Governance in the Face of Uncertainty and Change - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 189

Box 10.3 (continued)

reservoirs as a means of limiting the impacts of flooding events and other
natural hazards. When there is prior knowledge of a heavy precipitation event,
hydropower companies are warned so that the reservoirs ( Speicherbäche ) can
be automatically lowered to buffer the volume of precipitation.
In addition, MINERVE acts to mobilise a number of competencies to respond
collaboratively to extreme events. These include meteorologists, hydrologists,
information technicians, dam operators, security services (police etc.), as well
as vertically coordinating decision making between the canton and com-
munes. Over the 3 days of the 2000 flooding event, there was a degree of
uncertainty with the canton over who was responsible for deciding on man-
agement steps to protect areas below some of the reservoirs. The lack of over-
sight and preparatory steps to manage over-flow of the reservoirs was seen as
having been potentially counter-productive, perhaps even exacerbating some
of the impacts lower down the valley. Now, in a selection of reservoirs across
the canton, at the signal that there will be an extreme precipitation event, the
reservoirs can be automatically pumped out and lowered, in order to then buf-
fer the volume of precipitation that comes down.

It is also worth mentioning the institutional component of the Suonen/Bisses in
this category as well. Cantonal Authorities have recognised that these common
property regimes have played an important role in building solidarity and managing
conflict resolution (Netting 1981 ), and therefore have made efforts at both com-
mune and canton levels to support and encourage the maintenance of these organi-
sations since they assist in the upkeep of the infrastructure and minimise costs at the
local level. Federal and cantonal administrative levels provide financial support for
the CPRs by subsidising infrastructural maintenance projects. The rest of the costs
are covered by the commune and whatever then remains must be covered by the
landowner, despite some, who are no longer farmers, being hostile to covering the
costs for irrigation installations.

10.2.2.1 Associated Governance Mechanisms

Regime

Mechanisms (legal provisions; informal agreements) that allow for emergency
drought responses to kick into action provide a clear signal to actors that a different
set of parameters have been reached, and so prepare the path to set coping strategies
that replace normal 'day to day' management. In Chile, the drought provisions
provided in the Water Code, signal that farmers may start negotiating emergency
short term exploitation of groundwater to enable irrigation to take place as surface