Governance in the Face of Uncertainty and Change - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 179

Table 10.2 (continued)

Commune level utilities
Consolidating more communes into shared water utility service
provision (increasing integration and connectivity as in Les
Bagnes and Martigny) to better manage periods of high
demand or scarcity - spreading water reserves across
hydrologically diverse communes.

30-40 years ago the water resources of many
of the alpine villages were separate,
meaning that if there were villages with
fewer springs or more vulnerable sources
of water, they would have to deal with this
alone. By connecting resources, and
linking vulnerable villages (with perhaps
only one spring) with other, more water
abundant, villages, supply was secured
across the geographic area.

Water Canals (Suonen/Les Bisses)
These irrigation canals form part of common property resource
regimes that were initially developed and constructed in
response to drier climate. The irrigation channels and
associated water rights are governed through user groups and
canals.

In certain communes, the original
'Geteilschaft/Gnossenschaft' are used to
manage rivalries and govern the water
system amongst farmers, but these tend
to be more important in the mountain
communes.

Krisenstab
(Emergency Working Group) to respond and plan for emergency
situations.

Each commune has their own emergency
working group that consists of police,
fi re fi ghters, military and commune council
who are responsible for planning and
coordinating emergency situations in
collaboration with the canton.