Fig. 3

The railway modernization program. During a very dry summer, a collective of inhabitants mobilized against the hydrological impact of the project and claimed that the water traffic forecasts were not credible in a context of economic crisis. Following a ministerial reshuffle, the new government abandons the canal project in favor of a railway modernization project and ecological restoration of the Sensée and the Somme. The existing old canal is landscaped for river tourism. A network of paths and hedges offset the impacts of railway developments. The train offers fewer export outlets, but agriculture is turning to agro-ecology and local markets. New farming practices limit mudflows. It also improves water quality. Authorities occasionally authorize pumping in the existing canal is for irrigation and tourism development