Transboundary River Governance Practices for Flood Risk Reduction in Europe: A Review

Transboundary rivers cross borders and create interdependencies between places. To manage problems such as flooding within a transboundary river basin, actions must be integrated from upstream to downstream. This can pose several governance challenges. The project Mitigating Hydrometeorological Hazard Impacts Through Improved Transboundary River Management in the Ciliwung River Basin aims to inform plans for improved transboundary river governance to tackle flood risk in the Ciliwung River Basin, Indonesia. Based on the project’s conceptual framework, this chapter presents the key features of transboundary river and flood management related to three aspects: institutional, political and operational. To explore each feature in more depth, the chapter draws upon a literature review of the European region, asking what can be learned from transboundary flood management in Europe? Europe has many transboundary rivers and is apt to provide insights into the approaches taken and the challenges faced. The review reveals the benefits of a strong legal framework and coordinating institutions, but also several ongoing challenges including sectoral integration, participation and climate change adaptation.