Rendre compte de la dégradation des milieux aquatiques. Le rôle des savoirs dans la mise en place des politiques de protection des ressources en eau en Afrique subsaharienne

International audienceThis article examines the role that the production of knowledge on the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems plays in the implementation of policies for protecting these environments, used for water supply. Based on interdisciplinary research carried out in two sub-Saharan countries (Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal) by a team of sociologists and ecologists, the article shows how expert knowledge of environmental quality assessment interacts with the local actors, existing management structures and with local representations of these environments. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we question the difficulties of integrating a diversity of points of view on water resources. We highlight the obstacles, uncertainties and controversies linked with the production of expertise and its integration into existing management systems. More specifically, we describe the main challenges for institutionalizing long-term monitoring of the water resources (Aquatic Ecosystems Observatories). We also discuss the possibilities and the interest for integrating expert and local knowledge for co-constructing a shared diagnosis