Management of Flood Risk with Spatial Planning in the Sri Lankan Context

Abstract

Characterization, assessment, and management of the complexities and uncertainties incorporated with flood risk are important for the operationalization of flood risk management. Flood risk is required to be managed by the integration of objectives all stakeholders who are associated with it. Therefore, the operationalization of flood risk management is determined by the conceptualization and assessment of flood risk in the planning process, as well as the discourse of the stakeholders in the governance context, and the available interaction mechanisms for participatory decision making. This research paper reviews the level of operationalization of flood resilience of the current practice of flood risk management considering the Sri Lankan context. Panadura urban area has been selected as the case study and it is a coastal urban area, which located in the downstream of the Bolgoda basin. Bolgoda basin which is in the wet zone of Sri Lanka is affected by frequent floods particular during the southwest monsoons. The case study has highlighted that flood risk and land uses are planned and managed separately in the current practice. This study has further highlighted, that at present, spatial planning is not able to provide a common guideline for stakeholders’ integration in the face of increasing flood risk. There is an obstruction in the practice of Flood Risk Management due to the absence of a common framework for risk assessment and management of all the stakeholders. Therefore, this study has highlighted that spatial planning practices are yet to adapt to the notion of resilience for structuring the uncertainties in flood risk management.