Flood Risk and River Conservation: Mapping Citizen Perception to Support Sustainable River Management

Anna Scaini,Chiara Scaini,Constance Brouillet,Ana Stritih

doi:10.3389/feart.2021.675131

Abstract

Involving citizens in river and flood risk management is critical for risk reduction and sustainable development within river basins, but local community input is often limited. This is partly due to the difficulty of quantifying the perceived values and risks related to the rivers, because these are based on personal knowledge and opinions. There is a need for more data on locals’ opinions and how they are spatially distributed across the river basin. Studies analyzing how perceived risks match evidence-based data can be a first step to including local knowledge in the decision-making process and pose the basis to enhance preparedness. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of flood risk and its spatial distribution across the river basin. Respondents are asked their perception of the role of the river in terms of flood risk and management, as well as to pinpoint on a map the areas they identify as the most dangerous during floods. The approach is tested on the Tagliamento River in the Italian Alps, characterized by debates regarding flood protection, flood management and ecological conservation. The flood risk perception map shows good agreement between perceived risk and existing flood risk assessment maps in the lower basin, where major floods happened in recent memory (1966). In the upper basin, despite having suffered frequent floods, participants are more uncertain about the risks. There is interest in being involved in the risk management debate, and most respondents believe that risk reduction and river conservation are compatible. Land use planning is identified as a factor that can increase flood risk. The results point to the necessity to tackle together conservation, risk management and land use planning in order to develop risk-oriented river management strategies. Our study demonstrates how online participatory mapping can be used to improve the understanding of citizens’ perceptions and expectations with regards to their river, and support participation in sustainable river management.

Highlights

Future climate change and shifting weather patterns will challenge our ability to assess risk and allocate resources effectively
The 58% of the respondents are resident of the river basin, while 32% of the respondents are resident in other municipalities of Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG)
To assess which areas of the Tagliamento River basin are prone to floods, the maps provided by river basin plans (PAI) are of limited use as they are based on historical floods of all rivers in the FVG region, making it impossible to assess what flooded areas are related to the Tagliamento River (Supplementary Figure S4)

Summary

Introduction

Future climate change and shifting weather patterns will challenge our ability to assess risk and allocate resources effectively. Flooding is the main risk faced by European emergency management authorities, and affects more people worldwide than any other hazard (Rizzetto, 2020). Both frequency and magnitude of floods in Europe are expected to change due to climate change (Feldman et al, 2016; Blöschl et al, 2019; Blöschl et al, 2020; Bertola et al, 2020). As an increasing number of people are affected by floods, a shift in risk management towards an integrated approach that includes all involved actors, including local inhabitants, is needed (Buchecker et al, 2013; Maidl and Buchecker, 2015). Participation is highlighted as critical within the SENDAI Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, a framework developed for disaster risk reduction and prevention, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Global Water Partnership et al, 2016; UNISDR, 2017; Allen et al, 2019)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion