Minimising flood risk accumulation through effective private and public sector engagement

Flooding is a global problem affecting both developing and developed countries.
Academics and practitioners in climate science frequently argue that changing
climatic conditions are likely to worsen the length and severity of these flood
events, which will have catastrophic consequences to economies and social lives
of communities world over. Whilst the overall consequences affecting many
regions have been established, effective and efficient strategies to cope with the
effects of flooding and building up resilience strategies have not properly evolved.
This paper examines this issue by exploring effective strategies undertaken in
partnerships between private and public stakeholders.
The paper details two case studies conducted in a developed and a developing
country to investigate what global strategies for coping and resilience to flooding
have worked in practice. The two case studies: Cockermouth in Cumbria, UK and
Patuakhali in Bangladesh provide interesting insights on how some of the
strategies work within the chosen developed and developing country contexts. The
case study findings are mapped against UNISDR’s ten-point checklist under the
“Making Cities Resilient Campaign”. In conclusion the paper examines how these
findings can be incorporated within city development plans to develop stakeholder
capacity and capability and eventually build up resilient cities.