ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that how both landscape and hydropower are institutionalized and constructed as shared, collective entities. Exploring how hydropower, water and landscape resources are co-constructed through the different discourses and practices of local stakeholders is a useful tool for assessing energy projects in all their territorial, environmental and cultural dimensions. The nexus between hydropower and landscape is an issue that goes far beyond the impact of infrastructures and helps us understand the values and practices of local stakeholders in relation to their territory and landscape. The chapter focuses on the nexus between hydropower, water and landscape resources and their role in local territorial practices through case studies of the Sierra Nevada mountain area. It examines the driving forces behind the evolution of local landscapes and local perceptions of the hydropower landscape. The chapter explores the forces through analysis of the different discourses and practices of local stakeholders in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
