Nature-based Solutions for flood mitigation in Australia - Book 1: National Guidelines

Abstract

Australia is very exposed to damage caused by extreme rainfall. Damaging floods are increasing in severity, duration and frequency, owing to changes in climate, land use, and population demographics. This increases the risk to people, infrastructure, agriculture and ecosystems. The challenges of flood risk management are being compounded by climate change. These impacts of climate change primarily arise from the increased moisture holding capacity of warmer air and the related increase in rainfall intensity. Sea-level rise, the nature and frequency of storms, and other climate-affected drivers are exposing vulnerabilities in flood risk management strategies that have been implemented over the past century. With an increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events due to climate change, we need to learn from these experiences and prepare better for floods. Effective flood risk management is critical to limit future losses. In providing and selecting options, there must be high confidence in flood modelling and adequate access to data. To effectively address flood risks and impacts, existing flood management strategies must be augmented by new options that consider and create systemic co-benefits and consider the likely future climatic conditions associated with climate change. Nature-based Solutions draw inspiration from natural systems to address flooding while providing co-benefits such as biodiversity gains. They reduce risk to human settlements and infrastructure, while maintaining catchment ecology, hydrology and river-floodplain connectivity – balancing ecosystem and flood resilience, resistance, risk, and redundancy, across flood scenarios. While there exist some Australian Guidelines for Nature-based Solutions for coastal flooding, this is the first Australian-specific information available to communities or planners to integrate NBS into their riverine flood risk management plans. These Guidelines provide an introduction to NbS, evidence-based and quantified information on NbS types and where they might be used. A series of tools are provided within an assessment framework to assist you to plan NbS initiatives that are technically robust, offer environmental and social co-benefits, and are culturally and institutionally acceptable and financially feasible. Show more