams have negative effects on ecology and many ecosystem services  Integration of economical, sociological and ecological issues in the management to minimize negative effects 25 th May Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems

References U Bundi (Ed.) (forthcoming) ALPINE WATERS, Series : The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Approx. 400 p., Springer, Berlin (Scheduled for Release January 2010) Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING: WETLANDS AND WATER Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. CT Robinson and U Uehlinger, EXPERIMENTAL FLOODS CAUSE ECOSYSTEM REGIME SHIFT IN A REGULATED RIVER. Ecological Applications, 18 (2) pp CT Robinson, U Uehlinger and MT Monaghan, STREAM ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE TO MULIPLE EXPERIMENTAL FLOODS FROM A RESERVOIR. River Research and Applications, 20: Retrieved 22 nd May th May Managing Alpine Stream Ecosystems