Day of Scientific Encounters

Description

The Voices of Water #1 Water and its multiple functions: irrigation channels, dams, and future water management. How to coexist the multiple functions of water on the same territory? Irrigating, producing energy, supplying populations, preserving natural environments, or shaping landscapes: the same water now meets many needs. This first meeting of "Voices of Water" aims to explore this multifunctionality, with a particular focus on irrigation channels and dams. It will start with an outdoor walk, with a guided tour around the Miriouge irrigation channel and lakes, to observe how water is concretely integrated into the landscape and history of the territory. At the Opale Foundation, scientists, managers, and local actors will then engage in dialogue about different approaches to water management: irrigation channels, dams, the Lienne-Raspille project, and the "Sponge Municipality" initiative in Lens. Program: - 2-4 PM: guided walk around the Miriouge irrigation channel and lakes, with Emmanuel Reynard, professor of physical geography at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), and Martin Bagnoud, independent historian and scientific collaborator at the Valaisan Bisses Museum. - 4:30-6 PM: lectures and round table at the Opale Foundation: The multifunctionality of water - irrigation channels, dams, and territorial projects - From 6 PM: Aperitif and exchanges This event launches the Voices of Water, a series of scientific meetings co-organized by the Valaisan Bisses Museum and the CIRM-UNIL. With Voices of Water, the goal is not to claim to discover an unknown object or to add a new monograph on irrigation channels. It is about fostering dialogue among voices that have rarely been heard together: scientists, irrigators, cooperatives, artists, residents, ecologists, legal experts, farmers, Oman and its aflaj, glaciers, soils, landscapes, future generations... In 1946, Hermann Müller wrote that "almost everything has been said about the irrigation channels of Valais." Yet in 1994, Bernard Crettaz invited to renew their study through traverses and transversalities. Thirty years later, we propose to continue this journey: not just to talk about irrigation channels, but to listen to the voices of water. Each generation ultimately asks: what more do we have to say about irrigation channels? Our answer: perhaps less to say about them, but to understand with them. For over a year, about fifteen meetings will give voice to those who know, use, study, manage, and imagine irrigation channels and water in a holistic way. Conferences, hikes, round tables, symposiums, practical courses, and international meetings will enable the crossing of scientific knowledge, field experiences, skills, and future visions. Free event - registration required Register at contact@musee-des-bisses.ch Photo credit: Moiry Lake © Andrea Savoy