Abstract
In the south of France, the Gardons, at the heart of the Mediterranean hot spot, are subject to the intensification of extreme impacts of climate change (droughts, floods etc.). Stakeholders in this territory base their decision-making on a certain representation of the "health" status of the rivers. In other words, watershed management is based on an adjustment between a perception of the health of the hydro-social cycle (taking care) and the actions implemented to improve it (giving care). To participate in guaranteeing accessible and available water for future generations, this thesis provides keys to understanding these heed-concern dynamics, in order to ensure the proper adjustment of management practices with the state of health of the watercourse. By mobilizing a care ethic of the hydro-social cycle, this thesis invites us to question the epistemological potential of the health analogy applied to watershed management. Inscribed in the continuity of the works carried out in sustainability science, it proposes an original approach imposing a renewal of the researcher's posture. Interdisciplinary, it calls upon the theoretical fields of hydrology, geography, and sociology. Transdisciplinary, it participates in the emergence and interpretation of the points of view of local actors. A survey, conducted between 2020 and 2022, articulates an approach by semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire approach to collect the diversity of these points of view on the health of the Gardons. It seeks to determine the indicators used by each person to express the link between "paying attention" and "taking care". The results of this research work reveal and explain several "spheres of care", characterized by a form of hydro-social adjustment: referring to the indicators used by the local actors, they open a space for dialogue between the different points of view. This thesis thus feeds the reflections around an adaptive and inclusive management of water, integrating experts, planners, and users alike.