Multidimensional Aspects of Floods: Nature-Based Mitigation Measures from Basin to River Reach Scale

Abstract

This chapter aims to deliver a brief overview of flood mitigation and protective measures at different scales within the catchment area and identify the main factors to be considered in flood risk management. It stands on an extensive literature review of the ongoing scholarly discourse on the topic. The main focus is given to novel approaches that are based on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) principles, which are aligned with emerging public awareness not only towards cost-effective solutions but also towards sustainable proposals which go in harmony with the environment and natural landscapes. First, we provide a synopsis on the main aspects influencing the flood events such as Land-Use/Land Cover (LULC), topography, hydrometeorology, and hydraulics of the river. Later we included novel concepts such as ‘‘Sponge Cities”, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), and the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS) as examples of mitigation practices which simultaneously integrate cost-effective non-structural and structural mitigation measures. Further on, we give some insight on the recommendations on the most pressing research questions and conclude the key issues to be considered in the flood risk management concerning NBS approaches. As a result, the study highlights two among many recommendations as to the foremost crucial ones. First, the flood risk reduction agendas must adopt a spatially comprehensive and cross-scale approach while considering flood events. Finally, natural properties of the context such as LULC, topography, hydrometeorology, and hydraulics must be considered simultaneously to utilise the full natural capacity of the context in flood risk mitigation.