The future orientation of Austria’s flood policies: from flood control to anticipatory flood risk management

Abstract

This paper analyses the future orientation of flood risk management in Austria. Framed by a systematic review of risk reduction measures, we assess the extent to which Austrian policies are characteristic of an anticipatory, forward-looking flood management approach to cope with expected future stresses on the flood risk, such as climate change and land development. The analysis shows that risk reduction measures build on status quo assessments and do not explicitly consider future changes in the flood hazard or vulnerability. However, new design standards for extreme events, the proliferation of large-scale flood retention, tightened land development and building restrictions, and novel planning instruments indicate that Austrian policies are increasingly forward-looking to more effectively mitigate future increases in the flood risk. This temporal reorientation is a consequence of a wider policy shift from flood control to integrated flood risk management. Faced with the increasing spatial interplay of risk reduction measures (e.g. securing land for flood runoff and flood retention), our analysis shows that inter-sectoral cooperation between water management and spatial planning can support long-term flood management decisions and maintain the ability to adapt to changing future conditions.