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The power of collaborative governance:

Managing the risks associated with flooding and

sea-level rise in the city of Cape Town

Flooding Observatory: August 2010

This report identifies resources that are related to flood risk in urban

areas according to specific topics: flooding risk in informal

settlements, mapping urban flooding risk, mitigation and adaptation

of flooding. Brief descriptions of the resources are provided as well as

links to the resource.

Contents

General ............................................................................................................................................. 2

Books ........................................................................................................................................... 2

Press Articles: ............................................................................................................................. 4

Projects ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Conferences ................................................................................................................................ 5

Flooding Risk in Informal Settlements: Global to Local ....................................................................... 6

Mapping Urban Flood Risk: Global to Local ........................................................................................ 7

Mitigation and Adaptation of Flooding .............................................................................................. 9

Produced by the UCT Centre of Criminology.

For more information or to submit an abstract for use, please

contact crimobservatory@gmail.com

An IDRC funded project

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General

Books

Plunz, R. & Sutto, M.P. (2010). Urban Climate Change Crossroads, Columbia: Ashgate

Publishing.

Summary: Urban climate change is a crossroads in two very different senses. One is

historical. With the world now more than half urban, and given the ecological consequences

of the world's high-consumption urban centers, we are at an ecological crossroad. We either

head off the worst of ecological collapse through concerted and forward-looking action, or

we face a 'Mad Max future' of dystopia, violence, and upheaval.

The second crossroad is intellectual. Our individual disciplines are unable to grasp the

magnitude of the economic-ecological challenges ahead. For that we need to work

holistically, calling on the knowledge of climatologists, engineers, sociologists, economists,

public health specialist, designers, architects, community organizers, and more. The

intellectual crossroad is nothing less than a new intellectual field of Sustainable

Development.

Based on a major international forum held in Rome in 2008, this volume brings together

leading climate change experts to engage with the climate change discourse as it shifts from

mitigation to adaptation, with particular attention to the urban environment. In doing so, it

provides important insights into how to deal with the first crossroad, by achieving the second.

It represents a new generation of thinking involving not only science, but the broad array of

fields that must be called upon to effectively address the global climate crisis: from

ecological science to political science; from economics to philosophy to architecture; and

from public health to public art. It is a pioneering effort to broaden the discursive field, and is

likely to remain a landmark study on the subject for a generation.

Bicknell, J., Dodman, D and Sattherthwaite, D. (2009). Adapting cities to climate

change: Understanding and adressing development challenges, London: Earthscan.

Summary: This volume brings together, for the first time, a wide-ranging and detailed body

of information identifying and assessing risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

in urban centres in low- and middle-income countries. Framed by an overview of the main

possibilities and constraints for adaptation, the contributors examine the implications of

climate change for cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and propose innovative agendas

for adaptation. The book should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and academics

who face the challenge of addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation in urban

centres throughout the global South.

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Book Chapters

Serre, D., Barocca, D. & Diab, Y. (2010). Urban Flood Mitigation: Sustainable Options,

in Brebbia, C.A., Hernandez, S. and Tiezzi, E. (2010). The Sustainable City VI: Urban

Regeneration and Sustainability, Southampton: WIT Press.

Abstract: Cities have started to anticipate the effects of global warming dealing with flood

management. Indeed, it seems that this last decade, flood risk has increased and cities are

facing on the one hand more frequent hazards, and on the other hand different types of

flooding: fluvial, coastal, estuarial and pluvial. Most cities have to manage at least two of

these flooding types. At the same time, flood risk management practices have changed step-

by-step. Indeed, despite efforts made to maintain the flood defense assets well, we often

observe failures leading to finally increase flood risk in protected areas during major flood

events. Moreover, flood forecasting models, although they benefit from continuous

improvements, remain partly inaccurate due to uncertainties populated all along data

calculation processes. This means cities cannot continue to manage flood risk only by the

use of flood defences: sustainable options have to be designed to better mitigate the effects

of flooding in urban area and in a long term strategy. Several European cities have suffered

recent flooding events. It was the case for example in 2007 in United Kingdom. During this

period, major events came from extreme rainfall and it appears that pluvial flood risk has

become one of the most frequent events. In this context, flood risk can appear on every

territory: cities have to develop some methods to take into account this new deal, options to

achieve urban flood resilience. Some solutions that cities are using or will be able to set up

in the near future will be described.

