Placing water at the centre: participation, time and evolution of the trajectories of River Contracts processes in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy)

This paper investigates the evolution over time of River Contracts (RCs) processes in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of North-East Italy. RCs are voluntary agreements among stakeholders for the participatory management of water bodies. The analysis builds on previous work by Venturini and Visentin (2024), identifying RCs' positioning based on their adoption of top-down vs. participatory approaches and implementation as projects vs. processes. Extending this framework, the role of time is examined as a variable impacting RCs' trajectories. Support activities implemented by the geographers of the University of Udine are reported as key drivers for the evolution towards more participatory, process-oriented approaches, but the research also highlights the importance of individual commitment in steering this positive evolution, which place water at the center of territorial governance.