Restoring Floodplains in Europe

This book addresses the complex institutional dimensions to restoring floodplains. Despite the recent surge of interest in restoring floodplains among policy and research circles, as well as in the public domain, very few schemes for restoring functional floodplains have been put into practice in Europe to date. The book explores the reasons behind this discrepancy between interest and applications with an original, comparative analysis of the institutional drivers and constraints of floodplain restoration in Europe. It explains why so few projects have been successfully implemented, how recent policy shifts are creating new opportunities for floodplain restoration and what lessons for policy development and project management can be drawn from in-depth analysis of past and present schemes. At a time of rapidly growing interest in restoring floodplains as an important component of efforts to improve flood protection, enhance riparian habitats, strengthen catchment management, raise water quality and pursue integrated rural development, the book critically appraises the relationship between macro-level policy development and enforcement and micro-level project design and implementation. 

This book addresses the complex institutional dimensions to restoring floodplains. Despite the recent surge of interest in restoring floodplains among policy and research circles, as well as in the public domain, very few schemes for restoring functional floodplains have been put into practice in Europe to date. The book explores the reasons behind this discrepancy between interest and applications with an original, comparative analysis of the institutional drivers and constraints of floodplain restoration in Europe. It explains why so few projects have been successfully implemented, how recent policy shifts are creating new opportunities for floodplain restoration and what lessons for policy development and project management can be drawn from in-depth analysis of past and present schemes. At a time of rapidly growing interest in restoring floodplains as an important component of efforts to improve flood protection, enhance riparian habitats, strengthen catchment management, raise water quality and pursue integrated rural development, the book critically appraises the relationship between macro-level policy development and enforcement and micro-level project design and implementation. 

Table of Contents: 1 Institutional dimensions of floodplain restoration in Europe: an introduction Timothy Moss and Jochen Monstadt 2 Floodplains in Europe: the case for restoration Keith Richards and Francine Hughes 3 Flood risk management and floodplain restoration in Europe: recent policy developments at EU level Thomas Dworak 4 Policy innovations in the aftermath of a disaster: contexts of floodplain restoration in Germany Jochen Monstadt and Timothy Moss 5 Floodplain restoration in the context of river basin management: policy development and implementation in France Jochen Monstadt 6 Policy shifts and delivery gaps: contexts of floodplain restoration in England and Wales Timothy Moss 7 The restoration of a floodplain on the Upper Rhine: managing the interface of large-scale policy and small-scale implementation Sylvia Kruse 8. Restoring an alluvial forest and ancient meander on the Garonne: linking environmental protection to fishing and recreation Maria Hagemeier and Axel Klaphake 9. The Long Eau floodplain restoration project: "Flying by the seat of your pants" Timothy Moss 10. The relocation of a dyke on the River Elbe: floodplain management as a challenge for intersectoral and multilevel coordination Jochen Monstadt 11. Restoring floodplains on the River Seine: combining flood prevention with regional development Maria Hagemeier and Axel Klaphake 12. The Parrett Catchment Project: between rhetoric and reality Ross Beveridge and Timothy Moss 13. Coping with complexity: lessons for policy development, project management and research Timothy Moss and Jochen Monstadt