Zoélie Dupérier – The relationship between equity and ecology in the water sector: dilemmas and opportunities for governance of the Adour-Garonne catchment area

This PhD project aims to explore in greater depth the relationship between equity and ecology in the field of water management, an approach that is now essential for sustainable management in the context of global change. Our main hypothesis is that the sustainability of water resources in the Adour-Garonne basin (BAG), which has been facing a crisis for several years, is interdependent on the capacity of water governance models to take account of situations of vulnerability – both human and non-human – within their management area; whilst always upholding the principles of solidarity between upstream and downstream areas, and between surface water and groundwater. We will seek to identify equity issues that could enhance sustainable water management in a context of uncertainties linked to global change. We will also examine the ways in which water governance models, depending on the context (hydrology, stakeholders, scales, uses, mechanisms), are adapted and implemented across the territory, and how they can sometimes serve as a means of resolving other issues that fall within the public interest.