Project

Securing Land to Establish Flood Corridors

The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment has joined the Cantons of Nidwalden and Thurgau to promote flood corridors as an important instruments of sustainable flood protection. EBP identifies and outlines various approaches to securing flood corridors.

Climate change has led to an increase in the probability of catastrophic major floods. If the structural barriers that have been built to protect communities against flooding fail as a result of overload, thereby releasing tremendous volumes of water, we can expect large-scale losses for endangered communities. Various spatial development projects have also contributed to the overall risk. Flood corridors that permit controlled, low-impact drainage represent a promising countermeasure.

Working in the framework of the Climate Change Adaptation Programme on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, the Civil Engineering Department of the Canton of Nidwalden and the Environmental Protection Department of the Canton of Thurgau, EBP has identified various solutions to the long-term earmarking of land to establish flood corridors. There are instruments provided from the spatial planning as well as from the hydraulic engineering. One of the main challenges of securing flood corridors is that the future use and development of the land in question is limited. Working together closely with our clients and project partners in the fields of hydraulic engineering, spatial planning and agriculture, EBP completed the following assignments:

  • Gathering and evaluating the principles as well as examples of existing cases of land being used to establish flood corridors
  • Identification of solutions and the development of a decision-making procedure
  • Assessment of the challenges associated with the implementation of flood corridors
  • Communication of the results via flyer and speaking engagements at events organised for specialists

The project results are described in a guideline, a compilation of reference materials to accompany the guideline and in a flyer that also addresses the cost effectiveness of a flood protection and flood corridor that we carefully examined.

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