Interactions between preventive flood protection and regional cultural landscaping in river landscapes - analysis with the inclusion of impacts of extreme low water because of climate change | Umweltbundesamt

Background and Goals

The aim of this research project is to systematically identify ways in which the objectives of regional cultural landscape development and those of preventive flood protection in river landscapes can be interlinked, taking into account the consequences of the climate change. In particular, recommendations will be developed for spatial planning with regard to its formal and informal instruments. For this purpose, exemplary projects will be empirically examined that merge the adaptation methods to floods and low water situations with processes in regional cultural landscape development. Contributions are provided by socio-scientific studies of institutions, which discuss the difficulties of integrating flood protection and regional cultural landscape development as problems of horizontal and vertical interaction, and spatial or temporal adaptability.

River management has been the subject of a number of important political reforms at a European and national level in recent years. Following the devastating floods in the summer of 2002, the German government drew up a 5-point plan for improving preventive flood protection. This initiative was institutionalised with the "Act to Improve Preventive Flood Control" in 2005. In addition, at the European level, the directive "on the assessment and management of flood risks" (Floods Directive 2007/60/EC) came into force in November 2007, and is now being implemented by the individual EU member states. The underlying concept for these measures is the concept of a river as an entity - from source to mouth, including tributaries and the landscapes of the river basin. This also addresses the level of the regional cultural landscapes and their composition.

The research is divided into the following work steps:

1. Literature analysis: Analysis of the synergies, trade-offs, and institutional adaptabilities inherent in linking the promotion of regional culture landscapes and the provision of preventive flood and low water level protection, the determination of the strategic relevance of an integrated approach to regional cultural landscapes to flood and low water level protection in river landscapes, taking into account the consequences of the climate change, resulting in a final assessment.
2. Institutional analysis: linking flood protection and the development of cultural landscapes Analysis of relevant documents for preventive flood protection and cultural landscape development (e.g., EU Floods Directive, EU Water Framework Directive, European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), Territorial Agenda, EU Green Paper "Adapting to climate change in Europe - options for EU action", future German climate change adaptation strategy, Federal Regional Planning Act (Raumordnungsgesetz, ROG and later amendment GeROG), Models for a (German) Spatial Planning Policy, Act to Improve Preventive Flood Control, state water legislation, etc.) at the European, national and, by way of example, state level; presentation of objectives and regulations for integrating preventive flood protection in documents on regional cultural landscape development and integrating cultural landscape development in documents on preventive flood protection.
3. Institutional analysis: linking preventive low water level management to the development of cultural landscapes: Analysis of documents on the regulation of minimum water levels in rivers at the European, national, and state level (by way of example); presentation of objectives and regulations for integrating preventive low water protection in documents on regional cultural landscape development and integrating cultural landscape development in documents on preventive low water protection.
4. Selection and preparation of case studies: Development of screening criteria and selection of exemplary projects at the regional level, focusing on the regional cultural landscapes in river catchment areas, integration of the objectives and measures for preventive flood and low water protection, and development of projects for preventive flood protection that integrate cross-sectional objectives of cultural landscape development over and above the specific planning requirements
5. Regional case studies Qualitative analysis of four case studies that are exemplary for different types of river landscapes, with respect to stakeholder set-up, the formal and informal instruments for regional cultural landscape development, preventive flood protection, and low water level protection, particularly of regional spatial development policy, and their implementation successes.
6. Recommendations for good practice: Derivation of strategic and instrumental recommendations for a regional spatial development policy and preventive flood protection/low water protection, but also for other stakeholders in informal regional development policy (project executing bodies, municipalities); generation of ideas and implications for the future tasks of regional cultural landscape development in river catchment areas, taking into account the consequences of the climate change.

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