Blue Papers
type: channel
description: Blue Papers: a Journal for Empowering Water and Heritage for Sustainable Development edited by Carola Hein with changing special editors (see editorial history).
publisher: Stichting OpenAccess
language: en
publication name: Blue Papers
issn: 2950-1423
items: Editorial Issue 1/2026 Water and Heritage: From Centralized Legacies to Integrated Futures
items: Water as a Continuum: Bridging Freshwater, Ocean and Heritage
items: Icons as a Tool to Connect Water Practices, Functions and Values across Space and Time: A Second Attempt
items: From Paris Plages to a Sustainable River
items: The Place of Nature in Preserving Cultural Heritage and Reconnecting Citizens with their Environment: A Microscopic Approach
items: Swimmable Futures: Reimagining Water Stewardship through Youth and Community
items: The Morphological Resilience of the Seine in Paris: From Ancient Meander to the Contemporary Street Network
items: Heritage Spaces and River Imageries: The Case of the Guinguette
items: Reviving Urban Swimming in Europe: Navigating Complexity Between Natural and Cultural Heritage
items: The Paris Sewer Renaissance: Data, Health and Participatory Science
items: Paris Sewers: A 19th Century Heritage to Be Adapted to the Challenges of the 21st Century
items: The Port–City–River Relationship in Paris: The Challenge of Mixed-Use Development
items: The Seine and Energy Transition: Historical Lessons for a Sustainable Future
items: Making the Seine Swimmable: From Regulatory Challenges to a Metropolitan Vision
items: Colonial Disaster, the “Capitalocene” and Contemporary Lessons: The Great Flood of 1924 in Southern India
items: Drowning Heritage: The Impact of Climate Change and Erosion on Azizakpe’s Water Culture
items: Adaptive Reuse of Maritime Infrastructure: Case Study of Colonial Harbormaster Towers in Java’s Port Cities
items: Mapping and Reviving Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon: Survey Methods, Findings and Policy Pathways
items: Playing with Water: A Value Case for Gamified Water Resilience in Alfândega da Fé, Portugal
items: The Second Terrace: Reconnecting with Water and the Vernacular in the Ifugao Rice Terraces
items: Constructing the Karakum Canal: The Urbanization of Soviet Turkmenistan and the Aral Sea Crisis
items: Rituals and Residues: Mapping Mining Landscapes and Spatial Practices Along South Africa’s Klip River
items: Reconsidering “Water” as an Initiator and Transformer of River Landscape Heritage: The Case of the Menderes (Maeander) Delta, Türkiye
items: Historical Water Governance in Turkmenistan and the Challenges of Soviet Interventions
items: The Politics of Iraq’s Waterscape: 1920-2024
items: Repower the Harbormaster Towers: Managing Maritime Artifacts in Java’s Port Cities
items: Sustainable Development and Indigenous Knowledge: The Role of Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon
items: River Port Cities Facing Climate Change: Global Examples for Heritage-Based Sustainable Development
items: Understanding the Historical Geography of Water Use in Estate Landscapes: Learning from the Past to Address Present-Day Water Challenges
items: Environmental Threats to Prehistoric Treasures: Tassili n’Ajjer and Hoggar Facing Climatic Disruptions

Editorial Issue 1/2026 Water and Heritage: From Centralized Legacies to Integrated Futures
type: item
description: Blue Papers aims to inspire new approaches to water, culture, heritage and sustainable development. We believe historical and historiographical analysis can help shift the discourse from strategies focused on short-term gains to long-term approaches that consider both historical dynamics and the potential consequences of future developments. An analytical focus on water – its materiality and flows – can help shift the discourse from disconnected, monodisciplinary approaches to spatial, social and cultural analysis, connecting multiple scales, diverse stakeholders and local characteristics over time.
subject: editorial
  topic: section
creator: Carola Hein
creator: Michele Tenzon
creator: Matteo D’Agostino
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Carola Hein, Michele Tenzon, Matteo D’Agostino https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-06
publication date: 2026-06-06
starting page: 8
ending page: 12
doi: 10.58981/f80whg36

