Commentary: Urban Wetlands Restoration as NBS for Flood Risk Mitigation: From Positive Case to Legitimate Practice, in the View of Evidence-Based Flood Risk Policy Making

Abstract

From a policy development and implementation perspective in the light of adaptive governance, the case of wetland restoration in Pilsen raises issues of extreme complexity faced by positive case "enablers" when about to upscale from small-scale solution to acknowledged wide-scale outcome. Topics such as a higher degree of compliance with the core conventions of the EU Flood Directive (hydrologically sound, evidence-based planning and execution) as well as with other policy stepping stones are suggested and discussed. Zooming in-From Flood risk Directive to NBS: Since the beginning of the 21st century, the persistent attempt to attack the "wicked problem" (Rittel and Webber 1973) of floods in a systematic manner has given rise to a variety of ideas and concepts. Integrated watershed (or catchment) management (IWM/ICM) is the keystone concept underlying the EU Flood Directive (2007/60/EC). In light of IWM principles, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the subsequent Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) refer to the watershed (catchment, basement) unit as the most appropriate framework to manage the ecological state of rivers and other water bodies as well as to manage flood risks. The reason behind this decision lies in the fact that the watershed is "just about right" for the intended function as it incorporates the entire water cycle in nature, the upstream and the downstream communities, the stressors causing or expanding the flood risk (FR) and the receptors of the flood risk (van Ruiten and Hartmann 2016). Only the watershed level allows full understanding of the structure and functioning of the eco-hydrological "big idea" on which the human activities are based. This "big idea" and the human dimensions in it allow for appropriate and resilient flood risk governance arrangements by informing where, why

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

“…The first approach best describes the principal management practice in Ireland and which falls under the legal jurisdiction of the Office of Public Works (OPW) (Gutman 2019). In river catchment management, the OPW carries out drainage maintenance and manage larger infrastructural flood relief schemes (OPW 2019), especially dredging in order to permit faster flow.…”

Identifying tree characteristics to determine the blocking effects of water conveyance for natural flood management in urban rivers

“…Nature-based solutions (NBSs) are a popular concept in disaster management strategies and are used to build resilient and livable symbiotic environments (Ruangpan et al, 2020). The relevant applications of NBSs include the management of floodplain vegetation (Kiss et al, 2019), urban wetland rehabilitation (Gutman, 2019), and river restoration (Dixon et al, 2016). In this study, several scenario simulations were conducted and discussed using a verified BO model to view the effects of nature-based approaches to river management.…”