Publications (FIS)

Integrating nature-based solutions in flood risk management plans

A matter of individual beliefs?

authored by: Mario Brillinger, Jennifer Henze, Christian Albert, Reimund Schwarze
Abstract: The formulation of management plans as required by EU environmental policies such as the Floods Directive may facilitate the uptake of nature-based solutions (NBS) into practice. Previous research has indicated that the uptake of NBS in water management plans is still low and hindered by various elements of the existing water governance system. However, research so far neglected the role of water managers as “plan-makers” of solution strategies and programs of measures, as well as their beliefs in choosing certain measures in the plan-making process. The aim of this study is to shed more light on the plan-makers' reasoning for integrating, or not integrating, NBS into specific flood risk management plans (FRMPs). We conducted ten qualitative interviews with plan-makers from Germany and adopted a grounded theory approach to identify their beliefs that underlie the process of formulating FRMPs as well as their perceived role in this process. The analysis reveals a dominance of shared substantive and relational beliefs that are obstructive to a greater uptake of NBS in FRMPs. In particular, identified beliefs about NBS often do not align with their self-perception of their role in being the “plan-makers”. We present a differentiated portrait of water managers as key actors in the decision-making on FRMPs, illustrating that while water managers are belonging to the same distinct professional group with a similar social role in the decision-making process, they do not necessarily share the same preferences.
Organisation(s): Institute of Environmental Planning
External Organisation(s): Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
Type: Article
Journal: Science of the Total Environment
Volume: 795
ISSN: 0048-9697
Publication date: 15.11.2021
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Waste Management and Disposal, Pollution
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148896 (Access: Closed)

BibTeX

@article{1d5af16505e5445c91277959a890166b,
title = "Integrating nature-based solutions in flood risk management plans: A matter of individual beliefs?",
abstract = "The formulation of management plans as required by EU environmental policies such as the Floods Directive may facilitate the uptake of nature-based solutions (NBS) into practice. Previous research has indicated that the uptake of NBS in water management plans is still low and hindered by various elements of the existing water governance system. However, research so far neglected the role of water managers as “plan-makers” of solution strategies and programs of measures, as well as their beliefs in choosing certain measures in the plan-making process. The aim of this study is to shed more light on the plan-makers' reasoning for integrating, or not integrating, NBS into specific flood risk management plans (FRMPs). We conducted ten qualitative interviews with plan-makers from Germany and adopted a grounded theory approach to identify their beliefs that underlie the process of formulating FRMPs as well as their perceived role in this process. The analysis reveals a dominance of shared substantive and relational beliefs that are obstructive to a greater uptake of NBS in FRMPs. In particular, identified beliefs about NBS often do not align with their self-perception of their role in being the “plan-makers”. We present a differentiated portrait of water managers as key actors in the decision-making on FRMPs, illustrating that while water managers are belonging to the same distinct professional group with a similar social role in the decision-making process, they do not necessarily share the same preferences.",
keywords = "Beliefs, Decision-making, Flood risk management, Nature-based solutions, Policy implementation, Water managers",
author = "Mario Brillinger and Jennifer Henze and Christian Albert and Reimund Schwarze",
note = "Funding Information: The study was realized in the context of the PlanSmart research group funded by Grant 01UU1601A and B from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium f{\"u}r Bildung und Forschung – BMBF). We thank the two anonymous reviewers for the insightful comments. We also thank Bartosz Bartkowski and Christoph D{\"o}ring for commenting earlier versions of the manuscript. Our thanks also go to Dominik Metzger and Mareen Schl{\"a}tel, who assisted us with interview transcription and data formatting.",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
day = "15",
doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148896",
language = "English",
volume = "795",
journal = "Science of the Total Environment",
issn = "0048-9697",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}