45
ņ
ņ
The scale of an urban area.
Whatever the main scale of focus, the scale of the water catchment remains
relevant for translating the changes in retention parameters at specific locations
into changes in policy-relevant indicators such as river water status, river flows,
etc. In some cases, however, the ecosystem services that will be provided, and
the populations benefiting from those services,might still be outside your water-
relevant planningarea.And thesewill still need tobeaccounted forwhen selecting
measures.
Selecting,designingand implementingNWRM:pre-conditionsforensuringeffectiveness
Large-scalemappingasa tool fordecisionmaking
The Federal Nature Conservation Agency in Germany has developed a national ‘floodplain
status
inventory
’ that assesses loss or degradation of floodplain on all major rivers across the
country. This has involved a mapping approach similar to that of water body status under
theWFD. This type of national mapping allows effective
prioritisation
of restoration schemes, thereby being an invaluable tool for cost-
effective river basinmanagement. After implementation, the approach
allows an aggregated evaluation of success (covering morphodynamics,
hydrodynamics, vegetationand landuse).
Illustration12
Source:
Catchment scalemodelling toassess flood risk reduction
The program of restoration measures in the Eddleston catchment (Scotland) aimed to slow
floodflowsby recreating specificecosystem that areelementsoftenmissing fromourmodern
landscapes. These elements included riparian vegetation, meandering channels, functioning
floodplain, intact banks, largewoody in-channel debrisandwetlands. Eachof thesehada role
toplay in slowingdownfloodflowsand increasing infiltration. TheprojectworkedwithCBEC
eco-engineering toundertake extensivehydrologicalmodelling to ensure that the restoration
measureswouldbesitedat themostappropriate locations. In2012,Tweed
Forum designed a demonstrationmodel which showed how features in
the landscape could contribute to reducing floods. Thismodel would be
taken to local agricultural showsandcommunityevents.
Illustration13
Learn more:
