Botswana is a water scarce country. Rainfall is highly variable, leading to limited surface and groundwater resources. Due to persistently dry conditions most rivers found in Botswana are ephemeral. The Boteti River sub-Basin is one of the numerous ephemeral river sub-Basins, in Botswana. Key environmental challenges, resulting from human activities, in the sub-Basin are: increased pressure on local resources due to overstocking, overgrazing and over-harvesting; reductions in wildlife numbers; denudation of vegetation and the resultant exposure of the soil to wind erosion. As a major step, to pilot implementation of river basin management in the ephemeral river basins in southern Africa, the Boteti River sub-Basin is one of the key areas identified for study under the Ephemeral River Basins in the Southern African Development Community SADC (ERBSADC) Project. This study was initiated, as part of the ERB-SADC project and its aim is to investigate the socio-economic status of the Boteti River sub-Basin and determine the potential for developing integrated management of water and land resources in the sub- Basin. Its key objectives are to identify and assess types and patterns of water use; to identify and assess key livelihood activities; and to critically assess community participation in water resources management in the sub-Basin. A questionnaire was administered to 293 households, a focus group discussion was held with twelve community representatives of six villages in the sub-Basin, six traditional leaders and five local government officers were interviewed as key informants, and informal discussions were held with three local farmers. Results from the study indicate low livelihood levels based on livestock and arable agriculture, high dependence on natural resources and low participation of communities in water management. The study concludes that a livelihood approach to integrated water resources management can help deal with environmental challenges and enhance community participation. / Environmental Sciences / Thesis (M.A. (Environmental Science))

Le paysage des rivières en tresses est constitué d’une riche mosaïque d’habitats diversifiés, déterminée par un ensemble de facteurs biophysiques qui interagissent à différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles.A partir d’une sélection de 53 tronçons en tresses, nous avons réalisé une analyse comparative à l’échelle régionale du bassin du Rhône et en fonction de plusieurs échelles temporelles, en mobilisant les techniques de télédétection.Premièrement, nous avons étudié la variabilité de la structure des habitats aquatiques et du patron des chenaux. Nous montrons que le patron de tressage et des habitats aquatiques n’est pas uniquement lié au débit, mais aussi aux conditions locales liées aux apports sédimentaires et à la présence de la nappe phréatique.Deuxièmement, nous avons abordé une approche diachronique afin de comprendre l’évolution à moyen terme du paysage fluvial de ces tronçons, depuis la moitié du siècle dernier. Les résultats montrent que toutes les tresses du bassin rhodanien ne sont pas déliquescentes et que certains tronçons sont encore très actifs. Cela dépend d’un ensemble de facteurs : la position géographique du tronçon, son évolution à court terme liée aux épisodes de crues et l’histoire des conditions anthropiques environnantes.Enfin nous avons analysé les trajectoires évolutives suivies par un sous-ensemble de 12 sites, analysés à une échelle temporelle plus fine (5 observations par site sur 50 ans). Nous observons que les tronçons suivent des trajectoires différentes, en fonction des conditions hydrologiques observables à un moment donnée (ex. crues), de la position géographique du tronçon et du contexte anthropique. De plus, certaines conditions locales (topographie et humidité relative) semblent aussi nécessaire à la compréhension du patron biogéomorphologique des tronçons étudiés.A partir de ces résultats des éléments de perspectives pour une gestion intégrée des rivières en tresses du district rhodanien sont proposés. / The landscape of the braided rivers is characterised by a rich and diversified mosaic of habitats. The variability of the braided riverscape depends upon the combination of bio-physical factors, which interact at the different spatial and temporal scales.We did a comparative analysis at the regional scale of 53 braided reaches selected in the Rhône basin district. We used a remote sensing-based approach.At first, we analysed the aquatic habitat and the river channel pattern. We showed that the braiding and aquatic habitat patterns do not depend only on the flow regime but also on some local scale conditions, such us the sediment regime and the presence of the “near-floor” groundwater.Secondly, we moved on the overall riverscape corridor, and we applied a diachronic analysis comparing the present state of reaches with their state at the mid of the last century. The results show that not all studied braided reaches are narrower today compared to the 1950s and that some reaches are even wider. It is linked to a combination of several factors, such as the geographical position of a reach in its catchment and the short-term evolution ruled by recent large floods, as well as the history of the catchment linked to human settlements.Then we focused on the evolutionary trajectories followed by a sub-set of 12 braided reaches through time, and we increased the temporal resolution, for a total of five dates per reach. The results show that reaches follow different trajectories depending on: the hydrological conditions at a given period (e.g. floods), the geographical position of a reach at the regional scale and the anthropic context. Additionally, it seems that also local conditions (in terms of topography, sedimentation, and soil moisture), play an important role in determining the biogeomorphological pattern of the studied reaches.From these results, we discussed some perspectives for the braided river management in the Rhône basin district.

