The article, based on action-research, analyses the water management tool known as a ‘River Contract’ (RC) — as conceptualised and implemented in Italy — through a lens of political ecology. The objective is to understand whether, and under what conditions, RCs can be conceived as an example of societal response and as a potential form of ‘river defense movement’ for the care of water bodies, rather than as a mainstream participatory water management tool. The Rooted Water Collectives’ (RWCs’) analytical framework (Vos et al., 2020) is applied to investigate the case of RCs implemented in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (Northeast Italy). The framework allows for a clearer examination of the inconsistencies between what RCs should be, considering the official principles and guidelines, and what they are in their reality, identifying some ‘gray zones’ in their implementation, their criticalities and weaknesses, as well as their potentialities. Furthermore, the article suggests some possible improvements and aspects that could be integrated into the RWC framework.

River ContractsWater managementPolitical EcologyWater JusticeRiver Movements