Shan, J., Hussain, E., Kim, K. and Biehl, L. (2009). Chapter 18, Flood Mapping and

Damage Assessment – A Case study in the State of Indiana, in Geospatial Technology

for Earth Observation, Springer.

Abstract: Flood mapping, damage assessment, and disaster remediation involve activities

and efforts from a number of governmental agencies. Under the National Flood Insurance

Act 1968, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for identifying

flood hazards nationwide, publishing and updating flood hazard information in support of the

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Over a period of two decades, FEMA has

produced over 90,000 flood hazard maps covering approximately 150,000 square miles of

floodplain. Recently, about 75% of the flood hazard maps inventory became over 10 years

old. In 2003, a program was initiated for flood hazard map modernization including the

conversion of paper maps to digital format. Since flood hazard mapping is part of the NFIP, a

variety of maps indicating various degrees of insurance risk and premium rating are

produced. However, the basic hazard maps, indicating the 1 in 100 years (1%) floodplain

and the 1 in 500 years flood (0.2%) outlines, are normally produced based on detailed

hydraulic modeling of river reaches at the community scale. All flood maps are made

available to the public through the FEMA Map Service Center. These maps can be

purchased in paper or CD format and can be viewed online (http://msc.fema.gov/).

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Beginning on October 1, 2009, FEMA will provide only one paper flood map and the Flood

Insurance Study (FIS) report to each mapped community. All other distribution of maps and

Flood Insurance Study reports will be converted to digital delivery. FEMA will continue to

provide free digital map products and data to federal, state, tribal, and local NFIP

stakeholders. In addition to the FEMA mapping effort, which is specifically linked to the

NFIP, some states have their own flood mapping programs. They produce flood ―awareness‖

maps that simply show flood prone areas without specific depth or other flood hazard data

for a particular flood event.

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Press Articles: Global

Flood and Water Management Act 2010

Extract: The Flood and Water Management Bill gained Royal Assent on the 8 April 2010.

The Act will implement several key recommendations of Sir Michael Pitt‘s Review of the

summer 2007 floods, protect water supplies to consumers and protect community groups

from excessive charges for surface water drainage.

The Act‘s provisions include:

• New statutory responsibilities for managing flood risk – There will be national

strategies and guidance on managing flood risk in England and Wales. Unitary

and county councils will bring together the relevant bodies, who will have a duty

to cooperate, to develop local strategies for managing local flood risk.

• Protection of assets which help manage flood risk – The Environment Agency, local

authorities and internal drainage boards will be able to ensure that private assets

which help manage the risks of floods cannot be altered without consent. For

example, putting a gate in a wall that is helping protect an area could increase

the risk of flooding...

Full text available at: http://www.birminghamprepared.gov.uk/flood-and-water-management-

act-2010/

Press Articles: Local

Shack residents shiver as mercury drops, 12 July 2010

Extract: Two hundred shacks were waterlogged and 500 residents were affected by heavy

rains in Cape Town, the city's disaster management officials said on Sunday.

"We need to clarify that there was no flooding," said spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-

Johannes.

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"Informal settlements in Kanana, Gugulethu and the Cape Flats were waterlogged after the

heavy rains hit the area yesterday [Saturday]," he said.

Full text article available at:

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100711221253122C2234

21

CT aims to minimise flood risks, 27 July 2010

Extract: Cape Town's gullies, open channels, culverts and canals are being cleaned in order

to minimise flood risk during winter, the city's roads and stormwater department said on

Tuesday.

This ensured that the flow of water downstream was not restricted, it said

The city started the programme of rehabilitative maintenance and improvements to

stormwater infrastructure during the 2009 to 2010 summer period.

Full text article available at: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/CT-aims-to-minimise-

flood-risks-20100727

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Projects

Project Title: The Flood Resilience Group

Project Information: The Flood Resilience Group aims to advance scientific knowledge into

integrated approaches to increase flood resilience of urban systems. The work focuses on

the understanding of urban flood vulnerability and resilience and on the development and

implementation of interventions and strategies that enhance urban flood resilience.