Water as a Continuum: Bridging Freshwater, Ocean and Heritage
type: item
description: Water (in both its ‘fresh’ and ‘salty’ forms) shapes landscapes, societies, and cultures across time, linking ocean, rivers, coasts, and inland waters into a continuous and dynamic system. Managing water is therefore an inherently complex task, one that draws on long-standing practices while requiring new forms of knowledge and governance in response to climate change, environmental degradation, and growing social inequality. Whether as natural systems, engineered infrastructures, or cultural spaces, water environments embody collective memory and inherited relationships between people and their ‘liquid’ surroundings. For much of history, communities have developed adaptive ways of living with water, informed by deep environmental knowledge and cultural practices tailored to local conditions. Over time, however, large-scale and centralized water management approaches, often driven by economic, political, or technological priorities, have reshaped these relationships. While such systems enabled development and security, they also over-simplified ecological processes and marginalized local knowledge, leaving enduring legacies that continue to influence vulnerability and resilience today. International frameworks and global climate and disaster risk reduction agreements increasingly recognize the need for integrated approaches that connect freshwater and marine systems, science and society, and past experience and heritage with future action. These agendas call for governance models that are inclusive, adaptive, and grounded in place-based understanding, acknowledging that ocean sustainability depends on what happens upstream, and that heritage plays a key role in shaping how societies respond to change. In this context, heritage is not only something to be preserved, but also a living resource for learning, adaptation, and transformation. Climate change challenges conventional approaches to conservation by introducing uncertainty, loss, and the need for continual adju…
subject: preface
  topic: section
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-06
publication date: 2026-06-06
starting page: 6
ending page: 7
doi: 10.58981/0mp9qv89

Icons as a Tool to Connect Water Practices, Functions and Values across Space and Time: A Second Attempt
type: item
description: Humans have shaped water systems for millennia, creating complex networks of physical structures, institutions and cultural practices. These systems reflect locally embedded yet globally influenced values that evolve over time. From infrastructure and landscapes to rituals and laws, human engagement with water is both tangible and intangible, deeply influenced by societal preferences, climate conditions and historical choices. To better understand this diversity, we developed a set of icons to represent various water spaces, functions, practices and values. Rather than offering a fixed taxonomy, these icons are intended as tools for discussion – making visible the multiple dimensions of water and the meanings knowledge holders assign to it. Originally introduced in 2022 (Hein et al. 2022), the icons were used by authors in our journal to highlight key themes in their work. While we envisioned them as a way to map specific water-related elements across time and geography, they also served as visual keywords, helping to reveal prominent aspects of water heritage and practice. This goal has guided our ongoing efforts to enhance the icons’ interpretive and comparative value, stimulating deeper cross-contextual reflection (Hein et al. 2025). In our second attempt to build a taxonomy of water practices, functions and values, we have introduced new icons and revised others, notably by adding representations of aesthetic and economic aspects and refining examples. Ultimately, these categories are suggestions – not exhaustive or mutually exclusive – designed to illuminate how water has been managed, valued and lived with across different times and places, and how the past continues to influence the present and shape our future. As we make the water icons open source (CC-BY) available for download on the Blue Papers website, we invite readers to build on the current set and expand it to fit their own context. The goal is to foster a dialogue around water values, invite collab…
subject: water, culture and heritage themes
  topic: section
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-06
publication date: 2026-06-06
starting page: X
ending page: 5
doi: 10.58981/ng7nyn80

From Paris Plages to a Sustainable River
type: item
description: Two decades ago, Paris shifted from a functional municipal policy for the Seine to one that approached the river as an extension of the city. Until the 1990s, the Seine was a service area that fulfilled very specific transport functions. The same period saw growing concern about heritage and a need to preserve the river landscape and its architecture. In the 2000s, the Paris-Plage program marked a transition to a policy focused on the variety of ways the river is used. It also led to the establishment of new urban lifestyles along the river and, as a result, to imagining new ways of using the water. Today, three new trends are emerging: the need to broaden our perspective and consider the Seine on the scale of the entire valley; the return of the “river system” with all its hydrological and natural characteristics; and finally, the slow emergence of “rights of nature” in political debates.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: Seine River
  topic: keywords
subject: Paris
  topic: keywords
subject: usages
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: environment
  topic: keywords
creator: Bruno Gouyette
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Bruno Gouyette https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-04-17
publication date: 2026-04-17
doi: 10.58981/v4pckk73

The Place of Nature in Preserving Cultural Heritage and Reconnecting Citizens with their Environment: A Microscopic Approach
type: item
description: Because of their historical and architectural richness, since 1991 the banks of the Seine in Paris have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to UNESCO, the definition of the historic urban landscape (HUL) emphasizes the interdependence between cultural heritage, the natural environment, and the evolution of urban life. However, underwater, the Seine River abounds of microscopic life constituted by phytoplankton organisms that are essential to aquatic ecosystems. Revealing this invisible life can help raise public awareness of the importance of the living as a natural heritage – similar to cultural heritage. The HUL approach should recognize the value of these autotrophic (self-feeding) microorganisms and the ecosystem services they provide. Several activities within a citizen science project offer the possibility to raise public awareness through plankton observation workshops. This approach also engages citizens in the protection of natural heritage for future generations.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: Seine River
  topic: keywords
subject: natural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: phytoplankton
  topic: keywords
subject: biodiversity
  topic: keywords
subject: citizen science
  topic: keywords
creator: Sahima Hamlaoui
creator: Maria Cellamare
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sahima Hamlaoui, Maria Cellamare https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.11

