Innovations in Natural Flood Management

There has been a significant increase in the application of Natural Flood Management techniques in recent years. This involves using nature-based solutions to slow the flow in headwater streams through the use of one or a combination of approaches, including leaky barriers, floodplain storage and improved soil management. Our talk will explain how we are using a combination of web-based hydrological modelling and drone data to identify which techniques are most suited to different locations in a catchment to gain the most benefit in reducing flood peaks downstream.

In May 2022, the G7 countries called for more ‘anticipatory action’ within disaster risk planning. This emphasises the need for vulnerable countries to enhance their capacity for monitoring, assessment, and knowledge exchange, and to develop adaptive, flexible and responsive disaster risk management systems. In our talk we discuss how our interdisciplinary research is helping achieve this in Nepal, a country extremely vulnerable to natural and human-induced hazards.