Title: Transboundary Flood Risk Management: Compatibilities of the Legal Systems of Flood Risk Management in the Netherlands, Flanders and France ± A Comparison
Abstract: In the EU the Flood Directive is part of the European legislation which is implemented in the domestic legal regimes of the Member States. The legal systems in which flood risks are managed are part of the domestic legal regimes. Floods in the European river basins of the the Scheldt and the Meuse are a special case, for they have transboundary consequences. Therefore, the flood risk management of the countries which are part of these river basins need to be compatible in order to prevent or mitigate transboundary floods risk. However, knowledge of the competences of relevant administrative authorities and the legal instruments for preventive flood risk management is lacking. Without this knowledge it is impossible for the member states to establish a balanced system in which transboundary flood risks are well managed . This article is the first step to provide a basis for such a cooperation by reducing this knowledge gap for the three countries which are part of the river Meuse and the Scheldt ± the Netherlands, Flanders and France. It offers a comparison of the consequences of policy making and implementation of specific measures by describing the actors and their legal instruments. The two specific aspects of flood risk management are selected because they form the core of the system in which flood risk management is implemented and are necessary for the realisation of measures to prevent or reduce flood risks.