Changing attitudes towards rivers: Implications of climate change risk on river conservation

Dr Kate Walker-SpringettDr Catherine Butler

Prof. Lorraine Whitmarsh

Overview

• Public attitudes towards rivers(NERC/ESRC PhD studentship, Cardiff University)

• When it goes wrong: Flooding and well-being(ESRC Urgency Grant/NIHR HPRU, Exeter University)

• Final ThoughtsPhoto: Matilda Temperley

Kate Walker-Springett: k.walker-springett@exeter.ac.uk

Methods - qualitative

Public Attitudes towards rivers:Mixed Methods FG’sCardiff (participant n = 11); Northern Ireland (n = 9)

Photo: Matilda Temperley

Photo: Matilda Temperley

In-depth longitudinal research – Somerset case study (n = 109), August 2014 - May 2015

Methods - qualitative

Flooding and well-being:

c

River Importance

• Rivers are valued: potable water, recreation, nature and cultural reasons, agriculture1.

• Established link between blue space and human health and well-being2,3,4,5.

• Water has long been recognised as an important aspect of landscape aesthetics 6.7

1DALRYMPLE, G. 2006. In: SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE, E., AMP & RURAL AFFAIRS, D. (eds.). Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.2MILLER, D., et al. 2012. BlueHealth: Water, Health and Well-Being. The James Hutton Institute.3VOELKER, S. & KISTEMANN, T. 2011. Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Heal., 214, 449-460.4VOLKER, S. & KISTEMANN, T. 2013. Soc. Sci. Med. 78, 113-124.5WHITE, M., et. al. 2010. J. Environ. Psychol. 30, 482-493.6KAPLAN, R. 1977. Proceedings of River Recreation Management & Research Symposium, Minneapolis, USA. 7KAPLAN, R., et al. 1989. Environ. Behav, 21, 509-530.

Public Attitudes towards rivers

WALKER-SPRINGETT, K. 2014. The Development of Integrated Conservation Strategies based on Environmental Science and Psychology: A Case Study of the Freshwater Pearl Mussel. PhD, University of Cardiff.

c

“you know, people having an affinity with their river, you know it is included in songs and paintings and it is a part of any local culture” L, FG4

“I think there seems to be a move towards doing something . . .you know, restoring the habitat, people are finally seem[ing] to realise it’s important to do it” E, FG1

“now certainly our river, I live in a mining village an apparently 20 years ago, 30 years ago it was totally uninhabitable for wildlife and now we’ve got otters and you now we, everything in it indicates it is doing really well” F, FG2

Public Attitudes towards rivers

WALKER-SPRINGETT, K. 2014. The Development of Integrated Conservation Strategies based on Environmental Science and Psychology: A Case Study of the Freshwater Pearl Mussel. PhD, University of Cardiff.

Major UK floods; 1947; 1952/3; 1973; 1998; 2000; 2004; 2007; 2012; 2013/14

At risk: 5.2 million homes

Cost: £1.1 billion / €1.54 billion annually in flood damages

£2.34 billion/ €3.26 billion 2011 – 2015 on flood and coastal defense

Winter Floods 2013/14Somerset - Land of the Summer People

Sense of Place

“I'm a bit of an enthusiast about this little gem in South Somerset . . . . I think you could find most things to float your boat, whether you're sporty or artistic or there’s a couple of churches, a decent pub, it’s a good place to be” P18

Sense of Place

“Well to me as an artist, it's because there's such contrast. There's the hills there's the plains, there's the rivers. I drive for an hour and I get to the coast, north or south, I love Somerset it's absolutely gorgeous, it's a beautiful place to live.” P5

“As a place to live, from a wildlife point of view, we get damsel flies, dragon flies, we get kingfishers, last year we had a large egret and a small egret patrolling the waters.” P2

Well-Being Impacts“I found it [the floods] I found it hugely, threatening and oppressive but also hugely dominating because everybody around here is going round with their shoulders hunched, in the Spring when it finally stopped, you just got a sense of people slowly, slowly kind of dropping their shoulders. But there had been this sort of tension all winter, people not knowing if it’s going to get worse, people who had flooded.” P16

“The internal walls are just plasterboard so there’s no soundproofing, so if anybody is in the toilet, everybody else in the house can hear them, it’s so horrible, I can’t tell you. It just is vile compared to my own home, it’s just horrible. Really horrible.” P20

Well-Being Impacts

“Interestingly, there’s no doubt that I think once you flood, you flood and you deal with it but the worst part is when you dry out and the builders come in, it’s so stressful.” P23

“I don't think anything emotional or anything is any different really, still really concerned about you know, the drop in house prices and that sort of thing, it’s a real worry, not just for me but for everybody.” P6

Public Problem Framings“So this time of year … you would see large tractors and dredging machines cleaning all the rhyne system out, which meant the water could get away to at least the pumping station ... That ceased about 15 years ago and most of the ditches are overgrown and not really cleaned out very much, and the Department of Environment just kind of crossed them off their list, I think.” P25

“This land has been managed since Roman times, and since the founding the inauguration or whatever it is of the Environment Agency, it's just stopped. Nobody voted for it being stopped, it was very undemocratic.” P4

“Farming has changed and I think there is a cry that with the change from grass, which is a binding nature for the soil, to crops, then when the rain comes, the earth will flow off much quicker and much easier and therefore more management will be needed.” P17

Public Problem Framing

It was a lot of rain, it did feel like it rained the whole of winter, it was particularly wet” P22

ConflictThe Somerset Levels and Moors has been a bit of a battleground between environmentalists and the landowning and draining community – and peat extraction as well – so it’s been one of the most difficult areas in the country.” SH5

I would hope that their role overrides the Environment Agency when it comes to environmental matters, in that the people and businesses must come first, you probably saw the story about £2,500 per vole being moved?” P17

Looking to the Future

No, we would never move and I don't think anybody would ever move, it will be interesting to see when all the houses are put back together, if the flood prevention is done and it works, then there won’t be any need to move.” P17

Final Thoughts

“Suddenly they can’t trust their river any more. It’s like a loved one who has developed symptoms of psychosis. Anyone who has loved a river can tell you that the loss of a river is a terrible, aching thing.” (Arundhati Roy 1999: 61)