From quantitative water management to aquatic ecosystem management. Approaches and tools developed in the framework of the INRAE-OFB partnership

Abstract

This special issue has a double objective: to illustrate different research and scientific expertise actions carried out in partnership between INRAE and the OFB, developing useful research for the deployment of public policies on water management; to show the importance of articulating quantitative issues of water resource management with issues of water quality management and aquatic ecosystems. The successive flood and drought crises, in particular the one we have just experienced in 2022, could indeed make us forget that quantity, water quality and biodiversity of aquatic environments are closely linked by numerous interacting processes that go far beyond simple dilution or drying up phenomena. This introductory article first gives some elements of the partnership framework agreement that links INRAE and OFB, two new establishments, then develops the importance of linking water quantity and quality, and finally, it illustrates with a few examples, the concrete results of actions carried out in partnership, their contribution to water management, and the deployment of public policies.