Local residents’ perceptions of floodplain restoration measures in Luxembourg's Syr Valley

The need for the restoration of semi-natural floodplain-river systems in Europe is widely recognised, and is currently a major task facing those responsible for conservation policy and water management. However, the long-term success of restoration measures and subsequent floodplain management depends largely on their cultural sustainability, which is related to perceptions of the resultant land use changes. In this study, residents of three communities adjacent to a floodplain restoration project in the Syr Valley (Luxembourg) were surveyed on their perception of the threat to floodplains, and their attitudes towards the restoration measures applied. The restoration involved the relocation of the River Syr into the valley bottom and the installation of a low-intensity grazing system. Although local residents did not perceive the floodplains of Luxembourg to be threatened on the whole, a large majority wanted to see more natural and healthy floodplain ecosystems and sought the implementation of eco-agricultural practices in future floodplain landscapes. Support for river restoration and low-intensity grazing was high, and support for their specific implementation to restore the Syr floodplain even greater. The direction of opinions could be predicted on the basis of basic beliefs, lifestyle concept and environmental behaviour, whereas socio-demographic variables were only of minor importance. These results suggested that the mimicking of past floodplain landscapes was viewed positively by the public, but to guarantee its long-term cultural sustainability landscape planners should direct their information and participation efforts actively towards different lifestyle groups.