Promoting Fluvial Geomorphology to “live with Rivers” in the Anthropocene Era

Is geomorphology at the forefront of river management? The aims of this article are to explore potential answers to this question in terms of role, barriers, motivation and prospects for river management in the Anthropocene Era. We justify and execute our analysis, first through the growing interest in applied geomorphology and its role to improve river ecology and river policy design; second, by interviewing 24 specialists (researchers (i.e., biologists, ecologists, geomorphologists), engineers, river managers, planners) from different countries. We detected three barriers (academic, management and social) that prevent geomorphology from being more involved in river policy. We then propose three principles for living with rivers, considering geomorphology one of the key factors: (i) working across disciplinary frontiers, (ii) promoting integrated approaches, and (iii) improving fluvial education. Our conclusions look to rivers as natural and dynamic systems where geomorphological knowledge can improve the skills of engineers, ecologists and embrace a transdisciplinary approach. The new riverscape that we propose for the Anthropocene Era must be conceived using negotiation and discussion between an interconnected network of actors, regulators, scientists (sometimes), and natural and cultural values, where management objectives are raised and designed.