Incorporating stakeholders\u2019 preferences into a multi-criteria framework for planning large-scale Nature-Based Solutions

Laddaporn Ruangpan,Meng-Hsuan Wu,Leng-Hsuan Tseng,Jasna Plavšić,Dong-Jiing Doong,Zoran Vojinovic,Zvonimir Kocic,Anja Randelović,Tobias Bahlmann,Blanca Perez-Lapeña,Andrijana Todorović,Alida Alves,Wei-Cheng Lo,Mário J Franca,Vladimir Beljinac

doi:10.1007/s13280-020-01419-4

Abstract

Hydro-meteorological risks are a growing issue for societies, economies and environments around the world. An effective, sustainable response to such risks and their future uncertainty requires a paradigm shift in our research and practical efforts. In this respect, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) offer the potential to achieve a more effective and flexible response to hydro-meteorological risks while also enhancing human well-being and biodiversity. The present paper describes a new methodology that incorporates stakeholders’ preferences into a multi-criteria analysis framework, as part of a tool for selecting risk mitigation measures. The methodology has been applied to Tamnava river basin in Serbia and Nangang river basin in Taiwan within the EC-funded RECONECT project. The results highlight the importance of involving stakeholders in the early stages of projects in order to achieve successful implementation of NBSs. The methodology can assist decision-makers in formulating desirable benefits and co-benefits and can enable a systematic and transparent NBSs planning process.

Highlights

Hydro-meteorological risks, such as flooding, will become more extreme and increase in frequency in the foreseeable future
This study aims to develop a methodology for the first time to select Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) measures by integrating a preliminary selection tool with a multi-criteria analysis framework for different scales and hazard types
To set up the database, a large set of measures for hydro-meteorological risk reduction has been collected based on the literature review of adaptation and mitigation measures, including grey infrastructure, river restoration, NBSs and their related terms (i.e. Low Impact Developments (LIDs), Best Management Practices (BMPs), Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS), Green Infrastructure (GI), Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI), Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR))

Summary

Introduction

Hydro-meteorological risks, such as flooding, will become more extreme and increase in frequency in the foreseeable future. According to EM-DAT (2017), between 1951 and 2017, floods caused US$ 765 billion of damage and killed almost 24 million people globally These statistics show that there is an urgent need to develop effective flood management and mitigation measures to minimise consequences as much as possible. The most common approaches to reduce flood risks were related to ‘hard’ engineering works or the so-called grey infrastructure (EEA 2017). Examples of such measures include construction of dams, dikes, levees, pipe systems and other structures to control flooding. Grey infrastructure often has negative consequences in the environment and ecosystems

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Conclusion