The research currently undertaken is focused along two research lines:

1. Impacts (and their changes over time) including dispersed (moderate) floods and

extreme events confined to the urban context

2. Effective interventions and strategies to enhance urban flood resilience

(doorverwijzen )

For more information: www.floodresiliencegroup.org

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Conferences

1st World Congress on Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change, Bonn-Germany 28-30

May 2010

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Theme: Urban Flood-Resilience:

The program stream dedicated to urban flood-resilience presents a diversity of approaches

from developing and developed countries towards adaptation to floods and impacts given

different urban conditions. The objective of the urban flood-resilience stream is to open the

discussion about water fluctuation and its implications for land use, water systems, urban

structure and ecosystems. A perspective from mega-cities as well as from informal

settlements will be provided. The integration of adaptation programs is suggested as a

methodology to be used as part of a flood risk reduction plan. The series of sessions is

composed of presentations from practitioners in environmental units as well as members of

relevant research groups and international organizations. The ultimate goal is to provide

results, advice, and lessons learned from various cases in specific contexts.

To download presentations and papers: http://resilient-

cities.iclei.org/bonn2010/program/saturday-29-may/parallel-sessions-c/

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Flooding Risk in Informal Settlements: Global to Local

Eakin, H., Lerner, A.M. & Mutinho, F. (2010). Adaptive capacity in evolving peri-urban

spaces: Responses to flood risk in the Upper Lerma River Valley, Mexico, Global

Environmental Change, Vol. 20 (1): 14-22.

Abstract: Although ‗peri-urban‘ and ‗rur-urban‘ growth patterns are now prominent in

previously rural areas of Latin America, there has been little exploration of the implication of

these patterns for social vulnerability to hazards and adaptive capacity for hazard

management. A case study of flooding in the Upper Lerma River Valley, Mexico, illustrates

how livelihood and land use change in these peri-urban spaces have altered residents‘

perceptions of risk and loss, while public officials are adhering to a traditional sectoral and

structural interpretation of flooding as an agricultural problem, managed by agricultural and

water agencies. The current system of treating flooding as an agricultural problem, managed

by agricultural and water agencies, does not address the increased role of urbanization as a

driver of flooding and water risk in the valley. The resulting mismatch in policy potentially

exacerbates regional vulnerability in face of rising flood losses. Enhancing adaptive capacity

in this context requires a new vision of the populations and communities of the region as an

integrated system, supported by institutions that facilitate cross-scale and intersectoral

planning.

Chatterjee, M. (2010). Slum Dwellers Response to Flooding Events in Megacities of

India, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Vol. 15 (4): 337-353.

Abstract: Megacities in developing countries are rapidly transforming places. Under the

impetus of global change processes and consequent transformations at the environmental,

social, cultural, political and economical scales; factors causing disasters and losses are

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changing every day. These changes are also altering society‘s ability to respond to hazard

events. This paper examines the response of slum dwellers who are the most vulnerable

and marginal section of urban population and often located in places with high hazard risk

with less or no means to reduce the impact of flood events. Marginal population groups in

megacities suffer the negative consequences of large scale global change processes and do

not benefit from the risk mitigation strategies adopted by city authorities. The paper therefore

argues that people living in informal settlements instead have to employ a combination of

structural means and complex networks of assistance to recover from floods. Based on the

results deduced from data collected with the help of household surveys in the slums of

Mumbai, the study demonstrates the types of coping strategies used by slum dwellers and

the changing characteristics of these mechanisms under the influence of global change

processes in megacities. Furthermore, results show that capacity to respond is not equally

distributed among slum dwellers due to underlying socio cultural divisions and emerging

economic and political constraints. The paper concludes that to address existing

discrepancies in urban societies and within slum settlements, flood mitigation strategies will

have to be (1) more inclusive of marginal population (2) sensitive to the limitations and scope

of old and new social structures and (3) incorporate innovative networks of support to deal

with the consequences of global change.

Nchito, W.S. (2007). Flood Risk in Unplanned Settlements in Lusaka, Progress in

Development Studies, Vol. 19 (1): 539-551.

Abstract: Flooding in unplanned settlements in Lusaka is expected, even in years of normal

rainfall. There is always much discussion of needed action when flooding occurs but, as

soon as the seasonal rains stop, the incidents are forgotten. Most of the households affected

by flooding are poor and the flooding damages or destroys their homes and belongings,

which might have taken years to accrue. Poorer groups may be faulted for settling on sites at

risk from flooding, but this is usually because they can find no safer alternative. In addition,

as this paper shows, reducing flood risks in one settlement can increase flood risks in others.

