A comparison of two citizen initiatives in contrastingflood risk management systems,the Netherlands and Wales

Abstract: This master thesis analyses two citizen initiatives; the flood action plan of LLanddowror, Wales and the mount plan of the Overdiepse Polder, the Netherlands. It uses the collaboration theory, the ladder of citizen participation, cross-scale interaction and community resilience to explain the role of citizens in flood risk management. The aim of this research is to see how governments facilitate citizens and if culture and context influence the roles of governments and citizens. The Welsh system is bottom-up with an increasing role for market and civil society to take responsibilities. Citizens generally insure themselves against flood damage. The Welsh system has enhanced community engagement and creating awareness is important. Dealing with big strategic issues seems to be difficult. The Dutch flood governance is more top-down which means less room for citizen initiatives. Citizens are not insured for flood damage since the government profiles itself responsible for floods therefore awareness amongst citizens is low. The Dutch system has benefits when dealing with large scaled projects but has issues with creating awareness as well as engaging citizens in water development. Assumingly there are opportunities for both countries to learn from each others’ way of dealing with flood risk management and citizen engagement.