Case report Special Issues

Transboundary flood risk management in the Rhine river basin

  • Received: 07 September 2016 Accepted: 08 December 2016 Published: 13 December 2016
  • The Rhine connects the Alps to the North Sea. It is 1232 km long and one of the most important rivers in Europe. It has a drainage area of approximately 200,000 km2 and covers parts if not all nine countries, which participate into the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) for the sustainable development of the Rhine ecosystem. The topography of the Rhine catchment is various, from high, middle and low mountain chains to lowlands and low-lying valleys, and includes different climatic zones resulting in different patterns of flood discharges. Several important flood events occurred in the past and thus the ICPR has decided to include the topic of transboundary flood risk management into its daily work. Common actions resulted in the Action Plan on Floods in 1998 and the first Flood Risk Management Plan for the international river basin district Rhine (according to the European Union Floods Directive) in 2015. To help inform the public and assess the effectiveness of implemented measures, the ICPR created and published two means and instruments of communication and decision support: The Rhine Atlas on Floods and a specific GIS-tool which is also available for other river organizations or national institutions. This paper presents the organisation and the outcomes of the coordinated transboundary flood risk management within an international river basin using the Rhine and the particular work of the ICPR.

    Citation: Adrian Schmid-Breton. Transboundary flood risk management in the Rhine river basin[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2016, 3(4): 871-888. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2016.4.871

    Related Papers:

  • The Rhine connects the Alps to the North Sea. It is 1232 km long and one of the most important rivers in Europe. It has a drainage area of approximately 200,000 km2 and covers parts if not all nine countries, which participate into the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) for the sustainable development of the Rhine ecosystem. The topography of the Rhine catchment is various, from high, middle and low mountain chains to lowlands and low-lying valleys, and includes different climatic zones resulting in different patterns of flood discharges. Several important flood events occurred in the past and thus the ICPR has decided to include the topic of transboundary flood risk management into its daily work. Common actions resulted in the Action Plan on Floods in 1998 and the first Flood Risk Management Plan for the international river basin district Rhine (according to the European Union Floods Directive) in 2015. To help inform the public and assess the effectiveness of implemented measures, the ICPR created and published two means and instruments of communication and decision support: The Rhine Atlas on Floods and a specific GIS-tool which is also available for other river organizations or national institutions. This paper presents the organisation and the outcomes of the coordinated transboundary flood risk management within an international river basin using the Rhine and the particular work of the ICPR.


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    [1] ICPR (2011) ICPR report no. 188: Study of Scenarios for the Discharge Regime of the Rhine. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/Reports/188_e.pdf
    [2] ICPR (1999) Convention on the Protection of the Rhine. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/convention_on_tthe_protection_of__the_rhine.pdf
    [3] ICPR (1963) Agreement concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (so called “Treaty of Bern”). Information: please contact secretariat@iksr.de.
    [4] ICPR (1999) Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations of the ICPR. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/Gesch%C3%A4fts-_und_Finanzordnung_IKSR-EN_30.06.10.pdf
    [5] Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, 2000. Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32000L0060
    [6] Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks, 2007. Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32007L0060
    [7] ICPR (2013) Balance of the implementation of the Action Plan on Floods 1995-2010: Brochure “The Rhine and its Catchment—a Survey”. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/Brochures/IKSR_BRO_210x297_ENG_26.09.13.pdf
    [8] ICPR (2015) Internationally Coordinated Flood Risk Management Plan for the International River Basin District of the Rhine, Part A. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/floods-directive/flood-risk-management-plan/index.html
    [9] ICPR (2015) ICPR report no. 219: Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the IRBD Rhine. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/topics/climate-change-in-the-rhine-catchment/index.html
    [10] ICPR (2007) Communiqué of the 14th conference of Rhine ministers, Bonn (18.10.07). Available from: http://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/MIN07-02e.pdf
    [11] ICPR (2013) Report on the identification of potential significant flood risk areas in the international river basin district Rhine. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/floods-directive/preliminary-flood-risk-assessment/index.html
    [12] ICPR (2014) Report on the drafting of Flood Hazard Maps and Flood Risk Maps in the International River Basin District 'Rhine' (catchment > 2500 km2, Part A) and the exchange of information according to Article 6, Par. 2 of the EC Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks (FD). Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/floods-directive/flood-hazard-and-flood-risk-maps/index.html
    [13] ICPR (2015) Rhine Atlas 2015 (flood hazard and risk maps of the International River Basin District ‘Rhine’). Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/documentsarchive/rhine-atlas/index.html
    [14] ICPR (2015) Internationally Coordinated Management Plan 2015 for the International River Basin District of the Rhine (Part A = Overriding Part). Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/water-framework-directive/river-basin-management-plan-2015/index.html
    [15] ICPR (2012) ICPR report no. 199: Evidence of the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing flood levels of the Rhine. Available in DE, FR, NL from: http://www.iksr.org/en/documentsarchive/technical-reports/reports-and-brochures-individual-presentation/artikel/776/index.html
    [16] ICPR (2015) ICPR report no. 229: Assessment of the modification of probability due to flood level reduction measures along the Rhine. Available in DE, FR, NL from: http://www.iksr.org/en/documentsarchive/technical-reports/reports-and-brochures-individual-presentation/artikel/939/index.html
    [17] ICPR (2016) ICPR report no. 236: Synthesis report “Assessment of flood risk reduction (APF) according to the types of measures and risk objects covered by the FD”. Available from: http://www.iksr.org/en/documentsarchive/technical-reports/reports-and-brochures-individual-presentation/artikel/969/index.html
    [18] ICPR (2016) ICPR report no. 237: Technical report “Tool and assessment method to determine flood risk evolution/reduction”. Soon available in EN from: http://www.iksr.org/en/documentsarchive/technical-reports/reports-and-brochures-individual-presentation/artikel/973/index.html
    [19] European Union (2013) Guidance for Reporting under the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) - Guidance Document no. 29: A compilation of reporting sheets adopted by Water Directors. Available from: http://icm.eionet.europa.eu/schemas/dir200760ec/resources
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