Local authorities need to be vigilant in stopping settlement in unstable zones and they need

to increase awareness of the need for action in settlements already built in flood-prone

areas. Ways also need to be sought to provide low-income households with alternatives to

informal settlements in flood-prone sites. It is hard to stop people from erecting houses

where they see vacant land. Since rain in Zambia is seasonal, many marshy areas have

been built on during dry periods only to be flooded when the rains come. In the end, it is the

poor who lose and a solution needs to be found before more lives and property are lost.

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Mapping Urban Flood Risk: Global to Local

Koivumäki, L., Alho, P., Lotsari, E., Käyhkö, J., Saari, A. and Hyyppä, H. (2010),

Uncertainties in flood risk mapping: a case study on estimating building damages for

a river flood in Finland. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 3 (2): 166–183.

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Abstract: In our review of recent flood risk mapping approaches in Europe, we noted that

the sources of uncertainty were rarely questioned. We demonstrated potential sources of

uncertainty in flood risk mapping of buildings using a case study of a spring flood in 2005, in

Kittilä, Finland. One- and two-dimensional hydraulic models of the flood corresponded well

with the actual inundation. The initial modelling result of the inundated buildings differed

considerably from reality, but this could be improved through modelling performed with more

diverse building elevation data. The accuracy of the digital terrain model is a key determinant

in the accuracy of flood hazard modelling. An exposure analysis of buildings is often utilized

by an overlay analysis of map layers representing both the flood and the buildings. However,

we indicated that the analysis may be partly hindered by the characteristics and inaccuracies

of the building datasets used and the modelled flood. In flood damage modelling, the

average damages calculated from the database were used, as empirical damage data were

too general for a detailed flood damage assessment. Damage modelling with empirical and

synthetic damage data could be made more reliable through better archiving of actual flood

damages and by performing more diverse damage estimates of standard buildings

Bizimana, J.P. & Schilling, M. (2010). Geo-Information Technology for Infrastructural

Flood Risk Analysis in Unplanned Settlements: A Case Study of Informal Settlement

Flood Risk in the Nyabugogo Flood Plain, Kigali City, Rwanda, in Showalter, P. S. &

Lu, Y. (eds) Geospatial Techniques in Urban Hazard and Disaster Analysis, Springer.

Abstract: The main objective of this research was to improve flood mitigation within

Rwanda‘s rapidly growing Kigali City using Geo-Information Technology (GIT) to identify

flood hazard zones, analyze flood exposure and vulnerability, and suggest planning

interventions. Multiple sources of data and methods were utilized including a very high

resolution Quickbird image, Global Positioning Systems, interviews and a survey that aided

flood hazard zone delineation, flood depth interpolation and mapping. The flood exposure

analysis incorporated vulnerable infrastructure, buildings, population and economic activities

and revealed that 27% of buildings were located in flood prone areas. Additionally, two

sensitive sectors of infrastructure, four sensitive economic sectors and approximately 500

people were identified as vulnerable. The results influenced policy because Kiruhura‘s major

market was relocated to a new site and new urban developments were restricted from

building within the flood way. The study developed a model for flood risk analysis adapted to

the specificity of Kigali City, demonstrating the need to explicitly incorporate these risks into

the recently developed Kigali City Master Plan. The research stresses the importance of the

integration of flood risks (and natural risks, in general) into major national development

strategies, policies and laws related to Rwanda‘s urbanization.

Van Alphen, J., Martini, F., Loat, R., Slomp, R. and Passchier, R. (2009). Flood risk

mapping in Europe, experiences and best practices. Journal of Flood Risk

Management, Vol. 2(4): 285–292.

Abstract: Within the context of the European Flood Risk Management Directive, adopted in

2007, the European countries are required to prepare flood hazard and flood risk maps

before 2014. The Exchange Circle on Flood Mapping (EXCIMAP) has made an inventory of

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flood mapping practices in Europe. This inventory has resulted in a ‗Handbook on Good

Practices for flood mapping in Europe‘ and an ‗Atlas of Flood maps containing examples

from 19 European countries, Japan and USA‘. This paper highlights the main conclusions of

the EXCIMAP Handbook and Atlas, regarding the most appropriate ways to present flood-

related information. Distinction is made between different types of use and users, such as

land-use planning, emergency planning, flood risk management, reinsurance and the

general public. Many countries disseminate flood maps (mainly flood extent maps) and flood

hazard maps (depth or depth–velocity combinations) already via Internet. Many European

rivers are part of transboundary water systems. Therefore, uniform approaches in flood (risk)

assessments, map legend and presentation are urgently needed.

Falconer, R., Cobby, D., Smyth, P., Astle, G., Dent, J. and Golding, B. (2009). Pluvial

flooding: New approaches in flood warning, mapping and risk management. Journal

of Flood Risk Management, Vol. 2 (3): 198–208.

Abstract: In response to Defra's First Government Response to the Making Space for Water

consultation, the Feasibility study into expanding flood warning to cover other flood risks

(reference RF5) has investigated the technical feasibility of providing warning services for

sources of flooding other than from rivers and the sea. Following a review of all nonfluvial

and noncoastal sources of flooding perceived as significant, it was concluded that it is

currently technically feasible to consider providing some form of warning service for pluvial

and three forms of groundwater flooding. Although a warning service for pluvial flooding is

considered less advanced than that for groundwater, a trigger rainfall forecast and a method

for identifying locations most susceptible to pluvial flooding has been proposed. This form of

service could provide responding organisations with more warning of possible flooding than

is currently available.

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Mitigation and Adaptation of Flooding

Engle, N.L. & Lemos, M.C. (2010). Unpacking Governance: Building Adaptive Capacity

to Climate Change of River Basins in Brazil, Global Environmental Change, Vol. 20 (1):

4-13.

Abstract: Governance and institutions are critical determinants of adaptive capacity and

resilience. Yet the make-up and relationships between governance components and

mechanisms that may or may not contribute to adaptive capacity remain relatively

unexplored empirically. This paper builds on previous research focusing on integrated water

resources management in Brazil to ‗unpack‘ water governance mechanisms that may shape

the adaptive capacity of water systems to climatic change. We construct a river basin index

to characterize governance approaches in 18 Brazilian river basins, apply a reliability test to

assess the validity of these governance indicators, and use in-depth qualitative data

collected in a subsample of the basins to explore the relationship between the governance

indicators and adaptive capacity. The analysis suggests a positive relationship between

integrated water governance mechanisms and adaptive capacity. In addition, we carry out a

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cluster analysis to group the basins into types of governance approaches and further unveil

potential relationships between the governance variables and overall adaptive capacities.

The cluster analysis indicates that tensions and tradeoffs may exist between some of the

variables, especially with equality of decision making and knowledge availability; a finding

that has implications for decision makers aiming to build adaptive capacity and resilience

through governance and institutional means.

Burch, S., Sheppard S.R.J. , Shaw, A. and Flanders, D. (2010). Planning for climate

change in a flood-prone community: Municipal barriers to policy action and the use of

visualizations as decision-support tools, Journal of Flood Risk management, Vol. 3

(2): 126-139.

Abstract: Efforts are intensifying to design effective flood management strategies that

account for a changing climate and that make use of the wealth of resources and latent

capacities associated with action at the local level. Municipalities, however, are subject to a

host of challenges and barriers to action, revealing the critical need for sophisticated

participatory processes in support of municipal decision-making under conditions of

considerable uncertainty. This paper examines a new process for envisioning local climate

change futures, which uses an iterative, collaborative, multistakeholder approach to produce

computer-generated 3-dimensional images of climate change futures in the flood-prone

municipality of Delta, British Columbia, Canada. The process appeared to forge

communicative partnerships, which may improve the legitimacy and effectiveness of the

flood management and climate change response discourse in the municipality of Delta, and

may lead to locally specific and integrated flood management and climate change response

strategies. We concluded that, while an enabling context and normative pressures are

clearly integral to effective action, so too is the type and mode of presentation of information

about climate futures.

Harvey, G., Thorne, C., Cheng, X., Evans, E., J.D. Simm, S. H. and Wang, Y. (2009).

Qualitative analysis of future flood risk in the Taihu Basin, China. Journal of Flood

Risk Management, Vol. 2 (1): 85–100

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a qualitative analysis of future flood risk in the

Taihu Basin, China, performed using an adaptation of the UK Foresight Future Flooding

approach. Drivers of increased flood risk were identified and ranked according to their

importance in contributing to future flooding by experts and stakeholders working within an

inclusive, participatory framework. Management responses to increasing flood risk were also

identified and assessed in terms, first, of their potential to reduce flood risks and, second,

their sustainability. This analysis provides the foundation for quantitative flood risk modelling

to be performed in the next phase of the project. It has also added value to flood risk

management in the Taihu Basin by bringing stakeholders together to develop a shared

understanding of the flooding system and the relative importance of multiple flood risk

drivers and responses. Together, the qualitative and quantitative analyses will provide a

comprehensive vision of possible future flood risk to inform policy development and decision

making.

