What is it about?
Risk management is increasingly a significant policy tool to address flooding problems in Europe. We provide a critical analysis of flood risk management strategies by looking at different perspectives offered by policy makers and local people using a case study in Ireland. We show that risk management can be a problematic instrument of decision making and we stress the importance of engaging more closely with local grassroots experiences.
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Why is it important?
Our findings are based on empirical evidence which offer real life examples of the limitations of current flood risk management strategies in Ireland. Furthermore, we also link these with other issues including problems related to conservation policy and rural development.
Perspectives
We hope that this article gives voice to a number of issues related to the management of floods which have not been widely discussed. The article has tried to demonstrate that floods are not isolated events but rather that existing social and environmental conditions and capacities have a significant impact. Therefore, we found it necessary to challenge the managerial way in which floods are handled using risk based instruments, which reinforces the idea that floods can be treated as isolated issues. We hope this article promotes more inclusive forms of flood management that addresses local forms of vulnerability and takes stock of local capacities.
Alexandra Revez
University College Cork
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Risky policies: Local contestation of mainstream flood risk management approaches in Ireland, Environment and Planning A Economy and Space, September 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0308518x17730054.
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