Résumé
Alpine regions are particularly affected by the effects of climate change (IPCC 2019, 2021; Mastrotheodoro et al. 2020): the increase in temperature is twice as high as the global average. From the point of view of water resources, climate change contributes to modifying the precipitation regime (drought), hydrological regimes (lengthening of the low-water period) and hydrogeological regimes (drying up of springs in karstic contexts), while increasing the variability of these processes (Milano et al. 2015). At the same time, anthropogenic changes linked to land use planning and to the securing of water-intensive activities (agriculture, winter tourism) in response to climate change are contributing to accentuating its effects. The “water tower of Europe” is therefore faced with more or less localized water scarcity issues, and water use rivalries, even conflicts, emerge in specific places and times. One example we focus on in our fieldwork is that of tensions between pastoralism, hiking and biodiversity conservation. This illustrates the need to find solutions that are not only corrective and punctual to sustainably articulate water resources and uses.