Multifunctional floodplain management and biodiversity effects: A knowledge synthesis for six European countries

This paper reviews recent multifunctional management approaches and evidence of their biodiversity effects for the six European countries Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine. Multifunctional use of floodplains is an increasingly important strategy in some countries and management of floodplains goes hand in hand with sustainable economic activities resulting in flood safety and biodiversity conservation.

The paper concludes that multifunctional approaches for managing floodplain landscapes are seemingly rather successful, particularly where integration of all existing uses and demands are carefully considered. However, in order to make full use of synergies and for the establishment of sustainable and efficient solutions, an institution should be instituted with transboundary responsibility to bridge institutional, administrative and other boundaries and to achieve far-reaching cross-compliance. In addition, expert consultations with a low level of formalization can be of advantage, because a high level of expert engagement might be reached.

Biodiversity Conservation, Volume 25, Issue 7, June 2016, Pages 1349-1382. This document is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.