@article{fdi:010090800,
  title = {{S}haring water between nature and humans : environmental flows and the politics of quantification},
  author = {{M}olle, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {C}ollard, {A}. {L}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n 2008 the {F}rench government launched its {Q}uantitative {W}ater {M}anagement policy initiative, as part of which the {R}hone-{M}editerranee {C}orse {W}ater {A}gency undertook studies to ascertain monthly environmental flows at key sub-basin control points and the corresponding 'allowable [water] withdrawals'. {D}espite simplification, uncertainties, and insufficient data, the studies produced environmental-flow (e-flow) targets endowed with the power of allocating water between humans and nature. {W}e analyse the fluctuation of the e-flow target at {P}oint {T}6 in the {T}et river basin, in the {S}outh of {F}rance, and show that, rather than an objective, quantitative ecological threshold dictated by science, it can be seen as a boundary number that embodies imaginaries, values, ideologies and interests. {S}cience, but also law, appear to be selectively mobilized, massaged or contested. {A}s a 'slider', the e-flow target reflects the state's political will and/or capacity to impose change and a reduction in water abstraction. {A}lthough the e-flow at {P}oint {T}6 so far failed to play its role as a 'boundary number' and to achieve a settlement, it both exposed the limits of the pre-existing status quo and reshuffled the cards, legitimizing in particular the entry of environmental actors.},
  keywords = {{Q}uantification ; environmental flow ; uncertainty ; indicator ; boundary ; object ; science/policy interface ; {F}rance ; {FRANCE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{W}ater {A}lternatives},
  volume = {17},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {510--532},
  ISSN = {1965-0175},
  year = {2024},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010090800},
}