A NEW study has revealed that Scotland's flood policies are not fully effective in practice, following a Government's publication last December.
The study by Glasgow Caledonian University was published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction and calls for immediate action to update the Scottish flood policies.
In Scotland, the most recent flood alerts were issued over the New Year, and in 2023, the east of the country was flooded due to Storm Babet.
The study calls for immediate action to help communities prepare for worsening floods and address persistent climate inequalities.
The researchers studied two communities living in Scotland and highlighted the challenges residents and institutions will have to manage flood risks.
Despite Scotland's progressive policies, the study revealed that unclear roles, insufficient funding, outdated practices, and poor communication are hindering efforts to safeguard communities.
Dr Fiona Henderson, lead author and senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University said: “Scotland’s flood policies are well-meaning but not working as intended. Communities face a lack of real support from institutions, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to flood risk as our climate changes.”
The study identified several key issues, including unclear responsibilities that allow institutions to avoid accountability, outdated practices that do not meet community needs, and blame being shifted onto residents instead of addressing the root causes.
The researchers are calling for changes to improve flood policies including better cooperation between organisations, clear roles to prevent blame-shifting, improved communication to keep residents well-informed, and giving communities a stronger voice in decision-making.
The current Government’s flood resilience strategy
This study follows the National Flood Resilience Strategy plan launched by the Government in December 2024.
The plan focuses on improving understanding of how urban and rural landscapes can be adapted for flood prevention, supporting a wider range of flood measures, including smaller schemes and property-level resilience, and improving the use of data to inform decisions and raise awareness about current and future flood risks.
Due to the impact of climate change in Scotland, the plan has been developed to ensure that the actions in the strategy not only address individual flooding issues but also work towards creating flood-resilient areas and communities.
“The Scottish Government’s new Flood Resilience Strategy has incorporated some of our earlier recommendations, including the creation of a new Flood Advisory Service to support communities and co-ordinate preparedness.
“However, until local authorities and other key institutions receive adequate funding to support both proactive and reactive community climate-change engagement actions, communities will continue to remain under-prepared for the worsening impacts of climate change.”
Henderson declared that “progressive policies are not enough” as they need to be followed by real action, funding, accountability and collaboration.