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Hung, H.V., Shaw, R. and Kobayashi, M. (2010). Flood risk management for the

riverside urban areas of Hanoi: The need for synergy in urban development and risk

management policies, Disaster, Prevention and Management, Vol. 19 (1): 103-118.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons for an unusual over-

development of flood-prone areas outside the river dyke in Hanoi, while analysing the urban

development and disaster management policies, and to suggest policy measures for

regulating the rapid urbanization

incorporating catastrophic flood risk planning. Design/methodology/approach – Urban

development and disaster management policies were analyzed and key stakeholders were

interviewed to discover the effectiveness of the policies and governance tasks. Findings – A

discrepancy was identified between the goals of urban development and disaster

management. The negative side of this discrepancy has been amplified by ineffective

Construction Regulations and a lack of specificity with regard to Ordinances on Dyke. These

factors, combined with poor coordination and lack of motivation within the city authorities in

managing the Riverside Urban Areas (RUA), have contributed to the over-development,

which consists primarily of squatting and illegal construction.

Research limitations/implications – Along with a consideration of community perception of

catastrophic flood risk in the RUA, which has been examined, the paper further analyses the

effectiveness of related policies for catastrophic risk reduction in the RUA. Practical

implications – The paper identifies the following effective measures: build and share a

knowledge base concerning catastrophic flood risk and sustainable ways of coping with the

flood; be responsible and develop a commitment to manage flood-prone areas; and develop

better coordination between urban development and flood management. Originality/value –

The paper suggests new policy standards for managing the RUA development and reducing

flood risks.

Keys, C. and Cawood, M. (2009), Identifying and reducing inadequacies in flood

warning processes: an Australian perspective. Journal of Flood Risk Management,

Vol. 2 (1): 190–197.

Abstract: Floods are a serious threat to life, property and infrastructure in Australia, and

accordingly there has been a strong focus on the development of flood warning services.

These are provided by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology in conjunction with

emergency management agencies and councils of local government. Often there are

performance shortfalls in the provision of warnings of impending floods, and community

criticism is common. This paper argues that most of the weaknesses in Australian flood

warning practice are ‗cultural‘ (that is, pertaining to the ways in which agencies operate)

rather than ‗technical‘ (resulting from deficiencies in data management or analysis). The

paper makes a number of suggestions designed to overcome these deficiencies.

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Lebel, L., Manuta, J.B. and Garden, P. (2010). Institutional traps and vulnerability to

changes in climate and flood regimes in Thailand, Regional Environmental Change,

Vol. 10: 1-14.

Abstract: Vulnerabilities to floods in Thailand are changing as a result of many factors.

Formal and informal institutions help shape exposure, sensitivity and capacities to respond

of individuals, social groups and social-ecological systems. In this paper we draw on several

case studies of flood events and flood-affected communities to first assess how current

practices reflect various laws, procedures, programs and policies for managing floods and

disasters and then explore the implications for dealing with additional challenges posed by

climate change. Our analysis identifies several institutional traps which need to be overcome

if vulnerability is to be reduced, namely capture of agendas by technical elites, single-level or

centralized concentration of capacities, organizational fragmentation and overemphasis on

reactive crisis management. Possible responses are to expand public participation in

managing risks, build adaptive capacities at multiple levels and link them, integrate flood

disaster management and climate change adaptation into development planning, prioritize

risk reduction for socially vulnerable groups and strengthen links between knowledge and

practice. Responses like these could help reduce vulnerabilities under current climate and

flood regimes, while also improving capacities to handle the future which every way that

unfolds.

López-Marrero, T. and Yarnal, B. (2010). Putting adaptive capacity into the context of

people’s lives: a case study of two flood-prone communities in Puerto Rico, Natural

Hazards, Vol. 52 (2): 277-297.

