Turning the Tide: from Structural to Green Flood Defense? A Research on the Influence of Governance Arrangements on Collaborative Efforts for the Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Protection in the Western Scheldt
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2025-10-07
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
This research took a closer look at contemporary challenges of sea-level rise, flood safety and nature deterioration in the Western Scheldt. Climate change and disappearance of estuarine nature as a result of anthropogenic activities, make the entanglement of flood risk management (FRM) with nature conservation objectives complex. Nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood protection can facilitate mutual benefits for these tasks, but its implementation goes paired with many governance challenges.
By applying an institutional lens through the use of the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA) on dynamics of Collaborative Governance(CG), this research aimed to gain insight into the role of institutional context and effective collaboration across policy sectors for NBS implementation. The research answered the following research question: ‘What factors facilitate or constrain collaborative dynamics in the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood protection in in the Western Scheldt?’
The key findings show that: 1) the actor constellation is important for the facilitation of collaboration. Intrinsic motivation among civil servants can steer governance processes and contribute to wider policy change. 2) Fitting financial resources, coordination tools and legal frameworks should complement such actors because current arrangements proved to constrain them in generating capacity for taking action across sectoral boundaries.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen