A new governance framework for flood–drought synergies
Expert(s) |
Ana Nunez Sanchez
Deltares, Wageningen University, VU Amsterdam, and the World Bank have developed a new governance framework supporting countries to manage floods and droughts synergistically. The results of this effort has recently been published in PLOS Water.
Floods and droughts cause large economic and environmental impacts and incalculable human suffering. Countries around the world are increasingly experiencing the consecutive, cascading and compounding impacts of extreme events yet the benefits of their combined management continue to be largely unrealised.
This new governance framework proposes concrete pathways for transformation to help governments work together more effectively, break down silos, and achieve a shared goal of resilience.
Siloed flood and drought risk management
Despite growing evidence of important synergies in their management, floods and droughts continue to be managed in siloed systems, limiting effectiveness and resilience. The management of floods and droughts falls into a variety of disciplines and government agencies such as water resources management, disaster risk management, hydro-meteorology, agriculture, environment, and climate adaptation.
Existing governance approaches, often rooted in sector-specific mandates and institutional silos, are insufficient to tackle the complex interconnections within and between floods and droughts. For example, wetland conservation led by the environmental agency can reduce flood and drought hazards, thereby reducing the risk faced by communities that the disaster risk management agency is mandated to protect.
Governments around the world are carrying out efforts to better manage floods and droughts. Despite progress, increased impacts are outpacing risk mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Author Anne van Loon, VU Amsterdam
Transforming governance systems
Through a rigorous literature review and the lens of continuous transformational change, the authors present a novel conceptual framework that enables governments to align governance across sectors, coordinate whole-of-society engagement, and address the full hydroclimatic spectrum. They propose three transformative pathways:
- A shift of institutional arrangements from siloed sectoral management to interagency collaboration at the national level –referred to as a whole of government approach;
- A reconfiguration of how national governments and society interact, to encourage joint efforts towards a shared resilience goal – referred to as a whole of society approach;
- A shift in thinking from treating floods and droughts as separate risks to recognising them as interconnected phenomena within a single hydroclimatic spectrum – referred to as the whole hydroclimatic spectrum.
Operationalising the main dimensions of change
The authors disaggregated the three transformative pathways through the main dimensions of depth scope and speed of change offering a nuanced narrative of how transformations can be realised on the ground. With this approach, it becomes possible to identify areas where progress is being made and where additional emphasis may be needed to catalyse transformative change.
An outline of transformative pathways for managing floods and droughts across three dimensions: institutional arrangements, interactions, and paradigms. Each dimension is evaluated by its depth, scope, and speed of change.
- Institutional arrangements (Whole of government):
- Depth:Periodic reforms enable structural reconfiguration of sectoral approaches.
- Scope: Institutional silos are broken, leading to multi-agency collaboration.
- Speed: Rapid changes (e.g., regulations) alternate with long-term reforms.
- Interactions (Whole of society):
- Depth: Governments and society collaborate toward resilience.
- Scope: Power dynamics shift as governments partner with all societal groups.
- Speed: New partnerships form and institutionalise over time.
- Paradigms (Whole hydroclimatic spectrum):
- Depth: Mental models shift to view floods and droughts as part of the same spectrum.
- Scope: Risk managers adopt multi-hazard approaches.
- Speed: Research and radical innovations lead to paradigm shifts over time.
This transformative governance approach contributes with a practical framework to facilitate change towards the synergistic management of floods and droughts
Main Author Ana Núñez Sánchez, Deltares
The case of Spain
Spain is used as a telling real-world example to illustrate how efforts towards transformations in hydroclimatic risk management unfold in practice. The country has developed important legal and institutional instruments; however the synergistic management of floods and drought is not yet fully operational. This demonstrates both the potential and the challenges of in-depth and system-wide change, which require long-term commitment and iterative efforts.
A framework for policy dialogue and practice
This paper builds on elements of the report “An EPIC Response: Innovative Governance for Flood and Drought Risk Management” developed by the World Bank and Deltares, and provides with a broader theoretical foundation. Since its publication in 2021, the EPIC Response Framework has been applied to a dozen of countries across the globe, influencing investments and development assistance.
About the authors
This research was led by Ana Núñez Sánchez (Deltares, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), with contributions from Johanna Koehler (VU Wageningen) and Anne F. Van Loon (VU Amsterdam).
