TY - JOUR

T1 - Multi-level stakeholder engagement in flood risk management

T2 - A question of roles and power: Lessons from England

AU - Thaler, Thomas

AU - Levin-Keitel, Meike

N1 - Funding Information: Here, national authorities play the most crucial role in the partnership approach. A key aim for flood risk management, for example, is to develop and initiate project proposals for flood defence schemes (develop a project appraisal, ensure funding from national sources, organise all approval needs for the realisation of the project). During this stage the national authorities are the project leaders, who also define the conditions with the stakeholders, e.g. cost sharing among the stakeholders. The focus is to find potential stakeholders (state and non-state stakeholders) and integrate them into the partnership approach. Building trust is important, especially between stakeholders who have never collaborated in the past. The overall tasks are to organise seminars and meetings, especially to communicate the potential hazards and risks, define problems, and find common objectives and measures. Furthermore, key tasks are to organise and ensure financial support from the national authorities. Since the national authorities are foreseen as the project leader and manager, their key requirements are managerial skills, they have the overall power in the planning and decision-making process. Often the local level does not seem to be in a very strong position in comparison to the national level, especially local grassroots organisations.

PY - 2016/1

Y1 - 2016/1

N2 - In the past years, stakeholder engagement has become more important in flood risk management. On the one hand stakeholder engagement is often declared as a better way of management, a more successful way to reach consensus in policy discussions. On the other hand is the implementation of increasing stakeholder engagement far away from being as positive, where stakeholder engagement often ends in diverse difficulties and conflicts between political leaders and stakeholder groups. This paper aims to highlight participatory governance in flood risk management to provide an overview of the potential contributions and challenges of a participatory and collaborative governance approach. In this paper, we discuss the role of national authorities and local stakeholders in English flood risk management in three different examples (Bridgwater, Cockermouth and Morpeth). The results show that the Cockermouth and Morpeth flood risk management scheme is characterised by a high level of local self-responsibility in the planning and decision-making process. The study sites with high local capacity (Cockermouth and Morpeth) show a strong leadership at local level and bottom-up concepts and ideas. The local involvement in the discussion and decision-process depends on the local capacity (capacity to act), such as resources (knowledge, financial, time), interest, social and cultural capital. It strongly depends on these aspects, if localities are able to ensure their interests and needs at national level.

AB - In the past years, stakeholder engagement has become more important in flood risk management. On the one hand stakeholder engagement is often declared as a better way of management, a more successful way to reach consensus in policy discussions. On the other hand is the implementation of increasing stakeholder engagement far away from being as positive, where stakeholder engagement often ends in diverse difficulties and conflicts between political leaders and stakeholder groups. This paper aims to highlight participatory governance in flood risk management to provide an overview of the potential contributions and challenges of a participatory and collaborative governance approach. In this paper, we discuss the role of national authorities and local stakeholders in English flood risk management in three different examples (Bridgwater, Cockermouth and Morpeth). The results show that the Cockermouth and Morpeth flood risk management scheme is characterised by a high level of local self-responsibility in the planning and decision-making process. The study sites with high local capacity (Cockermouth and Morpeth) show a strong leadership at local level and bottom-up concepts and ideas. The local involvement in the discussion and decision-process depends on the local capacity (capacity to act), such as resources (knowledge, financial, time), interest, social and cultural capital. It strongly depends on these aspects, if localities are able to ensure their interests and needs at national level.

KW - Flood risk management

KW - Partnership funding

KW - Power

KW - Societal implications

KW - Stakeholder engagement

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947292284&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.15488/1891

DO - 10.15488/1891

M3 - Article

VL - 55

SP - 292

EP - 301

JO - Environmental Science and Policy

JF - Environmental Science and Policy

SN - 1462-9011

IS - 2

ER -