Swimmable Futures: Reimagining Water Stewardship through Youth and Community
type: item
description: Wavemakers United (WU) is a global initiative reimagining water stewardship by linking sport, youth leadership and community action. Responding to the limits of technocratic governance, WU frames water as a civic commons: shared, cultural and co-governed. By amplifying existing initiatives like Swimmable Cities and Drinkable Rivers, it mobilizes youth as ambassadors, educators and policy contributors who cocreate more inclusive and resilient water systems. From riverbank restoration to Olympic activism, WU combines hands-on learning with public imagination, shifting focus from regulatory compliance to justice-centered restoration. With more than 50,000 students and young professionals engaged across more than 60 countries, WU shows how water literacy, civic participation and intergenerational care can reshape access, equity and meaning in urban waterscapes. This article examines WU’s model as a pathway toward systemic change – one that empowers communities not only to care for water, but also to co-author its future.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: water
  topic: keywords
subject: youth
  topic: keywords
subject: community
  topic: keywords
subject: engagement
  topic: keywords
subject: stewardship
  topic: keywords
creator: Elizabeth Hameeteman
creator: Tilly Stroo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Elizabeth Hameeteman, Tilly Stroo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.20

The Morphological Resilience of the Seine in Paris: From Ancient Meander to the Contemporary Street Network
type: item
description: This article considers the heritage of river form in the current urban fabric, specifically in relation to an ancient meander of the Seine located on the right bank of Paris. The resilience of the river’s shape appears by crossing texts, maps and archaeological data in historical geospatial mapping (GIS). In the ninth century, the Church of Sainte-Opportune in Paris received from the king the wetland left behind by the ancient channel of the Seine and used it as common pasture until 1150. Then, the canons drained the marsh which was converted for vegetable farming and, since the fourteenth century, for a sewer system. Since the nineteenth century, it has influenced the orientation of urban plots and streets. Finally, during the big flood of 1910, the Seine returned to its ancient bed. This is an example of how forms are passed on over time: because functions change.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: resilience
  topic: keywords
subject: urban fabric
  topic: keywords
subject: wetlands
  topic: keywords
subject: sewers
  topic: keywords
subject: flood
  topic: keywords
creator: Hélène Noizet
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Hélène Noizet https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.03

Heritage Spaces and River Imageries: The Case of the Guinguette
type: item
description: This article explores the “guinguette”, a river heritage that is both rich and discreet. The guinguette has a long history of cultural practices associated with its peculiar location. In collective memory, the guinguette is a lively place of leisure, entertainment and popular conviviality. The history of the guinguette is tied to the varied trajectories shaping the cultural and economic development of urban river spaces. Numerous stakeholders in riverine culture have exploited this cultural imagery of an art de vivre by the water and have contributed in re-enchanting it in order to create new brands and new sites.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: guinguette
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: remediation
  topic: keywords
subject: art de vivre
  topic: keywords
subject: hospitality
  topic: keywords
creator: Olivier Aïm
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Olivier Aïm https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.06

Reviving Urban Swimming in Europe: Navigating Complexity Between Natural and Cultural Heritage
type: item
description: This article examines the revival of urban swimming in Europe, framing it as a site of negotiation between natural and cultural heritage. A comparative analysis of Paris and Berlin reveals two complementary models of urban swimming: an institutional, infrastructure-led approach in Paris, centered on the highly symbolic Seine River, and a grassroots, nature-based initiative in Berlin’s disused Spree Canal. Paris offers comprehensive implementation, but faces questions of equity and resilience. Berlin’s project emphasizes sustainable design and civic engagement yet remains constrained by historical and economic factors. The study concludes that achieving a balance between nature and culture in urban swimming requires addressing infrastructural, transdisciplinary, social and symbolic dimensions, as well as emphasizing the importance of clear communication, holistic strategies and ongoing research.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: urban swimming
  topic: keywords
subject: natural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: cultural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: water
  topic: keywords
subject: cities
  topic: keywords
creator: Alba Balmaseda Domínguez
creator: Yixin Cao
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Alba Balmaseda Domínguez, Yixin Cao https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.19

