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Flood Risk Management (flood + risk_management)
Selected AbstractsJournal of Flood Risk ManagementJOURNAL OF FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2010David Balmforth No abstract is available for this article. [source] Flood risk management and planning policy in a time of policy transition: the case of the Wapshott Road Planning Inquiry, Surrey, EnglandJOURNAL OF FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2009S. Tunstall Abstract This paper focuses on an English case study example of decision making on development and flood risk. It was carried out through qualitative document analysis and 13 in-depth interviews with flood risk professionals and others in the Lower Thames Valley. It illustrates the recent shift in policy in England from flood defence to a flood risk management approach with an increased emphasis on spatial planning and development control. It shows that decision makers take time to come to terms with new government policy. Despite the more prescriptive government guidance on development and flood risk in Planning Policy Guidance 25 and later documents, there remains scope for disagreements, for example, over what constitutes ,safe' development in flood risk areas. Other sustainability objectives can still weigh heavily against flood risk in local decision making. The potential contributions of modelling, and new visualisation techniques in the flood risk management and planning context are considered. [source] A framework for developing high-resolution multi-model climate projections: 21st century scenarios for the UKINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2008Jean-Philippe Vidal Abstract This article proposes a framework for building climate projections from an ensemble of global circulation models (GCMs) at the local scale required for impact studies. The proposed method relies on a fine-scale gridded baseline climatology and consists of the following steps: (1) building appropriate precipitation and temperature time series from land areas covered by GCM sea cells; (2) correction of GCM outputs inherent biases through ,quantile-based mapping'; and (3) disaggregation of bias-corrected outputs with monthly spatial anomalies between GCM-specific and observed spatial scales. The overall framework is applied to derive 21st century seasonal climate projections and inter-annual variability for the UK based on an ensemble of six GCMs run under two different emissions scenarios. Results show a large dispersion of changes within the multi-GCM ensemble, along with a good comparison between scenarios from individual ensemble members and from previous UK and European studies using dynamically downscaled outputs from corresponding GCMs. The framework presented in this article provides appropriate outputs to take account of the uncertainty in global model configuration within impacts studies that are influencing current decisions on major investments in flood risk management and water resources. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Flood risk management and planning policy in a time of policy transition: the case of the Wapshott Road Planning Inquiry, Surrey, EnglandJOURNAL OF FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2009S. Tunstall Abstract This paper focuses on an English case study example of decision making on development and flood risk. It was carried out through qualitative document analysis and 13 in-depth interviews with flood risk professionals and others in the Lower Thames Valley. It illustrates the recent shift in policy in England from flood defence to a flood risk management approach with an increased emphasis on spatial planning and development control. It shows that decision makers take time to come to terms with new government policy. Despite the more prescriptive government guidance on development and flood risk in Planning Policy Guidance 25 and later documents, there remains scope for disagreements, for example, over what constitutes ,safe' development in flood risk areas. Other sustainability objectives can still weigh heavily against flood risk in local decision making. The potential contributions of modelling, and new visualisation techniques in the flood risk management and planning context are considered. [source] Flood risk analysis for determining optimal flood protection levels in urban river managementJOURNAL OF FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Masaru Morita Abstract The objective of the paper is to present a specific risk-analysis method for the assessment of optimal flood protection levels in urban flood risk management using intensity,duration,frequency relationships. Risk herein is understood as the product of flood damage potential and its occurrence probability. The risk analysis is based on a geographic information system-based flood damage prediction model to calculate flood damage for design storms with different return periods. Estimation of the monetary damages for these design storms and their return periods is the prerequisite for quantifying flood risk based on an annual risk density curve. The risk-analysis method is applied to determine optimal flood protection levels for the Kanda River basin in Tokyo, Japan. It shows how two cost curves can be used: risk cost reduction curves and capital cost curves. [source] Embedding a strategic approach to river restoration in operational management processes , experiences in England,AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue S1 2010Chris P. Mainstone Abstract 1. The restoration of riverine habitats that have been physically modified by man has gained momentum over the past two decades, driven by a number of objectives. Formalizing the planning and implementation of such activity, however, so that it demonstrably meets national and local environmental objectives without compromising essential societal needs such as flood risk management, has proved problematic. 