@article{fdi:010048179,
  title = {{R}iver-basin planning and management : the social life of a concept},
  author = {{M}olle, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he concept of a river basin as a management or planning unit has gone through several stages and is in a state of flux. {F}rom its western "discovery" in the 18th century to its advent as the overriding concept behind {E}uropean water policy, the river basin has been conjured up and mobilized in evolving contexts with varying intentions. {A}ssociated with utopian ideas of the late 19th century, it supported ideas of full control of the hydrologic regime and multipurpose dam construction in the 1930-1960 period, then partly faded and was revived to address water-quality problems, before reemerging in the 1990s as the cornerstone of {I}ntegrated {W}ater {R}esources {M}anagement ({IWRM}), enriched and blended with watershed- and ecosystem-management approaches. {T}his article recounts the evolution of the concept of a river basin and how it has been associated with various strands of thinking and sometimes co-opted or mobilized by particular social groups or organizations to strengthen the legitimacy of their agendas. {B}eyond its relevance as a geographical unit for water resources development and management purposes, the river basin is also a political and ideological construct, with its discursive representations and justifications, closely linked with shifting scalar configurations, both ecological and in terms of regulatory regime or governance. {H}ow interconnected and nested waterscapes can be managed by discontinuous nested political/administrative and social levels remains a fundamental question fuelling an endless search for elusive governance systems that would unite nature and society.},
  keywords = {{R}iver basin ; {I}ntegrated water management ; {P}lanning ; {D}omination of nature},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}eoforum},
  volume = {40},
  numero = {3},
  pages = {484--494},
  ISSN = {0016-7185},
  year = {2009},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.03.004},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048179},
}