The Paris Sewer Renaissance: Data, Health and Participatory Science
type: item
description: Aging urban wastewater infrastructure, often overlooked, can become a powerful lever for environmental and public health policy. Through the lens of the Parisian sewer system, this article highlights the growing pressures on sanitation networks – from combined sewer overflows to emerging chemical contaminants – and the limits of current treatment technologies. Yet, it also illustrates how wastewater can serve as a valuable resource. Initiatives like OBÉPINE have demonstrated the feasibility of wastewater-based epidemiology at scale, while participatory initiatives such as those performed in EGOUT show that citizen engagement and scientific monitoring can go hand in hand. Together, these efforts redefine wastewater as more than waste: It is a mirror of collective behavior, a platform for community science and a tool for decision-making. As cities face urgent climate and health challenges, this work calls for policies that reconnect people with infrastructure and invest in data-driven, inclusive approaches to urban sustainability.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: water quality
  topic: keywords
subject: wastewater
  topic: keywords
subject: chemical contamination
  topic: keywords
subject: microbial contamination
  topic: keywords
subject: participatory sciences
  topic: keywords
creator: Thomas Thiebault
creator: Catherine Carré
creator: Jérémy Jacob
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Thomas Thiebault, Catherine Carré, Jérémy Jacob https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.15

Paris Sewers: A 19th Century Heritage to Be Adapted to the Challenges of the 21st Century
type: item
description: The Parisian sewer system was designed and built primarily in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Today, the responsibility of the City of Paris is to maintain these 150-year-old structures, which are still in operation, and at the same time adapt this system to today’s environmental challenges. When the sewer system was first established, the improvements it made to Parisians’ comfort, health and quality of life were readily apparent: The sewers were part of the Hausmann plan, which modernized and beautified Paris, both above and below ground, bringing drinking water to homes and removing wastewater from the streets. At the time, Parisians were very aware of this new public service because it changed their lives, and they had the chance to visit the sewer as early as 1867. Today the situation is quite different: It is now a hidden, little-known part of the city, transformed to meet the challenges of preserving rivers and turning wastewater into a resource. However, the goal of making it possible to swim in the Seine has shed new light on the Paris sewer system and its catchment area.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: modernity
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: sanitation
  topic: keywords
subject: environment
  topic: keywords
subject: adaptation
  topic: keywords
creator: Anita Ravlic
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Anita Ravlic https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.14

The Port–City–River Relationship in Paris: The Challenge of Mixed-Use Development
type: item
description: The relationship between Paris and the Seine has been undergoing a process of reconnection. Since the first decade of the twenty-first century, the development of new public spaces along the river has been a central focus of municipal policy. This shift marks a recreational and ecological turning point in the city–river dynamic, characteristic of the postindustrial river city. Nevertheless, a few urban ports remain in operation, managed by a port authority that negotiates with the municipality and industrial stakeholders to better integrate these sites into the urban fabric. Based on selected examples, this article considers the challenges of integrating these ports within the city and the coexistence of economic and urban functions in light of sustainability objectives.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: port
  topic: keywords
subject: city
  topic: keywords
subject: Paris
  topic: keywords
subject: transport
  topic: keywords
subject: sustainability
  topic: keywords
creator: Jean Debrie
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Jean Debrie https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.13

The Seine and Energy Transition: Historical Lessons for a Sustainable Future
type: item
description: The history of navigation on the Seine offers a unique laboratory for examining how energy transitions transform the systems that support river transport. This case study explores how the historical management of energy on the Seine – particularly as documented in Bernard Le Sueur’s work on the history of French river navigation – can inform contemporary energy transition strategies for river transport. The Seine illustrates a fundamental principle: service always precedes integration. From the organisation of hauliers in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in the 19th century to the current challenges of ensuring low-carbon energy in the Seine Valley, the sector’s organisational evolution shows that new energy technologies first appear as external services before being integrated into transport units. This historical analysis contributes directly to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7: Clean Energy, SDG 9: Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 13: Climate Action) by proposing innovative organisational models to accelerate the energy transition in European river transport.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: energy transitions
  topic: keywords
subject: Seine River transport heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: energy-as-a-service model
  topic: keywords
subject: fleet decarbonization
  topic: keywords
subject: multi-energy ports
  topic: keywords
creator: Olivier Burel
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Olivier Burel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-23
publication date: 2026-03-23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.12

