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Paper short abstract:

The Rhine in Vorarlberg is only a shadow of its former self, where more than human life barely appears. However, flooding is expected to intensify in the Anthropocene which pressures flood management to liberate the river. The resulting semiotic freedom will lead to crucial ecological enhancements.

Paper long abstract:

The eponymous river of the Rhine valley was constricted, controlled, and civilized through practices of colonizing nature. The watershed was incorporated into the built environment and morphed into a functional canal where “more-than-human” (Whatmore 2002; Tsing 2013) life and habitation are constrained. This current form is in fact a "materialization of social relations" (Tsing 2013; Anand 2017), that echoes the "dilemma of industrial society" (Hajer 1998).

However, the parameters of waterway management of the Internationale Rheinregulierung (IRR) are shifting in the face of increasing flood risks in the Anthropocene. The proposed restoration project 'Rhesi' draws on the knowledge of biologists and engineers to embrace the "natural force" (Hastrup 2014) of the river's vital matter. The inner dams will be broken up allowing the Rhine to meander and form small islands of gravel that provide the structures living organisms depend on and promise "semiotic freedom" (Eriksen 2022). This project is modeled in a local warehouse to capture the complex movements of water and convince affected critical local citizens. After all, for successful implementation, it is imperative to impart new flood management knowledge practices to the affected local residents. Thus, in the process of restoration, not only the river transforms but also local everyday knowledge.

In this paper, I contextualize the entanglements of the river as ever-unfolding hydrosocial becomings and illustrate that water is "knotting" (Ingold 2015) multiple and diverse meanings. I argue that waterscapes cannot be controlled, only corresponded with.