A briefing by the Freshwater Taskforce of Scottish Environment LINK for the Rural Affairs and Environment debate on flooding and flood management
Scottish Environment LINK’s Freshwater Taskforce welcomes the recommendations of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee’s Inquiry into Flooding and Flood Management. Flooding is a big issue and likely to get worse due to climate change. Scotland is set to get wetter and stormier, and some coastal areas are likely to experience sea level rise, increasing the risk of both the coastal and inland flooding. The traditional approach for managing flood risk is proving inadequate in the face of changing climate. The forthcoming flooding legislation is promising to modernise the way we deal flooding, and introduce an integrated, sustainable way of managing the risk. The new flooding policy should aim to:
- Introduce integrated, catchment based flood risk management
- Ensure that natural flood management is part of response to flood risk management
- Introduce a new way of funding flood measures that supports long-term management
- Ensure accountability and delivery of flood measures on the ground