A Methodological Framework for Operationalization of Flood Risk Management

Abstract

Flood risk management has undergone significant transformations during the recent past. Climate change is very likely to bring a higher probability of extrememe weather events. Climate change is a significant challenge for urban growth in costal delta cities. Transformation of floodplains for urban development is a vital component of flood exposure, and changes in this component can lead to variations in flood risk. Socio ecological system conceptualizations suggests that resilience is the key to managing complex systems and to reduce vulnerability which is a result from the inherent uncertainty of flood risk. Theoretical understanding of flood risk management has advanced over the years but it is still seen that there are shortcomings in the operationalization concepts and methods. One of the main reason is lack of a common framework for clear recognition and understanding of the components of flood risk management for all stakeholders. Therefore, this research has questioned the current status of flood risk management and provide recommendations for operationalization. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a multi-criteria analysis technique that can be applied for structuring of complex decision-making problems involving multiple stakeholders, and scenarios. Therefore, this paper has developed a solution model for structuring the complexity of flood risk management and increase the certainty of the objectives of stakeholders. Result of the study has highlighted the main criteria and the sub criteria to structure the complexity of the planning process for operationalization of flood risk management.