New Development Projects in Alpine Glacial Environments

What becomes of land-use planning in a region that is undergoing transformation? How can we plan and make decisions in a context of uncertainty? These are the questions explored in the dissertation titled *New Land-Use Projects in Alpine Glacial Environments: Material and Imagined Territorial Changes*.

The rapid and increasing retreat of Alpine glaciers is disrupting mountain regions: it is creating an imbalance between the natural environments and the functioning of human societies located downstream.

The first part of this research aims to understand the physical changes affecting landscapes and practices associated with glacial retreat, as well as to explore the diversity of territorial imaginaries linked to the retreat of Alpine glaciers.

In a second phase, the dissertation focuses more specifically on new development projects located in glacial or formerly glacial valleys. It examines the implementation and functioning of these technical solutions in response to glacial retreat and the associated perceptions.

This research draws on approaches and methods from human geography, particularly in Valais (Switzerland), for a dam project located beneath the Görner Glacier.