Europäische große Flüsse wurden über Jahrhunderte entscheidend verändert und zu Wasserstraßen für die Schifffahrt ausgebaut. Flussregulierung, Begradigung und Hochwasserschutz tragen zu multiplen Stressoren bei, wobei die Schifffahrt bislang keine Beachtung als potentieller zusätzlicher Einflussfaktor (Stressor) fand. Die zentrale Fragestellung dieser Arbeit befasste sich mit der Rolle der Schifffahrt zwischen multiplen Stressoren und deren Auswirkungen auf die Fischgemeinschaften großer Flüsse. Hierzu wurde die „Large River Fish Database“ (LRDB), ein weltweit einzigartiger Datensatz zusammengestellt, der 2693 Befischungen an 358 Probestellen in 16 europäischen großen Flüssen enthält. Die Probestellen sind durch verschiedene Einflussfaktoren (Stressoren) und Schiffsverkehr beschrieben. Um ein für große Flüsse repräsentatives Abbild der Fischgemeinschaften zu erhalten, wurden zunächst die angewendeten Fischfangmethoden analysiert. Mit der Elektrofischerei wurden die höchsten Fischdichten und die höchste Biodiversität erfasst. Die Elektrofischerei ist daher für eine repräsentative Erfassung der Fischgemeinschaften großer Flüsse geeignet und wurde für weitere Analysen ausgewählt. Die kommerzielle Frachtschifffahrt trat als einer der einflussreichsten Stressoren hervor, zusammen mit erhöhter Fließgeschwindigkeit und dem Verlust von Überschwemmungsflächen. Dichten von insbesondere Habitat-sensitiven Fischen sanken bereits ab acht Frachtschiffen pro Tag signifikant ab. Darüberhinaus hatte auch die Freizeitschifffahrt (Flusskreuzfahrten und motorisierte Sportboote) deutliche und zu Frachtschiffen unterscheidbare ökologische Konsequenzen. Die Wirkungen der Schifffahrt sind ebenso verheerend wie die der hydromorphologischen Degradierung und benötigen eine gesonderte Beachtung im Flussmanagement und der Flussrevitalisierung. Freizeitboote und Flussdampfer wirken der Flussrenaturierung kleinerer Wasserstraßen entgegen und gefährden den ökologischen Erfolg des Blauen Bandes. / European large rivers have been tremendously modified over centuries and transformed into waterways for inland navigation. Extensive river modifications such as river regulation, channel straightening and flood protection have resulted in multiple pressures. However, inland navigation has not been considered as a potential pressure yet. This thesis aimed to assess the role of inland navigation among the most prevailing pressures in large rivers under field conditions. A worldwide unique and complementary dataset, the Large River Fish Database (LRDB) was compiled. The LRDB consists of 2693 fish samples assessed at 358 sampling sites in 16 European large rivers. Sites were characterized by various pressure variables and frequencies of ship traffic. To derive representative samples of large rivers fish assemblages, performance of various fishing gears applied was assessed. Electrofishing samples represented highest densities of fish and highest overall biodiversity. Therefore, electrofishing is suitable for fish-based assessments of large rivers and only electrofishing samples were selected to assess multiple pressures and inland navigation. Commercial cargo navigation appeared as the most influential pressures on large rivers fish assemblages among increased velocities and the loss of floodplains. Starting at already eight passing vessels per day, densities of particularly habitat-sensitive spawners significantly declined. Moreover, recreational navigation such as river cruises and motorized sport boats had distinct ecological consequences to those of cargo vessels. Inland navigation is as detrimental as the hydromorphological degradation of the river channel and requires specific attention in river management and rehabilitation. Pleasure boating (river cruises and sport boats) will counteract river rehabilitation also in smaller waterways and delimit ecological success of the Blue Band initiative in Germany.