A case study of flood control schemes for the Kakehashi river and their socio-cultural consequences
SUMMARY This paper is concerned with a twenty-five year campaign against the relocation of the Komatsu-Tenmangu shrine as a result of the enlargement of the Kakehashi river. The Komatsu-Tenmangu shrine is an important cultural property of Japan, and was constructed by Toshitsune Maeda, the third dynasty of the Kaga clan in 1657. It is suggested that the primary reason why it took so long to settle this issue is a flaw in our social system for managing public works. It is concluded that preservation of cultural property is not always contrary to land development, and that the proposed procedures or something like them must be put into practice for the real expansion of our culture.
Flood alleviation schemes of the Kakehashi Basin, Japan
Two alternative countermeasures for alleviating floods in the Kakehashi basin have been proposed in order to compensate for the existing measures. It is concluded that preservation of the Komatsu-Tenmangu shrine, which is an important cultural property, is consistent with the proposed flood alleviation schemes. It becomes evident that preservation of the Komatsu-Tenmangu shrine is critical for any flood alleviation scheme of the Kakehashi basin, for on the basis of an ancient philosophy the main building of the Komatsu-Tenmangu shrine is located at an unique position in the north-east direction and at the distance of 600m from the Komatsu castle, and on the site near the water edge of the Kakehashi river.
A method for applied ecological studies of fluvial hydrosystems
The hydrosystem of the Rhǒne River, France, is considered in 3 dimensions: the upstream-downstream progression, the transversal dimension (main stream, side-arms, marshes, flood plain and their interconnections), and the vertical dimension (relationships between epigean and ground waters). Emphasis is placed on the temporal dimension, which considers changes in the river's dynamics, and on the development of its ecosystems over several centuries. 
 
 
 
Analyses were performed on different spatial scales; the definitions of functional sectors, functional sets and functional units are based on a combination of geomorphic patterns, fluvial dynamics and ecological processes. Synchronic and diachronic analyses were carried out using functional describers (granulometry and organic content of sediments, floral and faunal communities). 
 
 
 
These studies deal mainly with the distrubed hydrosystems of regulated rivers. The changes of the ecological successions are focused on after reference to natural models and the reconstitution of ancient human disturbances. Predictive scenarios are proposed to promote ecological management of the alluvial plains in the event of hydroelectric development.