Making the Seine Swimmable: From Regulatory Challenges to a Metropolitan Vision
type: item
description: This article examines the reintroduction of swimming in the Seine from a dual perspective: first, the technical and regulatory constraints specific to Paris; second, the need to broaden the scope toward long-term territorial planning. In the first part, the authors show how floating bathing facilities must contend with regulations designed for river navigation rather than swimming. This framework imposes sometimes unsuitable standards (freeboard, ERP classification, navigation police regulations) leading to a highly controlled and formalized design of sites, though one deemed necessary to ensure the coexistence of multiple uses of the river. In its second part, the authors warn against the limitations of a single model – the enclosed pool – which fails to reflect the diversity of urban swimming practices and may in fact encourage informal, unsupervised swimming. Drawing on the example of Copenhagen, the authors argue for an integrated metropolitan strategy that embraces diverse forms of access to the water, making swimming a durable component of Paris’s territorial development.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: urban swimming
  topic: keywords
subject: harbor
  topic: keywords
subject: governance
  topic: keywords
subject: regulation
  topic: keywords
subject: navigation
  topic: keywords
creator: Clément Brun
creator: Léonard Bertrand
creator: Annabelle Nantier
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Clément Brun, Léonard Bertrand, Annabelle Nantier https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-17
publication date: 2026-03-17
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.2.18

Colonial Disaster, the “Capitalocene” and Contemporary Lessons: The Great Flood of 1924 in Southern India
type: item
description: Floods impact many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aspects of sanitation and water supply. They are especially detrimental to those in lower socio-economic strata. The 2018 Kerala floods disrupted the lives of 5.4 million people, resulting in funds and attention being diverted from SDGs priorities and toward rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts. Such ravages of nature often result from the over-exploitation of local natural resources and the mismanagement of infrastructure. Colonialism was a watershed in such ecological destruction. The Great Flood of 1924, which devastated parts of present-day Kerala, is an example of a colonial-era-induced natural disaster. A century later, revisiting this disaster in the light of Kerala’s 2018 floods offers instructive pointers for achieving disaster resilience today – in a region known for its rich biodiversity and population density. This study also highlights how historical forces like colonialism contributed to transforming this once peripheral region into a “risk society.”
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: Great Flood of 1924
  topic: keywords
subject: Kerala Flood 2018
  topic: keywords
subject: colonialism
  topic: keywords
subject: disaster history
  topic: keywords
subject: resilience
  topic: keywords
creator: Mahendranath Sudhindranath
creator: John Bosco Lourdusamy
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Mahendranath Sudhindranath, John Bosco Lourdusamy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 178
ending page: 87
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.16

Drowning Heritage: The Impact of Climate Change and Erosion on Azizakpe’s Water Culture
type: item
description: Islands have built their culture and heritage around bodies of water. However, due to climate change, the coastal islands are steadily disappearing because of severe flooding and erosion, as in the case of Azizakpe, a fishing community whose history and culture are strongly connected to water. Human activities, including the dredging of the estuary, along with sea level rise exacerbated by global climate change are the primary drivers for this loss. Although various coastal management and adaptation measures have been introduced, their outcomes remain uncertain. This study examines the Azizakpe community and the rapidly deteriorating state of the island. It highlights the effect on local livelihoods and how the community is attempting to cope with the situation and safeguard their water-based heritage, which will be at risk if islanders are displaced.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: erosion
  topic: keywords
subject: flooding
  topic: keywords
subject: habitable islands
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage preservation
  topic: keywords
subject: coastal management
  topic: keywords
creator: Rhoda Osei-Nkwantabisa
creator: Martin Larbi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Rhoda Osei-Nkwantabisa, Martin Larbi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 166
ending page: 77
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.15

Adaptive Reuse of Maritime Infrastructure: Case Study of Colonial Harbormaster Towers in Java’s Port Cities
type: item
description: The north coast of Java has been well known to overseas traders as a hub for commodities, as well as spices brought from the Spice Islands (now Maluku Islands or the Moluccas). By the early nineteenth century, the Dutch government took control of the maritime trade in the region through the Dutch East India Company and developed the major port cities of Jakarta (formerly Batavia), Surabaya and Semarang, where the remnants of the colonial past continue to exist. After Indonesia’s independence, several colonial port structures, such as the harbormaster tower and its riverside facilities, were neglected until recently, when cities began programs to restore them. This article examines the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic towers in Java’s three major port cities and attempts to revive them amid the climate crisis challenges.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: heritage management
  topic: keywords
subject: harbormaster
  topic: keywords
subject: Syahbandar
  topic: keywords
subject: Spice Route
  topic: keywords
subject: Java
  topic: keywords
creator: Ricky Purbaya
creator: Rizki Dwika Aprilian
creator: Miktha Farid Alkadri
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ricky Purbaya, Rizki Dwika Aprilian, Miktha Farid Alkadri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 146
ending page: 55
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.10

