Governance in support of integrated flood risk management? The case of Romania

Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf*, Stefan M.M. Kuks, Denie C.M. Augustijn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)
79 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Building on an existing model of governance, this paper aims to assess the supportiveness of Romania's structural flood risk governance context towards integrated flood risk management. We assert that a governance structure supports the development and implementation of integrated flood risk management policies when it takes into account all relevant levels, actors, perceptions, strategies and resources (high extent) and has connections between these various dimensions (high coherence). The assessment shows that, in Romania, both the extent and coherence of flood risk governance has increased in recent years. However, the actual inclusion of actors, strategies and perceptions is lagging behind and actors do not actively look for integration or synergy. Thus, the governance structure is at times restrictive rather than supportive of integrated flood risk management as promoted in international guidelines and the European Floods Directive. We conclude that to effectively reduce flood risk problems, additional efforts and time are needed to further align policies and to change practices. Governance assessment can support responsible actors in this process by identifying the factors that support and restrict integrated, and thus sustainable, flood risk management.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)104-118
Number of pages15
JournalEnvironmental development
Volume16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2015

Keywords

  • Flood risk management
  • Governance assessment
  • Romania
  • Water governance
  • 2023 OA procedure

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