Turning hazards into resources? floods, wetlands and climate change in the mediterranean coast of spain

• Autores: Anna Serra Llobet
• Directores de la Tesis: David Saurí i Pujol (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ( España ) en 2011
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Mathias Kondolf (presid.), Anna Ribas Palom (secret.), Albert Pèlachs Mañosa (voc.)
• Materias:
  • Ciencias de la tierra y del espacio
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• Dialnet Métricas: 2 Citas
• Resumen

  • Flooding is the more common environmental hazard worldwide both in terms of frequency and damages caused. The number of disasters caused by floods and landslides has increased more than 30 times in half a century (UNISDR, 2009b). In addition, and increasingly, these natural phenomena are linked to processes of global environmental change induced by human activities. According to the Fourth Report of the IPCC (2007a), coastal wetlands are one of the most vulnerable areas in Europe to the effects of climate change. This is due to sea level rise combined with increased risks from storms. However, for coastal wetlands (as well as for other ecosystems) floods need not necessarily be considered a hazard. Rather, they could be seen as an important natural process contributing to groundwater recharge, to the provision of sediment loads to the coastal zone, and, more generally, to the equilibrium between fresh and salt water that, among other factors, make this transitional areas so ecologically productive.

    In the light of an emerging new paradigm of flood management that incorporates the so-called ecosystem services as fundamental part of risk management, this Doctoral Thesis moves from the international to the local scale in order to illustrate negative aspects but also possible benefits of floods originating from climate change for coastal wetlands, as well as the benefits of such coastal wetlands to society at large.

    The first part of this dissertation presents the motivations that have inspired this study and the state of the art on flood management strategies in the USA and Europe. To that end, following the introductory chapter that presents the scope of the project and the theoretical framework, the second chapter explores certain historical events that have left an imprint on flood management strategies, disaster relief and nature protection. From a cultural standpoint it also investigates changes in values and options, and what consequences these changes had on flood regimes and wetland ecosystems in Europe and in the USA.

    The second part of this study focuses on empirical work. Case study 1, presented in chapter 3, analyses a socio-natural disaster that occurred in Spain in 1982, the collapse of the Tous Dam, which triggered a paradigm change in the way natural risks were perceived and managed in that country, not only locally, but also at higher levels of governance. In the light of the international implementation of the UN 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), this chapter attempts also to shed some light on the role of risk perception and vertical and horizontal communication in risk reduction, learning and planning. At more regional and local scales, chapters 4 and 5 present the case study of the Costa Brava. First, chapter 4 presents a land use and land cover change analysis for the last 50 years in flood prone lands of the region, in order to see the increasing exposure to flood risk. It also illustrates possible benefits of flooding for coastal wetlands thought the case study of the Empordà Wetlands ('Aiguamolls de l'Empordà'), located in the northern part of the Costa Brava. Second, chapter 5 analyses whether human societies living in the Costa Brava are growing more vulnerable to the effects of floods. To that end, the study is focused on an assessment of flood risk in the area, which takes into account the physical and social vulnerability of the Costa Brava emphasizing a the perception of risk -which is analyzed in the municipality of Tossa de Mar- as a key aspect of such an assessment.

    Finally, this thesis concludes with some remarks about lessons learned and proposes some recommendations to increase the resilience of socio-ecological systems in flood prone areas.