Mapping and Reviving Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon: Survey Methods, Findings and Policy Pathways
type: item
description: This article presents a mixed-methods survey of 101 birket across 86 villages in southern Lebanon, combining historical cartography, satellite imagery and ground-truthing with oral histories. It details site typologies, spatial patterns, present condition (functioning/abandoned/destroyed) and contemporary uses, and it demonstrates how dispersed small reservoirs can complement centralized systems. A focused case study of the village of Marwaheen traces the pool’s rehabilitation and associated gains in irrigated land and community engagement. Building on a resilience-based assessment (access/equity, adaptability, participation, ecological value, cultural relevance), the article identifies priority pools for restoration and translates results into practical policy pathways for municipal–NGO partnerships. The article offers openly reproducible mapping conventions and field templates to support future documentation without reliance on proprietary basemaps.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: field survey
  topic: keywords
subject: historical maps
  topic: keywords
subject: oral history
  topic: keywords
subject: decentralized storage
  topic: keywords
subject: Southern Lebanon
  topic: keywords
creator: Georges Gharios
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Georges Gharios https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 136
ending page: 45
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.14

Playing with Water: A Value Case for Gamified Water Resilience in Alfândega da Fé, Portugal
type: item
description: This contribution explores the case of Alfândega da Fé, Portugal, using a value case approach. It is based on a project completed in the course Water System Design: Learning from the Past for Resilient Water Futures, offered by the UNESCO Chair Water, Ports and Historic Cities team based at TU Delft. The article argues that by adopting an innovative water management strategy and engaging the community through gamification, Alfândega da Fé can become a sustainable city adapted to future environmental needs, with reduced and more responsible water consumption, aligned with current legislation and SDGs. Based on the value case approach, the article shows how we can learn from the past, make connections between water systems and connect to the local environment to achieve a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive water system. The plan is based on the creation of an interactive water services platform for local people designed to increase general knowledge about water and enable the local population to play an important role in water consumption and enhancing water reuse.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: droughts
  topic: keywords
subject: water management
  topic: keywords
subject: gamification
  topic: keywords
subject: values
  topic: keywords
subject: water consumption
  topic: keywords
creator: Joao Camelo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Joao Camelo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 124
ending page: 35
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.13

The Second Terrace: Reconnecting with Water and the Vernacular in the Ifugao Rice Terraces
type: item
description: The traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that is deeply embedded in the Ifugao Rice Terraces offers crucial insights for socio-ecological adaptation and resilience in times of climate change. It helps sustain local biodiversity and supports ecosystem processes while inspiring new design ideas that encourage an epistemological shift that involves integrating traditional knowledge with incremental innovations from the past into future solutions. The Second Terrace Lodge research-by-design project highlights the importance of the Ifugao community’s local landscape and cultural heritage, illustrating how traditional water and land management can be integrated into contemporary architecture and landscape design.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: Banaue
  topic: keywords
subject: rice terrace
  topic: keywords
subject: water systems
  topic: keywords
subject: vernacular
  topic: keywords
subject: landscape
  topic: keywords
creator: Leonardo Zuccaro Marchi
creator: Shubham Majumder
creator: Sara Sabry
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Leonardo Zuccaro Marchi, Shubham Majumder, Sara Sabry https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 98
ending page: 111
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.12

Constructing the Karakum Canal: The Urbanization of Soviet Turkmenistan and the Aral Sea Crisis
type: item
description: The collapse of the Aral Sea ecosystem is regarded as one of the most devastating environmental tragedies in history. Primarily driven by Soviet-era irrigation practices aimed at expanding agriculture in Central Asia’s arid regions, the catastrophe has had lasting ecological and socioeconomic consequences. To address the repercussions of past actions, it is essential to move beyond perceiving water as a “national” resource: It cannot be fully comprehended or effectively managed within national borders. An ecosystem-based approach can help divert from a technologically and economically based mono-functional value system, promoting possibilities for sustainable development in the region.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: irrigation system
  topic: keywords
subject: ecosystem thinking
  topic: keywords
subject: USSR
  topic: keywords
subject: Turkmenistan
  topic: keywords
subject: cross-border governance
  topic: keywords
creator: Estere Cvilikovska
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Estere Cvilikovska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 156
ending page: 65
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.09

Rituals and Residues: Mapping Mining Landscapes and Spatial Practices Along South Africa’s Klip River
type: item
description: Gold mining along South Africa’s Witwatersrand mining belt began in the late nineteenth century, significantly impacting water ecosystems, especially the Klip River, the largest tributary of the Vaal River. Despite challenges of acid mine drainage and compromised water quality, century-old religious practices like river baptisms persist, demonstrating cultural resilience as communities maintain their traditions amidst environmental adversity. This case study aims to illustrate how cultural resilience manifests through ritual practices and to propose a framework for addressing the socio-environmental complexities of post-mining landscapes.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: toxicity
  topic: keywords
subject: Klip River
  topic: keywords
subject: river baptisms
  topic: keywords
subject: cultural resilience
  topic: keywords
subject: environmental degradation
  topic: keywords
creator: Shreya Sen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Shreya Sen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 112
ending page: 23
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.08

