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This report provides an overview of the multiple policy benefits that can be achieved by including floodplains more systematically into future assessments and planning in River Basin and Flood Risk management plans. It also points to a fragmented information base that would benefit from some streamlining across Europe, in order to understand the true value of river restoration efforts.
In the recent reporting of the second river basin management plans under the Water Framework Directive, it is clear that across Europe, Member States are not achieving at least good ecological status for their waterbodies. On average, approximately 40 % of Europe’s surface water bodies achieve good ecological status (EEA, 2018). Similarly, an analysis of the conservation status of 37 floodplain habitats listed in the Habitats Directive shows that the vast majority are in either inadequate or bad conservations status. Across Europe, only 14 % of floodplain habitats and species are in good conservation status.
Although difficult to quantify, there is a link between the amount of natural floodplains and achieving the key objectives of European policies, in particular in the context of the Water Framework, Floods, Habitats, and Birds Directives. Floodplain management or protection is encouraged but only indirectly required under European environmental policies, but floodplain health is important for achieving multiple European policy objectives. Many of these policies have not reached their objectives to date.
Because of the multiple benefits provided by natural floodplains, EU policies encourage restoration based on natural water retention measures, as well as conservation of existing natural floodplains, to be adopted in river basin or flood risk management plans, conservation plans or climate change adaptation plans. To this end, the link between the Water Framework and Floods Directives is essential. It provides a clear incentive to base flood risk management on natural water retention measures.
Natural water retention measures refer to initiatives where flood protection is provided, while at the same time the natural properties of the floodplain and its connection to the river are restored. As such, these measures are an integral part of ecosystem-based management; they can include both structural changes to the river and floodplain, and changes that involve managing land use within the floodplain. Using natural water retention measures and green infrastructure has been found to be a cost effective alternative to structural measures (EEA, 2017). The European Union promotes the increased use of natural water retention measures as part of its Green Infrastructure initiative and has co-financed restoration projects through the LIFE programme. Most countries also report on using nature based solutions as measures in their Flood Risk Management plans (EC, 2019).
An approach to securing recognition and prioritisation of multiple benefits of floodplain and river restoration could be developed by using an approach rooted in ecosystem-based management when developing river basin and flood risk management plans. Such an approach would secure that the multiple benefits of potential restoration measures are considered, devising solutions suitable for meeting all environmental objectives set across policies.
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Previous comments
Last sentence of the first paragraph: '...in order to understand the true value of river restoration efforts'.
--> maybe good to add floodplain: '...in order to understand the true value of river and floodplain restoration efforts'.
NI.
Note, it may be difficult to encourage restoration based on natural water retention measures for all natural floodplains within FRMPs, given that the scope of the Directive is limited to Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk.
Page 5 (Line 10). Reference is made to 37 floodplain habitats. It may be worthwhile including an Annex indicating what these 37 habitats are. Without such detailed information it is unclear whether these are habitats which only occur in floodplains or whether they are habitats which can occur in floodplains.
Similar to section on "draft key messages", term restoration should be used in a more precise way. The report refers to both river and floodplain restoration as of relevance to floodplain conditions, but the first para of the Executive summary only refers to river restoration.
POLAND
General comments
1) The report is a valuable overview of floodplain functions in the context of water management planning. The floodplains are treated as important part of rivers that should be protected and restored. The emphasis of the need for a comprehensive approach towards floodplains for achieving objectives of many EU regulations and documents (like: Water Framework, Floods, Habitats and Birds Directives, the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, the Green Infrastructure initiative, and the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy) is an important advantage of the report.
2) The report should indicate that floodplains are one type of wetland. Riverine floodplains include river floods, flooded river basins, seasonally flooded grassland.
3) In Conclusions of the report it is underlined: the link between the Floods and Water Framework Directives is essential because it establishes the need to consider other ways of providing flood protection than traditional structural measures. Further the link between River Basin, Flood Risk and Natura 2000 management plans is mentioned. Some references seem to be mentioned to make a possibility to indicate specific measures that allow to achieve objectives for all directives.
4) It is worth emphasizing that ecosystem based management could provide a unifying concept for developing a shared approach and development of coherent knowledge base.
5) Measures which are focused on restoration are mainly possible to be adopted outside urbanized areas.