Making room for nature? Applying the Dutch Room for the River approach to flood risk management in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT Transferring the Dutch Room for the River (RftR) to other jurisdictions is not just about changes in technology. It also requires a fundamental shift in culture and governance, and hence is challenging to implement. Through a qualitative case study and applying a frame/framing analytical lens, we examine how the Dutch RftR was perceived and implemented in southern Alberta, Canada in three projects. Overall, Alberta interviewees perceived the RftR projects as triggering a paradigm shift from ‘fighting water’ to ‘living with water’ and as opening opportunities to expand this approach into future flood risk management projects across the province. But did this support translate into policies and practices? We explore the extent to which Alberta adopted four features of the RftR approach: (a) shifting away from mega-infrastructure, (b) making space for rivers, (c) moving people, and (d) regulating floodplain development. Also drawing on policy adoption models, we assess whether the RftR approach resulted in a significant shift towards more preventative, environmentally sustainable flood mitigation to reduce disaster risks and damages or whether a business-as-usual approach of undeterred development in flood-prone areas was undertaken with resulting reliance on disaster relief programmes.