3. Case study: the Third Rhone Correction Project (R3)
The Third Rhone Correction Project (R3) has been chosen because of its economical and political importance, the large
number of stakeholders involved, their heterogeneity and the river restoration context. The Swiss political system is a direct democracy, and traditionally, consensus building plays an important role at several levels. Consultation between different administration services is routine in Switzerland, but participation with nonadministrative stakeholders is rare for the Swiss administration. Participation is an obligation fixed in different federal and cantonal laws. For example, the federal law for land use planning requires public involvement. Also the laws give the right to make opposition to everyone touched by the project. This political and legal constellation explains why, for the R3 project, a participation process has been elaborated and implemented. In addition, two other constraints had to be considered: the deadline and the different phases of the R3 project.
The R3 project is the most important current river restoration project in Switzerland. It involves 160 km of river and a significant part of its valley. Its cost will be on the order of V 1.0 billion over a period of 30 years. The R3 project has three main objectives (Canton du Valais, 2000, 2005):