Presentation short abstract

A discussion between an artist and a PhD student on the rise of the River Regeneration Movement Inspired by Beavers (RRMB) in France, focusing on multi-species alliances around rivers and the role of art in making alternative visions visible.

Presentation long abstract

Confronted with accelerating environmental degradation and recurrent droughts, new movements are emerging that seek to make alternative river imaginaries and practices visible (Boelens & al., 2023). In this context, we analyse the rise of the River Regeneration Movement inspired by Beavers (RRMB), a heterogeneous assemblage of citizens, environmentalists, artists, farmers, beavers, and river professionals. Our contribution brings together the perspectives of the artist Suzanne Husky who initiated and helped spark this movement (Husky & Morizot, 2024)—by importing practices from the western United States (Jordan &Faifax, 2022)—and a PhD researcher in geography Samuel Pinjon who studies the transformative effects of such initiatives on water policies.

Our presentation examines how the RRMB has activated an imaginary around what is a "alive river", challenging dominant river-management paradigms by proposing a dynamic and relational understanding of rivers and lands. We first explore the epistemic dimension of the movement, focusing on the circulation of scientific knowledge from the United States to France and the renewed attention to empirical and experiential ways of “reading” rivers. We then discuss the role of artistic practices as both representation tools for thinking rivers differently and as vectors for experimenting with alternative restoration techniques. The presentation also addresses the strategies adopted when engaging with river professionals, highlighting the controversies and frictions that arise from these encounters. The place and role of beavers, what the RRMB learns from them and to what extent drawing inspiration from their expertise is a matter of multi-species justice (Houart, 2024).