Managing the Rhone basin, from the glacier (well, what's left of it) to the sea: it's not clear that we have really comfortable room for manoeuvre Learning how to share the governance of an asset, a common heritage, between two countries governed by very different constitutions is, to say the least, a challenge. Upstream is little Switzerland, admittedly not very powerful, but in control, so to speak. For the time being at least, it may or may not be turning the tap. Downstream, France, which has a large majority in terms of territory, population and activities related to the 'water' resource provided by the Rhône basin, is an almost unavoidable partner. But do these two countries really have the choice of continuing to manage the river in the old-fashioned way, with each opulent country looking after its own patch without really taking into account the reciprocal influences that necessarily bind it to its neighbour? The truth is that, given the worrying changes in environmental conditions in the Alpine arc, where climate change seems to be happening faster than elsewhere and is already generating particularly violent and potentially dramatic phenomena (landslides, floods, drought, upheaval of ecosystems, water shortages, etc.), the two countries would be well advised to quickly set up real co-management of the Rhône and its catchment area, a real treasure for almost 12 million people.
