The project seeks to reduce flood risk in North Sea estuaries by combining Flood Control Areas, where water can be stored when water levels are high, with alternative sustainable land use. Activities include specific practical action at demonstration sites.

Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems, abundant in marine life and a valuable habitat, a fact that has been recognised in EU directives and national policy. With the threat of climate change leading to increased storminess and rainfall affecting river flows, new methods are needed to manage these valuable habitats in a sustainable manner. ?The Flood Risk Management in Estuaries: Sustainable New Land Use in Flood Control Areas? (FRaME) aims to reduce the flood risk in North Sea estuaries by advancing and promoting innovative solutions involving sustainable new land uses while still safeguarding the Natura 2000 series, to which all the major North Sea estuaries have common spatial planning links, and to provide new opportunities for social, economic and environmental benefits.

Expected Outcomes

The outcomes of FRaME will assist in the practical development of sustainable flood risk management strategies in the North Sea estuaries ensuring that the most favourable strategic options and techniques are adopted. Physical projects from this project include the demonstration of flood control areas and changing land use at pilot sites to provide examples of flood control techniques, through the use of FCA, showing practical solutions to both the public and policy makers. The vindication for such techniques will be a reduction in flooding at the test sights as well as the protection of the Natura 2000 locations. The non-physical outcomes include the creation of an International Expert Panel to discuss and analyse new and innovative techniques and to communicate elements of best practice, with a transnational expertise network to be established after the completion of FRaME. A FRaME website and project reports will help to raise awareness of climate change and flood risk among stakeholders. Finally, a best practice manual will be produced which will develop and promote decision-making, options appraisal and implementation of flood risk management policy.

Activities

The FRaME project is divided into three main themes, Flood Control Areas (FCAs), Sustainable New Land Uses and Communication, and an overall management strategy. FCAs are areas of land managed so they can store sea or river water during high tides and later release it when flood water levels have lowered. FCAs require careful planning and management to ensure these new alternative land uses are sustainable and give rise to opportunities for their integration with other uses. A review and evaluation of past projects looking at the planning, design and implementation of FCAs, the development of a best practice manual for the implementation FCAs and the demonstration, monitoring and evaluation of three FCAs in estuaries in the North Sea region are to be carried out. Sustainable New Land Uses will involve a review of alternative land use strategies in estuaries, the creation of a Europe wide inventory of past and present experiences of alternative sustainable land use developments, the identification of an Expert Panel, a review and evaluation of the Birds/Habitats directives and their effects on proposed new land uses associated with FCAs, and the development of decision making methodology. Finally, Communication will identify examples of best practice in communicating flood risk on estuaries and develop methodologies for their communication to stakeholders and policy makers involved in estuary management. It will also develop and implement a demonstration site to increase public awareness of flood risk management and sustainable new land use.

Reported Outcomes

One way of coping with flood risk in coastal areas is to develop land use in a sustainable way, including setting up flood control areas. FRaME has carried out pilot activities combining different forms of land use to allow a certain level of flooding in order to avoid severe damage. Ideas on how to use areas for flood control, agriculture, natural conversation and recreation are tested out. These areas, like the new ecological zone in Goeree (NL), offer opportunities for new recreational activities for inhabitants such as boating, fishing, bird watching or walking and new business opportunities such as agro-tourism. A best practice model has also been presented, aiming to provide the foundation for the design and construction of three complementary flood control demonstration projects. Activities at the demonstration sites will actively use knowledge and experiences from the best manual. Design at all three demonstration sites have involved the exchange of methodologies and best practice options. Some of the projects' major activities were finished in Alkborugh Flats (U K) and Ilzjer-Valley (Flanders). The Best Practice Manual (BPM) reached its final version in December 2005 / January 2006. The final version was delivered before the FRaME project Final Conference in February 2007. The BPM can be downloaded from www.frameproject.eu. FraMe has participated in a European Symposium organised by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in cooperation with the Dutch Institute of Housing and Planning. The outcomes of the discussion were summarised as recommendations for the Informal European Council in Rotterdam. A short film about FRaME was produced as promotional medium, to introduce the FRaME project during the Final Conference in February 2007. The film can be downloaded from www.frameproject.eu.