The vulnerability of irrigation associations to the decrease of water resource. A case study in Roussillon

Résumé En

This work proposes an analysis of the vulnerability of irrigation associations to climate change and its effects on the decrease of water resources in the Têt watershed, one of the three coastal rivers of Roussillon (France). However, this work is not directly interested in the forms that these adjustments take, but in their construction process and their relationship with the geographical space in which they take place. By taking into account the organization of the geographical space, the objective is to account for the role of the modes of access to the water resource on the effectiveness of the strategies of Association Syndical Authorized (ASA) to the reduction of the water resource. This entry reveals different areas that influence the effectiveness of adaptation strategies. The characteristics of those areas, both physical and social, are comparable to roots of vulnerability that guide the effectiveness of the adaptation process. The territorial characteristics influence the adaptation process and account for more or less vulnerable spaces. The logics of action and strategies are then territorialized.The adaptation strategies of the ASAs are examined through an empirical survey of 12 associations presidents. The interviews were transcribed and then loaded into a qualitative analysis software. It appears that all the strategies of the ASAs have the objective of ensuring access to the water resource for their users. However, there are distinctions in the way the associations respond to this objective. Securing access to the water resource appears to be a factor in reducing the vulnerability of the associations to the hazard, but does not solve the risk. The results show that strategies are also influenced by formal and informal relations between presidents and institutions. The combination of these levers makes it possible to characterize associations that are more or less vulnerable to water decrease.