Transboundary Flood Risk Management:: Compatibilities of the Legal Systems of Flood Risk Management in the Netherlands, Flanders and France - A Comparison

Abstract

The EU Floods Directive is part of the European legislation implemented in the domestic legalregimes of the Member States. The legal systems in which flood risks aremanaged are part of the domestic legal regimes. Floods in the river basins ofthe Scheldt and the Meuse are a special case, for they have transboundaryconsequences. Therefore, the flood risk management of the countries in whichthese river basins lie needs to be compatible in order to prevent or mitigatetransboundary flood risk. However, little is known aboutthe powers of relevant administrative authorities and the legal instruments forpreventive flood risk. Without this knowledge it is impossible for the Member Statesto establish a balanced system in which transboundary flood risks are wellmanaged. This paper is the first step towards providing a basis for cooperationby reducing this knowledge gap for the three jurisdictions through which the rivers Meuse and Scheldt flow: theNetherlands, Flanders and France. It offers a comparison of the consequences ofpolicy-making and implementation of specific measures by describing the actorsand their legal instruments. These two specific aspects of flood riskmanagement are selected because they form the core of the system in which floodrisk management is implemented and are necessary for the realization ofmeasures to prevent or reduce flood risks.