Improving Public Participation Processes for the Floods Directive and Flood Awareness: Evidence from Cyprus

Abstract

Public participation is integrated in the European Floods Directive to ensure engagement of societal actors in selecting and accepting measures. This study assesses the Directive’s public participation process and provides recommendations for its improvement by using Cyprus as a case study. Interviews with the organizers and attendees of the public consultations were carried out to evaluate the process while a citizen survey examined people’s flood awareness and opinions of three household-level flood protection measures (permeable pavements, rainwater harvesting systems, and green roofs). Public consultation organizers were generally satisfied with the process while participants suggested better structured information and a more participatory approach. The majority (77%) of the survey respondents did not know if they lived in a designated flood risk area while 93% were unaware of the public consultations carried out for the Floods Directive. Their perception about the effectiveness of the three flood protection measures was positively associated with their willingness to implement them. The results indicated the need for more participatory methods in the public participation process and better strategies to increase awareness and the engagement of people in flood management. Establishing procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of public participation could contribute to the recognition and improvement of the process.

Obligation or Innovation: Can the EU Floods Directive Be Seen as a Tipping Point Towards More Resilient Flood Risk Management? A Case Study from Vorarlberg, Austria

“…Through the regular occurrence of flood events, the regional authority of Vorarlberg had already initiated a wide range of innovative policy solutions to respond to future flood risks in an anticipatory way [78]. The FD is a relatively new policy instrument, which is why impacts are still vague and outcomes are expected to be more visible after the second policy cycle (2015-2021) [79] and after processes have been evaluated [80]. Effects of the directive will be measurable through changes in long-term risk potentials, as well as higher awareness among society.…”

“…Effects of the directive will be measurable through changes in long-term risk potentials, as well as higher awareness among society. Therefore, processes need to be strengthened and evaluated more extensively regarding participatory approaches, as has been discussed in Cyprus [80]. Hitherto, a change of such factors has not been observed at length.…”

Public Participatory Role in Urban Flood Risk Management of Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam: From Awareness to Action

“…Urban flooding has become a regular phenomenon in many towns and cities in the world over the past years. In Europe, flood risk has been experienced in cities of the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom [1,2,3]. In the United States, in recent times, the worst flood risk is clustered around the Central and Southern U.S. along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.…”

Flood Hazard Awareness at Old Dominion University: Assessment and Opportunity

“…Dufty (2008) states that flood risk education should extend beyond awareness and preparedness to develop adaptive capacity. Engaging communities in a participatory education process from design to evaluation increases willingness to implement protective measures and contributes to more holistic flood resilience (Dufty 2008; Muro and Jeffrey 2008; Charalambous et al 2018). Activities, such as flood simulations, reduce anxiety and improve understandings of risk (Bosschaart et al 2016; Bathke et al 2019).…”