Towards more resilient flood risk governance
Climate change is indisputably affecting weather patterns around the globe, with Europe recently seeing some of the worst floods in modern history. Governments are increasing efforts to adjust to these weather phenomena in a variety of ways, such as developing new guidelines and practices for managing floods. The EU-funded project STAR-FLOOD (Strengthening and redesigning European flood risk practices towards appropriate and resilient flood risk governance arrangements) represented one of these initiatives. Bringing together junior and senior researchers with social-scientific and legal backgrounds from eight research institutes across Europe, the project outlined recommendations to implement and harmonise flood risk management strategies in urban areas. These are aimed at local stakeholders, national governments and global organisations for implementing and aligning flood preparation, prevention, defence, mitigation and recovery. To achieve its aims, the project team conducted an extended problem analysis in the six European countries covered. It published several reports on flood problems, interventions, governance challenges, European flood regulation and similarities/differences among project countries. The team also articulated an assessment framework and case study approach on researching flood risk governance in Europe. Other accomplishments include an expert panel together with the Working Group on Floods of the Common Implementation Strategy of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in which objectives, measures and prioritisation of flood risk management strategies were explored. A report on the workshop's results and various knowledge dissemination activities was published and distributed. Participation in conferences and events also strengthened the project's goals, as did the preparation of a first policy brief on flood risk management and development of an online practitioner's guide. In terms of research output, STAR-FLOOD submitted and published papers in several peer-reviewed scientific journals on various topics related to flood risk governance (e.g. a special feature in Ecology and Society). It successfully identified resilient and appropriate flood risk governance arrangements for addressing flood risks in Europe's vulnerable urban areas. The findings address the roles of actors involved, addressing fragmentation in response strategies, policy and legal implications, and relevance of adopting a governance perspective on flood risk management. These outcomes will undoubtedly support authorities and stakeholders in high-risk urban areas across Europe to design better and more resilient flood risk governance arrangements.
Keywords
Flood risk, risk governance, STAR-FLOOD, risk management