Abstract: Recent developments in the vulnerability literature have contested the use of

technical solutions as the sole adaptive strategies to reduce natural hazard impact; this

literature emphasizes the need to attend to the wider everyday risks to which people are

exposed and that aggravate hazard vulnerability. Using a case study of two flood-prone

communities in Puerto Rico, this article supports and enhances that literature by placing

floods within a wider context of other risks and determining how everyday risks influence

people‘s perceptions of and capacity to adapt to floods. Participatory methods are used to

elicit the everyday risks that concern community members. The analysis reveals that

participants perceive floods as one of their risks, but they see them as neither the most

important nor most severe risk in their lives. Instead, they find other concerns—health

conditions, family well-being, economic factors, and land tenure—more pressing. These

competing risks limit adaptive capacity and increase vulnerability to natural hazards. The

results suggest that addressing these multiple risks, mainstreaming flood management and

adaptation into the wider context of people‘s general well being, and increasing risk

perception will strengthen adaptive capacity to present and future floods.

Merz, B., Hall, J. & Schumann, A. (2010). Fluvial flood risk management in a changing

world, Natural Hazards and Environmental Science, Vol. 10 (3): 509-527.

Abstract: Flood risk emerges from the interaction of hazard and vulnerability. Over recent

decades the notion of risk being the basis for flood management decisions has become

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widely accepted and operationalised through the use of models and quantified risk analysis

providing the evidence for risk-informed decision making. However, it is now abundantly

apparent that changes in time, at a range of scales, of pertinent variables that determine risk

are not a second order consideration but, instead, fundamentally challenge the conventional

approach to flood risk management. The nature of some of these changes, particularly those

that operate on extended timescales, are highly uncertain, yet decisions that may have

implications for several decades still have to be taken. In this paper we explore how flood

risk management may be adapted to address processes of uncertain future change. We

identify a range of levels at which change may be incorporated in decision making: in the

representation of uncertain non-stationary quantities; in the rules that are used to identify

preferred options; in the variety of options that may be contemplated for flood risk

management; in the scope of problem definition, which increasingly extends to address

multiple hazards and multiple functions of river basins; and in the social and organizational

characteristics that promote adaptive capacity. Integrated responses to changing flood risk

need to attend to each of these levels of decision making, from the technicalities of non-

stationarity, to the promotion of resilient societies.

Neuvela, J. M. M. & Van Der knap, W. (2010). A Spatial Planning Perspective for

Measures concerning Flood Risk Management, International Journal of Water

Resources Development, Vol. 26 (2): 283-296.

Abstract: As a reaction to flooding events, various governments in Europe addressed the

need to create more physical space for water. Experiences in the Netherlands have shown,

however, that the development and implementation of these measures can result in local

opposition. Based on an examination of such conflicts, it is argued that spatial planning

should not only be regarded as an instrument for regulating the land required for flood

reduction, but also as an important substantive perspective through which participation can

be facilitated and through which water management objectives can be balanced with other

spatial claims on the landscape.

Vinh Hung, H., Shaw, R., Koboyashi, M. (2010). Flood risk management for the

riverside urban areas of Hanoi: The need for synergy in urban development and risk

management policies, Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 19 (1): 103-118.

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons for an unusual

over-development of flood-prone areas outside the river dyke in Hanoi, while analysing the

urban development and disaster management policies, and to suggest policy measures for

regulating the rapid urbanization incorporating catastrophic flood risk planning.

Design/methodology/approach – Urban development and disaster management policies

were analyzed and key stakeholders were interviewed to discover the effectiveness of the

policies and governance tasks.

Findings – A discrepancy was identified between the goals of urban development and

disaster management. The negative side of this discrepancy has been amplified by

ineffective Construction Regulations and a lack of specificity with regard to Ordinances on

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Dyke. These factors, combined with poor coordination and lack of motivation within the city

authorities in managing the Riverside Urban Areas (RUA), have contributed to the over-

development, which consists primarily of squatting and illegal construction.

Research limitations/implications – Along with a consideration of community perception of

catastrophic flood risk in the RUA, which has been examined, the paper further analyses the

effectiveness of related policies for catastrophic risk reduction in the RUA.

Practical implications – The paper identifies the following effective measures: build and

share a knowledge base concerning catastrophic flood risk and sustainable ways of coping

with the flood; be responsible and develop a commitment to manage flood-prone areas; and

develop better coordination between urban development and flood management.

Originality/value – The paper suggests new policy standards for managing the RUA

development and reducing flood risks.