• Catchment Management
• Research Issues
• Biogeochemistry
• Transport Processes
• Hydro-Ecology
• Catchment Futures
• Assessing Water Quality
• River Basin Management
• Coasts @ Macaulay

Sustainable Flood Management

In Scotland the financial damage attributed to flooding is costly and is estimated to be in the range of £20 million to £180 million per year. If the effects of climate change proceed as predicted this could increase significantly. As well as having economic and financial impacts, flooding can affect the environment by impacting water quality, biodiversity and carbon storage and can have social implications such as affecting the health and well-being of affected communities.

The impact of flooding and recent policy at both national and EU level has increased interest in flood risk management in Scotland. The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 transposed the EU Water Framework Directive into Scots law and introduced an obligation on responsible authorities to promote sustainable flood management. The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 has recently been agreed and will lead to further changes in Scottish flood risk management policy.

Flooding research projects

The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute carries out a range of socio-economic and ecological research related to flooding and flood risk management.

• Evaluating flood management options
• The River Dee Catchment Management Plan
• Strategies for the future
• The Tarland Catchment Initiative
• URflood
• Aquarius

Contact: Wendy Kenyon