Repairing the rivers of the Anthropocene: the story of a socio-visual experiment to move from technical action to care
Réparer les rivières de l'Anthropocène : l'histoire d'une expérience socio-visuelle pour passer de l'action technique au soin
Résumé
Urbanisation and industrialisation have altered the hydromorphological and ecological functioning of many rivers. Gravel extraction, the construction of dams for hydroelectricity production or dykes to prevent flooding and the discharge of polluted effluents threaten the quality of aquatic environments. In this context of ruin, restoration is often the only solution. However, restoration projects are often highly controversial. The methods used, inspired by ecological engineering, do not meet with a consensus among experts. Some elected representatives or social actors have difficulty in grasping the technical, ecological and geomorphological issues, especially as they are asked to project themselves over a long period of time. The same applies to the biological markers for a return to 'good status', which are not always visible or immediately graspable, or even quantifiable. Different practices and knowledge of the river can clash, sometimes compromising the implementation of projects.
Our paper reports on these difficulties. It also explains how, thanks to a method that mixes ethnographic and filmic investigation, it could be possible to take advantage of the controversies to imagine a new regime of cosmopolitical knowledge of the rivers to be repaired, at the interface of the technical, the sensitive and care.