Abstract
ABSTRACT Flood risk is increasing across the world due to climate change and socio-economic development, calling for a shift from traditional protection and post-event activism towards a forward-looking, risk-aware, and more holistic resilience approach. The national legal system of countries can play an important role in creating and encouraging such a shift. In this study, we explore the potentials and shortcomings of national laws in managing flood risk and increasing flood resilience in the context of climate change. We analyze 139 laws from 33 countries collected from the Climate Change Laws of the World and Disaster Law databases and underpin this with case studies to gain insights on the interplay between national laws and resilience processes. We find: (1) a shift in flood laws from focusing on flooding as a natural resource and water resource management issue towards a broader consideration of disaster risk management (DRM) and climate adaptation policy; (2) a significant lack of climate change recognition in laws regulating decisions and actions for future flood risks, especially in DRM; (3) a prevailing focus on response and recovery strategies and a lack of recognition of risk reduction strategies and proactive flood risk governance approaches; and (4) little recognition of natural capital (comparing to physical capital) and its role in increasing flood resilience. Key policy insights Flood-related laws around the world lack consideration of future risks. Disaster risk management and climate change are often considered as separate issues in national laws, which can lead to gaps in institutional ownership, responsibilities, and allocated budgets. Flood-related laws are mainly created after major events, most of which are focused on reactive strategies (i.e. response and recovery). Laws can facilitate the shift from post-event response to anticipatory actions by encouraging proactive flood risk management (FRM) activities (i.e. risk reduction). Nature-based solutions often remain unrecognized in national laws due to the dominant focus on hard engineering measures. FRM should be treated as a holistic concept in laws: ensuring all the necessary human, social, physical, natural and financial systems are in place to support it.
Highlights
Floods affect more people around the world than any other hazard (Aerts et al, 2018; Hanger et al, 2018; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), 2015)
This means that, while there is no national law on flood or climate adaptation in Belgium, flood risk governance is organized through many regional regulations for flood and coastal risk management in these three regions (Castanheira et al, 2017)
It is important to note that the number of laws in each country does not imply the quality of legal responses to flood risks in that country
Summary
Floods affect more people around the world than any other hazard (Aerts et al, 2018; Hanger et al, 2018; UNISDR, 2015). In many places across the world risk levels are increasing, with climate change and socio-economic development influencing risk patterns and exposure (De MoeL et al, 2011; IPCC, 2018; Nicholls et al, 2008). For many low-lying parts of the world, flood prospects look daunting given the interplay of sea-level rise, changing rainfall patterns and continued urban development in high-risk areas (Kulp & Strauss, 2019). SURMINSKI face of these threats, a rethink in flood risk management (FRM) is required along three lines: (1) taking account of future risks and impacts of climate change; (2) integrating forward-looking and proactive approaches; and (3) employing a variety of strategies and measures to reduce and manage risks, including spatial planning, community planning, and natural FRM measures, rather than merely focusing on defence and protection measures (Dieperink et al, 2016; Keating et al, 2014)
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