When, at what speed, and how? Resilient transformation of the Vesdre river basin (Belgium) following the 2021 floods

IF 6 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Environmental Sciences Europe Pub Date : 2024-05-23 DOI:10.1186/s12302-024-00928-3
Mathilde de Goër de Herve, Wieke D. Pot
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Abstract

Background

Dual crises happen when an acute shock unfolds in the context of a creeping crisis. The July 2021 floods in the Vesdre river basin (Wallonia, Belgium) is a typical case of such dual crises in the context of climate change. This study is based on 16 semi-structured interviews (conducted in Spring 2023) with 10 mayors, 4 representatives of the Public Service of Wallonia, 1 person working for the federal government, and 4 project managers, coupled with a document analysis (n = 13). It investigates the temporal strategies that connect short and long-term considerations in the aftermath of this disaster (timing, futuring, pacing, cyclical adaptation, and determining time horizons), at two different governmental levels: river basin and municipal level.

Results

In general, the window of opportunity to improve disaster resilience has been seized. Several studies were initiated by the Walloon region that shape the idea of an ideal future for the river basin and give recommendations for how to reach it. Unfortunately, those recommendations still come late compared to the temporal reality of the reconstruction process. Municipalities wish to strengthen disaster resilience as soon as possible, but they have to prioritize certain actions over others because of limited resources. The recommendations are considered flexible enough to adapt strategies to future contexts, but no monitoring and evaluation system for doing so has been implemented so far. In addition, clear policy agendas with transformational goals are scarce, and they diverge between the river basin and the municipalities. All these temporal strategies are shaped by elements of the institutional policy arrangement: resources, which affect them all, as well as actors, power, and formal rules, which affect some. These policy dimensions notably slow down the implementation of disaster resilience strategies and limit the determination of consensual time horizons.

Conclusions

The temporal strategies are passively shaped by the policy arrangement dimensions to a greater extent than actively chosen by the stakeholders. A structural transformation of the institutional policy arrangement is therefore needed to enable more coherent temporal strategies between different governance levels and to facilitate the consideration of long-term resilience during the recovery process from disasters.

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何时、以何种速度、如何进行?2021 年洪灾后维斯德勒河流域(比利时)的复原转型
背景双重危机是指在渐进危机的背景下出现的急性冲击。2021 年 7 月维斯德勒河流域(比利时瓦隆)发生的洪灾就是气候变化背景下双重危机的典型案例。本研究基于 16 个半结构式访谈(2023 年春进行),访谈对象包括 10 位市长、4 位瓦隆公共服务部门代表、1 位联邦政府工作人员和 4 位项目经理,以及文件分析(n = 13)。该报告从两个不同的政府层面:河流流域和城市层面,调查了在这场灾难之后将短期和长期考虑因素联系起来的时间策略(时机、未来性、步调、周期性适应和确定时间范围)。瓦隆地区发起了多项研究,为河流流域勾勒出理想的未来,并就如何实现这一理想提出了建议。遗憾的是,与重建进程的时间现实相比,这些建议仍然姗姗来迟。市政当局希望尽快加强抗灾能力,但由于资源有限,他们不得不优先采取某些行动。这些建议被认为具有足够的灵活性,可以根据未来的情况调整战略,但迄今为止还没有为此实施监测和评估系统。此外,具有变革目标的明确政策议程很少,而且在河流流域和城市之间也存在分歧。所有这些时间战略都受到制度政策安排要素的影响:影响所有战略的资源,以及影响部分战略的参与者、权力和正式规则。这些政策因素明显减缓了抗灾战略的实施,并限制了共识时间范围的确定。因此,需要对机构政策安排进行结构性改革,使不同治理层面之间的时间战略更加协调一致,并促进在灾后恢复过程中考虑长期抗灾能力。
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来源期刊
Environmental Sciences Europe
Environmental Sciences Europe Environmental Science-Pollution
CiteScore
11.20
自引率
1.70%
发文量
110
审稿时长
13 weeks
期刊介绍: ESEU is an international journal, focusing primarily on Europe, with a broad scope covering all aspects of environmental sciences, including the main topic regulation. ESEU will discuss the entanglement between environmental sciences and regulation because, in recent years, there have been misunderstandings and even disagreement between stakeholders in these two areas. ESEU will help to improve the comprehension of issues between environmental sciences and regulation. ESEU will be an outlet from the German-speaking (DACH) countries to Europe and an inlet from Europe to the DACH countries regarding environmental sciences and regulation. Moreover, ESEU will facilitate the exchange of ideas and interaction between Europe and the DACH countries regarding environmental regulatory issues. Although Europe is at the center of ESEU, the journal will not exclude the rest of the world, because regulatory issues pertaining to environmental sciences can be fully seen only from a global perspective.
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