Attitudes of administrative decision-makers towards nature-based solutions for flood risk management in Germany

Over the last two decades, alternative and holistic concepts, such as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) were introduced and adopted by policy-makers, including to the field of flood protection, thereby causing a paradigm shift towards flood risk management. The inclusion of natural water retention measures (NWRM) such as dike relocation and floodplain restoration into the German guidelines for flood protection institutionalized the new concepts in Germany. Whereas small scale NbS and the affected population have already been subject to thorough scientific research, large-scale NbS and the decision-makers assigned with the measure’s implementation have yet to be studied. How do administrative decision-makers perceive the new approach and measures? Are there particular attitudes among the decision-makers regarding NbS? Which aspects of implementing large-scale NbS influence possible attitudes? Which hurdles do decision-makers concern for the implementation of the new concepts? This paper investigates these questions on the example of dike relocation and floodplain restoration using Q-methodology with administrative decision-makers of flood protection authorities in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The consecutive statistical analysis unveiled three significant viewpoints among the decision-makers. The viewpoints/attitudes were classified as 1. The Convinced, 2. The Concerned and, 3. The Evaluators, defined by varying and individual concerns on the implementation of dike relocation and floodplain restoration. Hereby, this study delivers insights on large-scale NbS as well as on the issues of their implementation.

Approaches in research on flood risk perception and their importance in flood risk management: a review

The study of flood risk perception factors can be considered by using different paradigms. In an attempt to understand risk perception, two basic paradigms can be distinguished: rationalist and constructivist. The rationalist approach tends to focus on modeling, characterizing, and predicting behavioral results regarding various threats. According to the constructivist paradigm, threats are perceived as socially constructed. This review paper aims to assess the importance of the rationalist and constructivist approaches in research on flood risk perception and flood risk management more broadly by answering the questions: (1) Which paradigm dominates the research of flood risk perception?, (2) What is the relationship between rationalistic and constructivistic factors (e.g., stimulation, weakening, strengthening, etc.)?, (3) which factors are more effective in moderating attitudes toward flood risk? The paper concludes by pointing out the desired direction of research on flood risk perception from the perspective of improving flood risk management. In contemporary empirical works managing the perception of flood risk, a rationalistic approach that psychometrically searches for cognitive models dominates. Often, statistically obtained dependencies are mutually exclusive. Studies on perception that apply the constructivist approach are in an early stage of development, nevertheless providing consistent results. They indicate that the social, political, cultural, religious, and historical contexts shape the perception of flood risk. On the basis of the aforementioned information, research on flood risk in a constructivist approach should be expanded, as it provides a clear, often underappreciated catalog of contextual factors shaping risk perception and, importantly, simultaneously moderating the influence of rationalist factors on flood risk perception.

Flood Risk Management and its Compliance in Loko Community Adamawa State, Nigeria

Flood risk management functions to reduce socio-economic and human resources associated with disasters. This study investigates flood risk administration for the socio-demographic progress of the Loko Community in the Song local government area in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study’s objective was to evaluate the compliance levels to flood risk management practices, challenges and interventions adopted to address the concerns. The study utilized a case study research design while targeting a population of 4,200 inhabitants comprising, 800 households, 20 NEMA staff and 40 ADSEMA staff. The findings indicated that floods significantly affects the socio-economic condition and livelihoods of the people. Moreover, the study found that institutional, cultural, and demographic factors limited compliance to FRM practices, necessitating the adoption of appropriate interventions. Therefore, it is necessary because homes far from flood-prone areas will mitigate the adverse flood effects. Similarly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives through the Extension Services should incentivize the communities through funding to increase the area cultivated on the upland to enhance the food security at the household level. There should be increased support programmes for the affected, and viable farmers prioritized for the support programmes. The study concludes that there is a need to develop better and appropriate measures to prepare and mitigate the effects of floods. Socio-economic problems such as poverty, livelihood profile, cultural views, the position of weaker social groups, and the rights of minorities and ethnic groups must be addressed urgently.

Managing Flood Hazard in a Complex Cross-Border Region Using Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 Optical Data: A Case Study from Prut River Basin (NE Romania)

In this study, an alternative solution for flood risk management in complex cross-border regions is presented. In these cases, due to different flood risk management legislative approaches, there is a lack of joint cooperation between the involved countries. As a main consequence, LiDAR-derived digital elevation models and accurate flood hazard maps obtained by means of hydrological and hydraulic modeling are missing or are incomplete. This is also the case for the Prut River, which acts as a natural boundary between European Union (EU) member Romania and non-EU countries Ukraine and Republic of Moldova. Here, flood hazard maps were developed under the European Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) only for the Romanian territory and only for the 1% exceeding probability (respectively floods that can occur once every 100 years). For this reason, in order to improve the flood hazard management in the area and consider all cross-border territories, a fully remote sensing approach was considered. Using open-source SAR Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data characterized by an improved temporal resolution, we managed to capture the maximum spatial extent of a flood event that took place in the aforementioned river sector (middle Prut River course) during the 24 and 27 June 2020. Moreover, by means of flood frequency analysis, the development of a transboundary flood hazard map with an assigned probability, specific to the maximum flow rate recorded during the event, was realized.