Integrated Flood Management. Concept Paper - Cap-Net

Integrated Flood Management—Concept Paper
not simply on its magnitude but also on what happened before. For
example, if the soil is already saturated as a result of previous rainfall,
then the proportion of rainfall that runs off the land and goes to swell the
flow in the river is higher than if the soil was only moist. The risk management
approach is increasingly being adopted in the decision making
process.
Risk Management
Modern society is termed a “risk society”. Uncertainty and risk management
are recognized as defining characteristics of choice rather than
being inconveniences. It is recognized that “risk” is a social construct
resulting from the accumulated or short-term effects of social and
economic processes and defined as the conditions that societies perceive
as troublesome. Thus, risk management is a necessary component of
the development process, essential for achieving sustainable development.
Flood risks are related to hydrological uncertainties. Our knowledge
of the present is incomplete and generally we have only a partial understanding
of the nature of the causal processes in operation. The extent of
future changes cannot be predicted with certainty, as these changes may
be random (e.g. climatic variability), systemic (e.g. climate change) or
cyclical (e.g. El Niño). However, hydrological uncertainty is perhaps subordinate
to social, economic and political uncertainties. For example, the
biggest and unpredictable changes are expected to result from population
growth and economic activity.
Balancing development needs and risks is essential. The evidence worldwide
is that people will not, and in certain circumstances cannot,
abandon flood-prone areas – whether they are in the sparsely populated
flood plains of the Mississippi, the mountains of Honduras or in the
densely populated deltaic regions of Bangladesh. There is a need, therefore,
to find ways of making life sustainable in the flood plains – even if
there is considerable risk to life and property. This can be approached
through the integrated management of floods.
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