Reconsidering “Water” as an Initiator and Transformer of River Landscape Heritage: The Case of the Menderes (Maeander) Delta, Türkiye
type: item
description: Historically, the Menderes (Maeander) River has played a crucial role in the development of settlements and cultures, shaping the natural, social, cultural, economic, and governmental dynamics of western Anatolia. Known as the “Valley of Civilizations,” its delta contains water-related heritage, knowledge, and traditions, encompassing agricultural and urban development as well as industrial and technological innovation. Today, the river’s layered landscape reflects a centuries-long history of water management and infrastructure. While the river remains critical to the continuity of life in the region, communities along its course have lost many sociocultural connections and meaningful relationships with water and the river. This article reports on research that aims to restore those connections by using water as a unifying element and catalyst, applying a “landscape biography” approach to promote the holistic and sustainable heritage conservation and management of the Menderes River landscape and its communities.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: water-related heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage conservation
  topic: keywords
subject: water & landscape ensemble
  topic: keywords
subject: Menderes (Maeander) Delta
  topic: keywords
subject: landscape biography
  topic: keywords
creator: Gökhan Okumuş
creator: A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz
creator: Gerdy A. Verschuure-Stuip
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Gökhan Okumuş, A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz, Gerdy A. Verschuure-Stuip https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 84
ending page: 96
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.07

Historical Water Governance in Turkmenistan and the Challenges of Soviet Interventions
type: item
description: This article investigates historical water management practices in Turkmenistan and the development of canal construction technology, comparing the operation of traditional irrigation canals with Soviet water management policies. It explores how Soviet officials regarded water and used water management to consolidate state power and advance the region economically, arguing that centralized Soviet water management policies, which largely disregarded local expertise and participation, ultimately proved unsustainable and environmentally destructive. The article underscores the need to include diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes to avoid perpetuating outdated practices, further exacerbating the deterioration of the environment and societal customs.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: USSR
  topic: keywords
subject: irrigation system
  topic: keywords
subject: environmental degradation
  topic: keywords
subject: water management
  topic: keywords
subject: local stakeholders
  topic: keywords
creator: Estere Cvilikovska
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Estere Cvilikovska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 60
ending page: 69
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.05

The Politics of Iraq’s Waterscape: 1920-2024
type: item
description: Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), historically a landscape with abundant water resources, has undergone significant geopolitical changes over the last century. Today, the country must find solutions for extreme water shortages. Dukan Dam serves as an example of how hegemonic and hierarchical effects from recent history have influenced water governance. While population growth and climate change along with unilateral water resource activities undertaken by neighboring states are exacerbating water shortages for Iraq and the KRI, it is important to analyze the internal waterscape and how it is managed. In this article, I focus on the period from 1920 to 2024 in Iraq to shed light on problems of governance strains pertaining to water. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, Iraq must reckon with its past to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: inclusive society
  topic: keywords
subject: water
  topic: keywords
subject: governance
  topic: keywords
subject: Dukan Dam
  topic: keywords
subject: sustainable development
  topic: keywords
creator: Meg John
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Meg John https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 50
ending page: 59
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.04

Repower the Harbormaster Towers: Managing Maritime Artifacts in Java’s Port Cities
type: item
description: For centuries, Java played a pivotal role in the global shipping trade, connecting the spice islands with the Western world. Its northern coastline was home to three major port cities: Batavia (now Jakarta), Surabaya and Semarang, where trade was overseen by the syahbandar or harbormaster– a position dating from pre-colonial times. This role existed throughout the colonial era, when masonry towers with timber floors were constructed for harbormasters to manage port activities. Although revitalization efforts have emerged since the first decade of the twenty-first century, these towers have now been largely forgotten due to port relocations, land subsidence, sea-level rise and changes in ownership. Drawing on archival research and observation, this article examines how historic harbormaster towers in Java’s three major port cities are being preserved amid climate change challenges.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: heritage management
  topic: keywords
subject: harbormaster
  topic: keywords
subject: Syahbandar
  topic: keywords
subject: Spice Route
  topic: keywords
subject: Java
  topic: keywords
creator: Rizki Dwika Aprilian
creator: Ricky Purbaya
creator: Miktha Farid Alkadri
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Rizki Dwika Aprilian, Ricky Purbaya, Miktha Farid Alkadri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 42
ending page: 49
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.03

