Policy delivery gaps in the land-based flood risk management in China: A wider partnership is needed

Shiqiang Du, Ju Shen, Jian Fang*, Jiayi Fang, Wei Liu, Jiahong Wen, Xiaoxuan Huang, Sixin Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Land resources can accommodate extra floodwaters, thus playing an important role in integrated flood risk management (FRM). However, potential conflicts emerge as the lands that are used as temporal room for floodwaters are also home to human beings, which is common in the flood detention zones (FDZs) in China. To date, little is known about how Chinese policies address the conflicts and how local stakeholders perceive the policies. This paper aims to address this research gap using a case study of the FDZs in the middle Huaihe River, China. A mixed method is applied including an official document survey, a multi-layer interview (15 respondents), and questionnaires (123 respondents). We find that three major strategies are employed to enhance the flood detention function and reduce flood risk inside the FDZs: 1) returning parts of the FDZs to rivers; 2) flood-adaptive farming; and 3) reducing population density via a massive relocation. However, the local residents have a low engagement willingness, which are associated with a poor perception of the policies and a lack of short-term economic attractiveness. Policy delivery gaps thus exist. Information sharing should be enhanced to encourage public participation. A public-private partnership involving more social and financial resources, particularly including the downstream beneficiaries, could help to increase the policy's economic feasibility. The findings can enrich a policy shift toward a more land-based FRM, particularly in developing countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)128-135
Number of pages8
JournalEnvironmental Science and Policy
Volume116
Early online date28 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

Funding

Similar gaps can be found in other land-based FRM projects in China as well. Associated with the widely praised “Grain for Green Program (1999–2020)” ( Bryan et al., 2018 ; Du et al., 2019a ), which can increase the flood regulation capacity and reduce soil erosion of the ecosystems in the upper reaches of Chinese major rivers, a key factor for the success is that the farmers can get net benefits from the program ( Delang and Yuan, 2015 ). However, this mechanism should be difficult to upscale to other cases as the financial support from the central government cannot be always sufficient. Recently, the “Sponge Cities” project is applied in 34 Chinese cities to enable the urban landscape to act like sponges absorbing storm-waters ( Du et al., 2019b ). However, its sustainable implementation is uncertain considering a low public participation and a heavy dependence on the financial subsidy from the central government ( Jiang et al., 2018 ). This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China ( 2017YFC1503001 ) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41871200 , 41730642 , 51761135024 , and 42077441 ).

FundersFunder number
National Natural Science Foundation of China42077441, 41730642, 51761135024, 41871200
National Natural Science Foundation of China
National Key Research and Development Program of China2017YFC1503001
National Key Research and Development Program of China

    Keywords

    • Flood
    • Flood detention zone
    • Land use
    • Nature-based solutions
    • Plain restoration
    • Risk migration

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Policy delivery gaps in the land-based flood risk management in China: A wider partnership is needed'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this