Identifying boundaries that enhance system resilience in an integrated FRM project

Traditionally, flood risk management (FRM) has relied on engineered structures to prevent floods. However, this strategy does not enhance system resilience as it only reduces the probability of flooding, focusing on the capacity to resist floods and neglecting the absorptive capacity of a landscape. Therefore, there have been calls for more integrated FRM, where flood prevention is viewed as interdependent with other spatial challenges. However, considering system interdependencies is complex. To manage this complexity, system boundaries have to be drawn. Setting boundaries is a balancing act; both too tight and too wide boundaries may cause problems. This study, therefore, asks: To what extent do boundaries applied in FRM projects contribute to or hinder system resilience? To analyse these boundaries and their impact on resilience, we combine insights about system and resilience thinking with insights from the literature on forward-looking decision-making. The latter allows us to account for the temporal aspects of resilience, which is key in FRM projects, given their high uncertainty and infrastructure systems with long lifespans. We developed a conceptualisation of boundaries that distinguishes between spatial, domain, hazard, participation, and temporal boundaries. We apply this conceptual framework to a project that aimed to reduce flood risks while improving spatial quality in the Netherlands. In this case, most boundaries were neither tight nor wide. As such, the project balanced between complexity and manageability. One boundary that was drawn notably tight concerns hazards, focusing solely on resilience to flooding without considering other disturbances. The participation boundary was relatively wide, encompassing diverse stakeholders, multiple levels, and various types. This research provides a practical framework for boundaries to consider in integrated FRM projects, acknowledging the need to balance complexity by drawing boundaries that are manageable yet supportive of system resilience.