Flood Risks in Consequence of Agrarian Land‐use Measures in Flood Formation and Inundation Zones and Conclusions for Flood Risk Management Plans

Abstract

The role of agricultural land use and its contribution to flood risks were the focus of the research project MinHorLam. Schematised models were applied to assess the impacts of different farming practices or of land use patterns on runoff formation as well as on water levels and flow velocities in flood conditions. The results show the range, potentials and limits of agricultural measures to mitigate flood risks. Aspects of matter accumulation in floodplains and management options were presented from case study results related to extreme flood events.Empirical social research on farmers' and administrators' perspectives complemented the analyses. Institutional actors from water management and agriculture rated agriculture as playing a moderate to low role in causing flood events. Also hazards caused by floods or heavy rain are usually of minor importance in farmers' managerial decisions if there is no immediate risk or damage. Nevertheless, to enhance risk prevention in agriculture, more action is needed, especially cooperation among different institutional actors in flood risk management and agriculture. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Un travail de recherche sociologique empirique portant sur les perspectives des agriculteurs et des administrateurs a complété les analyses. Les acteurs institutionnels de la gestion de l'eau et de l'agriculture ont considéré l'agriculture comme jouant un rôle de faible à modéré dans les causes des inondations. Aussi les dangers causés par les inondations ou de fortes pluies sont généralement de moindre importance dans les décisions managériales des agriculteurs s'il n'y a pas de risque immédiat ou des dommages. Néanmoins, pour améliorer la prévention des risques en agriculture, davantage d'action est nécessaire, en particulier la coopération entre les différents acteurs institutionnels dans la gestion des risques d'inondation et de l'agriculture.

Determinación de zonas inundables con HEC-RAS en zonas de la Cordillera Central de los Andes. Microcuenca del río Saraus-río La Llanga. Celendín

“…Las inundaciones no son un fenómeno que se debe descuidar en la parte inicial o media de los ríos, si bien no existen grandes poblaciones en estos espacios, pero si generan pérdidas de vidas humanas y sobre todo las pérdidas de áreas cultivadas (Quast et al, 2011) las zonas agrícolas corresponden básicamente a plantaciones permanentes o periódicas; más aún si las condiciones de flujo van arrastrando sedimentos lo que podría generar un enorme desastre ambiental (Fang & Pomeroy, 2016).…”

Farm level implementation of soil conservation measures: farmers’ beliefs and intentions

“…Farm-level soil conservation and soil-sensitive land use practices have been addressed by rural sociologists using case studies and regional surveys (e.g., Currle, 1995; Prager, 2002; Quast et al, 2011). In most cases the studies disclose a complex set of influencing factors on farmers’ behavior, which is also true for conservation issues in agriculture in general (Siebert et al, 2006).…”