Drinking water catchment protection in Allier, Auvergne

Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture is a major threat to the quality of surface and ground waters in the European Union (EU) context. More particularly, nitrate and phosphorus pollution from agriculture accounts for the largest part of diffuse run off. In France, the “Grenelle” policy launched in 2009 aims at limiting diffuse pollution from agriculture in the most threatened drinking water catchments. In this frame, drinking water catchment protection relies on the voluntary adoption, by farmers, of farming practices in favor of water quality. Farmers’ participation will depend on the benefits and constraints associated with changing their practices.

The objective of the project is to characterize governance systems for water catchment protection leading to effective changes in farming practices while contributing to the maintenance or improvement of farm social and economic performance. The research will combine agent-based modelling and institutional economics on the basis of the SES (Socio-Ecological Systems) framework (Ostrom, 2009; McGinnis and Ostrom, 2014). The analysis of alternative governance systems will be based on a specific case of drinking water catchment protection in Allier, Auvergne. Interviews with local stakeholders involved, including farmers, will be conducted.

As part of this case study, a student was recruited to do a thesis.

Ph.D. title: The development of agent-based models for the institutional analysis of drinking
water quality governance

Candidate: Amélie BOURCERET

Supervisors:
Jean-Denis Mathias – Senior research scientist, Laboratory of Engineering for Complex Systems (LISC), IRSTEA, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Laurence Amblard – UMR TERRITOIRES , IRSTEA, Clermont-Ferrand, France

Status: Thesis in preparation at Clermont-Auvergne university (ED 70 Sciences pour l’ingénieur , in partnership with « Institut national de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l’Environnement et l’Agriculture » since 01-04-2018 .

Abstract

Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture is a major threat to the quality of surface and ground waters in the European Union (EU) context. More particularly, nitrate and phosphorus pollution from agriculture accounts for the largest part of diffuse run off. In France, the “Grenelle” policy launched in 2009 aims at limiting diffuse pollution from agriculture in the most threatened drinking water catchments. In this frame, drinking water catchment protection relies on the voluntary adoption, by farmers, of farming practices in favor of water quality. Farmers’ participation will depend on the benefits and constraints associated with changing their practices.
The objective of the project is to characterize governance systems for water catchment protection leading to effective changes in farming practices while contributing to the maintenance or improvement of farm social and economic performance.
The research will combine agent-based modelling and institutional economics on the basis of the SES (Socio-Ecological Systems) framework (Ostrom, 2009; McGinnis and Ostrom, 2014). The analysis of alternative governance systems will be based on a specific case of drinking water catchment protection in Allier, Auvergne. Interviews with local stakeholders involved, including farmers, will be conducted.