Integrating flood risk reduction, river basin and resilience management in planning: A case study of Kristianstad, Sweden

The report analyzes flood and nutrient risks in Kristianstad, Sweden, finding that current flood risk management is too narrowly focused on urban flood control via embankments and pumps, neglecting river basin-wide abatement and resilience. It identifies a lack of cross-sectoral integration between urban planning, agriculture, and forestry, and notes that governance structures for water quantity are fragmented compared to those for water quality. The author argues for a shift toward 'adaptive river management'—living with floods—to better address climate change and sea-level rise.

• Flood risk management in Kristianstad is overly focused on urban flood control, specifically protecting the city center, while neglecting flood abatement in the wider river basin or alleviation for downstream areas.
• Integration of water management is hindered by a lack of cross-sectoral synergy between urban planning, forestry, agriculture, and environmental sectors, as well as a municipal mandate that ends at the municipal border.
• Current flood protection relies on a traditional 'shut out' approach using embankments and pumps, which the report argues is not a resilient strategy as it creates a risk of catastrophic failure if structures are breached.
• The legal framework for managing water flows is outdated and inflexible, particularly regarding joint property societies (Dikningsföretag), which require unanimous agreement to change drainage regulations.
• Agricultural wet grasslands in Kristianstad provide critical ecosystem services by capturing nutrients and acting as flood buffers, but farmers face financial risks due to inflexible EU and national compensation systems that do not account for unpredictable flooding.
• There is a significant policy gap regarding the restoration of wetlands in forest lands, as state subsidies primarily target agricultural lands, despite the role of forest drainage in increasing downstream flood and nutrient risks.
• While there is increasing alignment between urban planners and risk managers in Kristianstad through local dialogue, national-level coordination between agencies like MSB, HaV, and Boverket is lacking.
• The report identifies a conflict between the 'dewatered environment' paradigm, which prioritizes agricultural and forestry productivity, and an emerging paradigm of 'adaptive river management' that values ecosystem services.

APA

Johannessen, Å. (2015). Integrating flood risk reduction, river basin and resilience management in planning: A case study of Kristianstad, Sweden. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-Kristianstad-floods-river-basin-management.pdf

Chicago

Johannessen, Åse. Integrating flood risk reduction, river basin and resilience management in planning: A case study of Kristianstad, Sweden. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-Kristianstad-floods-river-basin-management.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Johannessen |first1=Åse |title=Integrating flood risk reduction, river basin and resilience management in planning: A case study of Kristianstad, Sweden |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=February 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-Kristianstad-floods-river-basin-management.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{johannessen2015integrating, author = {Johannessen, Åse}, title = {{Integrating flood risk reduction, river basin and resilience management in planning: A case study of Kristianstad, Sweden}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-Kristianstad-floods-river-basin-management.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }