Fostering community engagement in small dam removal: Participatory approaches for restoration in the Alviela River, Portugal

Abstract

Our project focuses on community engagement in a process of small dam removal in the Alviela River, Portugal, to tackle climate change and improve river connectivity. Engaging riparian communities early in ecological restoration processes, such as small dam removal, is essential for effective, equitable and just river management. Therefore, we used a participatory, multi-method qualitative approach that is structured around three primary objectives: (1) incorporating local knowledge to ensure that decisions are tailored to the Alviela's specific context and aligned with the knowledge and concerns of local residents; (2) exploring local perspectives and representations by collecting community memories and analyze representations and social functions of the Alviela from the residents’ point of view, integrating people-place relations, such as identity and attachment, into the process, and ensuring these relationships are fostered and maintained throughout the process of removal; and (3) meaningful knowledge sharing by disseminating in a relatable way, formal and scientific knowledge on topics such as climate change, river connectivity, ecological restoration, and specially the role of small dam removal in addressing these issues. We discuss the challenges entailed by developing and co1 constructing this process in a community where historically there has been a focus on other pressing topics regarding ecological restoration of rivers, namely pollution. Although we acknowledge the challenges associated with community participation processes, we show how they are crucial for successful and meaningful removals.