Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 22.1
Generic proposals for the management and conservation of temporary Mediterranean stream corridors.
Policy and technical proposals
Management plans should include temporary stream basins (landscape and riparian areas) and monitoring, assessment
and management strategies should reflect their particular needs.
Hydrological models need to be adapted to reflect the special nature of river catchments with temporary streams to
improve the monitoring of present conditions and predict future scenarios in terms of water availability and quality.
Human activities along temporary river corridors (e.g. grazing, vegetation cutting and sediment extraction) should be
restricted and a network of locations for priority action should be developed.
Stakeholders and landowners should be encouraged to conserve riparian vegetation and channel margins.
Demonstration catchments should be selected according to their biological and/or ecological importance or quality status,
to show the benefits of applying new water management and conservation techniques.
Social and educational proposals
Stakeholders and local people should be involved in advice and education regarding the importance of temporary river
corridors, the protection of their biodiversity and the maintenance of water quality. They should also be offered
technical assessment and guidance to solve management problems.
Regulation and incentive proposals
Where relevant, use regulations, economic incentives and taxes to encourage sustainable catchment management.
generic management principles, including the use
of education, incentives and regulation, can be
applied
special ecosystems are to be conserved. Their
vulnerability to a combination of climate change
and increasing demand for water is particularly
acute. There is an urgent need for catchment-
scale management strategies to be developed and
implemented to reduce this vulnerability and
promote sustainable land-use. Sharing information
and developing management strategies with local
people, focused initially on a few key catchments to
demonstrate the principles in practice would help
to improve the chances of success.
to
catchments
with
temporary
streams
(Table 22.1).
Conservation and rehabilitation strategies should
identify critical reaches, including headwaters and
middle reaches that represent the most vulnerable
locations in terms of water availability and demand.
Management strategies need to be shared and
influenced by interested stakeholders and land
owners, so that proposed actions can be designed
to suit local circumstances. In this way they
are more likely to be understood, supported and
implemented by those who are affected by the
need to change their behaviour ( Aberg and Tapsell,
this volume). Proposed actions should reflect
overall policy objectives such as achieving WFD
objectives, but should clearly explain the benefits
of sustainable water management to local people,
which is one of the most important requirements
for successful river conservation.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the project
'Conservation and rehabilitation strategies for
temporary Mediterranean river corridors: a case
study of the Pardiela basin, southern Portugal
(Guadiana basin)', funded by the Funda¸ ao para
aCiencia e Tecnologia project n.
◦
FCOMP-01-
0124-FEDER-007031, and by a PhD fellowship
(SFRH/BD/18359/2004/41ZX) supported by
Funda¸ ao para a Ci encia e a Tecnologia; POPH
(Programa
Conclusions
Operacional
Potencial
Humano,
Hydrological and ecological knowledge about
temporary streams needs to be improved if these
QREN).
