Integrated Flood Risk Management in England and Wales

The flooding system includes the physical process of flooding, the inhabitants of floodplains, their infrastructures and ecosystems, and the people and organizations in the public and private sector that influence or are subject to flooding and its impacts. Flooding systems are continuously changing because of natural and socioeconomic processes, as well as activities that are intended to reduce flood risk. Flood risk management is the process of data and information gathering, risk assessment, appraisal of options, and making, implementing, and reviewing decisions to reduce, control, accept, or redistribute risks of flooding. Integrated flood risk management explicitly recognizes the interrelationships between all risk management measures, and their analysis, costs, and effectiveness, within changing social, economic, and environmental contexts. It can be helped by improving access to data and models, sharing and communicating risk analyses, involving a wider range of stakeholders, and coordinating risk management actions. Flood risk management in England and Wales is rapidly changing. This paper explains these changes in terms of their contribution to integrated flood risk management and describes further developments that are required to enable the difficult task of integrated flood risk management to be realized in practice.