Chan, FKS, Mitchell, GN and McDonald, AT (2012) Flood risk appraisal and management in the mega-cities: A case study of practice in the Pearl River Delta, China. Water Practice and Technology, 7 (4).
Abstract
In recent decades, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region has experienced strong economic and population growth. By 2050 120 million people are expected to live in the region, which currently has eleven major cities, and the emerging mega-city formed by Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The populous coastal cities and low lying flood plains in the PRD experience flood risk via: (i) intense precipitation from storms, (ii) inland pluvial flooding, (iii) storm surges. Climate change, including global sea level rise forecasts of more than 1 metre by 2100, mean that flood risk is expected to increase in future. Sustainable flood risk management must be adopted to mitigate these risks. Strategies such as the UK’s “making space for water” programme seek to tackle flood risk through planning, but such a strategic approach is not evident in the PRD. Recent coastal land reclamation projects in the PRD illustrate the conflict between urban growth pressure and flood risk, and that more comprehensive, or sustainable, flood risk management is not currently practiced. This paper examines flood risk management practice in the PRD. It starts with a theoretical sustainable flood risk appraisal (SFRA) template developed from literature and global best practice, against which PRD practice is benchmarked. The paper discusses a case study in Hong Kong and Shenzhen where in-depth discussions with more than 30 stakeholders were held to understand barriers and constraints to realising sustainable flood risk management. This research seeks to further the practice of sustainable flood risk management in the PRD, and comparable urbanising mega-deltas in the region.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | "©IWA Publishing 2012. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Water Practice and Technology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. The definitive peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Water Practice and Technology 7, 4, 2012, 10.2166/wpt.2012.060 and is available at www.iwapublishing.com |
Keywords: | Climate change; sea-level rises; sustainable flood risk assessment strategy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Nov 2014 12:26 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2018 23:40 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2012.060 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IWA Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.2166/wpt.2012.060. |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:81219 |