2. This paper addresses the operational realities of river restoration in the UK as experienced in England by the authors, and in doing so attempts to provide a vision for how strategic planning and implementation of restoration measures sensitive to these realities might be introduced. Specifically, the paper explores: the prevailing perspectives on river restoration, shaped by both legislative drivers for ecosystem and biodiversity protection and the multiple uses made of rivers, their floodplains and catchments; how decisions have tended to be made to date and how the government agencies for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in England are planning to make decisions in the future; the key obstacles to putting in place scientifically and technically robust, large-scale, long-term, economically viable plans for river restoration; the potential for using rivers with special conservation designations for wildlife as a springboard for a strategic approach to river restoration more widely. 3. The issues hindering a strategic operational approach to river restoration in England are common to the rest of the UK and other developed countries grappling with the enormity of the river restoration challenge. To make real progress with river restoration, an operational decision-making framework is needed that promotes progressive and strategic action but at the same time gives everyone confidence that such action is realistic and worthwhile. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Exploring the interactions between flood defence maintenance works and river habitats: the use of River Habitat Survey dataAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 6 2009Gemma L. Harvey Abstract 1.More extensive physical management of rivers in response to increasing flood risk, and action to improve the ecological quality of rivers represent two major, and potentially conflicting, challenges. 2.Improved understanding of the interactions between flood defence works and habitat structure must be achieved in order to satisfy both of these demands in the context of flood risk management and habitat improvement. 3.This paper examines the ,extensive' and ,intensive' use of data derived from a standardized method of assessing habitat character to explore the effects of flood risk maintenance works on river habitat quality. 4.Analysis of the UK River Habitat Survey (RHS) data set reveals some broad trends towards reduced habitat heterogeneity associated with recent flood defence works such as dredging and weed-cutting. 5.These observations correspond with published localized experimental work and suggest that the RHS database can be a useful resource for identifying relationships at relatively broad scales. 6.Applying the RHS methodology at finer spatial scales for sites experiencing continuing maintenance reveals contrasting results and highlights some key methodological issues; these include the availability and selection of high quality benchmark conditions, the legacy of past management, lag times associated with maintenance and recovery, and recording of marginal habitat features. 7.Small modifications to the RHS method could enable calculation of more detailed habitat indices while maintaining comparability with the national dataset. 8.If the issues identified in this paper can be addressed or accounted for, RHS could be an important tool for assessing the relationship between flood defence management and new statutory obligations for ecological improvement. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Integrating ecology with hydromorphology: a priority for river science and managementAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2009I.P. Vaughan Abstract 1.The assessment of links between ecology and physical habitat has become a major issue in river research and management. Key drivers include concerns about the conservation implications of human modifications (e.g. abstraction, climate change) and the explicit need to understand the ecological importance of hydromorphology as prescribed by the EU's Water Framework Directive. Efforts are focusing on the need to develop ,eco-hydromorphology' at the interface between ecology, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. Here, the scope of this emerging field is defined, some research and development issues are suggested, and a path for development is sketched out. 2.In the short term, major research priorities are to use existing literature or data better to identify patterns among organisms, ecological functions and river hydromorphological character. Another early priority is to identify model systems or organisms to act as research foci. In the medium term, the investigation of pattern,processes linkages, spatial structuring, scaling relationships and system dynamics will advance mechanistic understanding. The effects of climate change, abstraction and river regulation, eco-hydromorphic resistance/resilience, and responses to environmental disturbances are likely to be management priorities. Large-scale catchment projects, in both rural and urban locations, should be promoted to concentrate collaborative efforts, to attract financial support and to raise the profile of eco-hydromorphology. 3.Eco-hydromorphological expertise is currently fragmented across the main contributory disciplines (ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, flood risk management, civil engineering), potentially restricting research and development. This is paradoxical given the shared vision across these fields for effective river management based on good science with social impact. A range of approaches is advocated to build sufficient, integrated capacity that will deliver science of real management value over the coming decades. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||