Dealing with the invisible, the uncertain and the blurring of borders: when experts interpret researchers to plan groundwater management in the Roussillon plain
Composer avec l’invisible, l’incertain et le flou des frontières : les gestionnaires interprètes des chercheurs pour planifier la gestion des aquifères dans la plaine du Roussillon
Résumé
Territorial groundwater management is complicated by the invisibility, complexity and uncertainties of the hydrogeological and social processes involved. The article deals with water management expert's interpretation of research results on hydrogeological processes, water uses, associated uncertainties and spatialization to guide public policy. The multilayer aquifer of the Roussillon plain provides the empirical basis for this work. A chronological timeline highlights the convergences, divergences and time or space shifts between scientific production and planning documents since the 1960s, on three major subjects (interactions between surface water and aquifers, vulnerability to overexploitation and risks of seawater intrusions). These distortions are analysed in terms of cognitive biases, pragmatic choices and socio-political pressures.