Sustainable Development and Indigenous Knowledge: The Role of Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon
type: item
description: This article explores the pivotal role of ancestral communal pools, known as birket, in fostering sustainable water management, social resilience and climate adaptation in southern Lebanon. Rooted in centuries-old indigenous knowledge, these open-air reservoirs have historically enabled rural communities to manage scarce water resources through collective action and seasonal rituals. Despite the pressures of modernization, conflict and environmental degradation, many birket still exist – serving not only as functional infrastructure but also as vital symbols of cultural identity and solidarity. Based on a detailed survey and fieldwork in the historical region of Jabal Amel, this study highlights the practical and symbolic significance of birket, especially in border zones marked by displacement and ecological fragility. Examining their socio-ecological value and restoration potential, the article makes a case for integrating traditional water systems into national strategies for sustainable development and climate resilience – particularly in contexts where centralized infrastructure remains insufficient or ecologically unsound.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: hydro-cultural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: legal pluralism
  topic: keywords
subject: indigenous water knowledge
  topic: keywords
subject: communal governance
  topic: keywords
subject: nature-based solutions
  topic: keywords
creator: Georges Gharios
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Georges Gharios https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 32
ending page: 41
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.02

River Port Cities Facing Climate Change: Global Examples for Heritage-Based Sustainable Development
type: item
description: River port cities are on the frontline of climate change – as both part of the solution and as early victims of its impact, which demands new strategies for all river port communities. With several study cases, we explore how actions being taken relate to sustainability agendas such as Agenda 2030 of the Association Internationale Villes et Ports. We illuminate the role of heritage in maintaining and fostering identity, integration and sustainable development in port cities. In Strasbourg (France), we show how a port authority can act to improve the connection between port and urban activities, but also how port heritage can be used to educate citizens about port activities. We consider a more institutional approach to fluvial heritage preservation in the case of Lyon (France) and cases in Australia and Cameroon that show how local and port authorities can make efforts to respect local communities along the river and how those efforts can help them plan their development more sustainably.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: river port cities
  topic: keywords
subject: good practices
  topic: keywords
subject: sustainable development
  topic: keywords
subject: cultural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: climate change
  topic: keywords
creator: Noémi Mené
creator: Avicenna Tanubrata
creator: José Manuel Pagés Sánchez
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Noémi Mené, Avicenna Tanubrata, José Manuel Pagés Sánchez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-21
publication date: 2026-02-21
starting page: 70
ending page: 81
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.06

Understanding the Historical Geography of Water Use in Estate Landscapes: Learning from the Past to Address Present-Day Water Challenges
type: item
description: In the Netherlands, climate change has brought longer periods of drought alongside short periods of more intense rain, prompting planning and heritage professionals to explore new approaches to water management. One promising method is “learning from the past.” Landscape history studies can reveal continuity and change in hydrological practices, offering knowledge, inspiration and potential solutions to today’s water challenges. But what does it mean to learn from the past? Historic knowledge must go beyond simply identifying historic water structures in the landscape. This article focuses on country estates, analyzing these heritage sites as spatial and social ensembles in wider landscape systems. Tracing how water shaped the establishment and development of country houses and estates reveals important dynamics and principles. This deeper understanding of the historical geographical dynamics of water use can help present-day estate owners, governments and spatial planners foster more resilient estate landscapes.
subject: challenges, concepts and new approaches
  topic: section
subject: drought
  topic: keywords
subject: floods
  topic: keywords
subject: country houses
  topic: keywords
subject: estate landscapes
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage
  topic: keywords
creator: Elyze Storms-Smeets
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Elyze Storms-Smeets https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-02-13
publication date: 2026-02-13
starting page: 20
ending page: 31
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.01

Environmental Threats to Prehistoric Treasures: Tassili n’Ajjer and Hoggar Facing Climatic Disruptions
type: item
description: In Tassili n’Ajjer, a UNESCO World Heritage property, and the Hoggar Mountains prehistoric rupestrian (rock) art reveals a critical narrative of environmental transformation. Dating from 10,000 BC to approximately the first millennium AD, these paintings document a once-verdant Sahara, contrasting sharply with today’s arid landscape. These archaeological treasures now face an existential threat from contemporary climate change. Unpredictable rainfall, increased humidity and temperature fluctuations are systematically degrading the delicate art. As climate change intensifies, the study emphasizes the need for integrated conservation approaches that combine advanced monitoring, community-based stewardship and international collaboration.
subject: methodologies and case studies
  topic: section
subject: UNESCO World Heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: climate change
  topic: keywords
subject: water management
  topic: keywords
subject: Tassili n’Ajjer and Hoggar
  topic: keywords
subject: QGIS
  topic: keywords
creator: Amira Ghennaï
creator: Said Madani
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Amira Ghennaï, Said Madani https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-01-31
publication date: 2026-01-31
starting page: 55
ending page: 70
doi: 10.58981/bluepapers.2025.2.04