Strategic use of instruments of land policy for mobilising private land for flood risk management

The focus on private land of this special issue points at a “policy delivery gap” (Moss, 2008) and the instruments by which to overcome it. Whereas the technical and hydrological functions of land in flood risk management are relatively well known, there remain considerable gaps in the understanding of how to mobilise the required land resources and overcome, respectively prevent, flood-related conflicts in land use (Edelenbos et al., 2013; Morris et al., 2016). As most studies focus on case and context specific solutions, gaining a more comprehensive and generic understanding of the different options and mechanisms of leveraging land for floods is an important task for research and policy practice alike. This cross-disciplinary edited collection brings together research from the natural, technical, legal and social sciences to provide an encompassing instrumental perspective of mobilising land in the context of flood risk management. The core aim of this volume is to explore solutions to this pertinent issue in the broadening policy paradigm

In vivo-induced size transformation of cerium oxide nanoparticles in both lung and liver does not affect long-term hepatic accumulation following pulmonary exposure

<div><p>Recent findings show that cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles may undergo <i>in vivo</i>-induced size transformation with the formation of smaller particles that could result in a higher translocation following pulmonary exposure compared to virtually insoluble particles, like titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Therefore, we compared liver deposition of CeO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles of similar primary sizes 1, 28 or 180 days after intratracheal instillation of 162 μg of NPs in female C57BL/6 mice. Mice exposed to 162 μg CeO₂ or TiO₂ nanoparticles by intravenous injection or oral gavage were included as reference groups to assess the amount of NPs that reach the liver bypassing the lungs and the translocation of NPs from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver, respectively. Pulmonary deposited CeO₂ nanoparticles were detected in the liver 28 and 180 days post-exposure and TiO₂ nanoparticles 180 days post-exposure as determined by darkfield imaging and by the quantification of Ce and Ti mass concentration by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Ce and Ti concentrations increased over time and 180 days post-exposure the translocation to the liver was 2.87 ± 3.37% and 1.24 ± 1.98% of the initial pulmonary dose, respectively. Single particle ICP-MS showed that the size of CeO₂ nanoparticles in both lung and liver tissue decreased over time. No nanoparticles were detected in the liver following oral gavage. Our results suggest that pulmonary deposited CeO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles translocate to the liver with similar calculated translocation rates despite their different chemical composition and shape. The observed particle size distributions of CeO₂ nanoparticles indicate <i>in vivo</i> processing over time both in lung and liver. The fact that no particles were detected in the liver following oral exposure showed that direct translocation of nanoparticles from lung to the systemic circulation was the most important route of translocation for pulmonary deposited particles.</p></div

Diastereomeric dinucleoside-methylphosphonates: determination of configuration with the 2-D NMR ROESY technique.

The determination of configuration at phosphorus in diastereomeric dinucleoside-methylphosphonates having the -O-P(= O)(-CH3)-O- internucleotide linkage with the NOE derived ROESY NMR technique is described for ApT, TpT, ApA, TpA and CpG. For this purpose ROE's from the P-CH3 group to the protons in the nearest neighbourhood were measured. These ROE's are different within diastereomeric pairs of a dimer enabling us to deduce the individual configuration. The validity of the method is proven in comparison with dimers of known configuration (ApT, TpT). Together with a recently published diastereoselective synthesis method a more homogeneous picture between physical properties and the corresponding configuration is provided. There is an improvement in our knowledge about the stereochemistry of these substances which could not be deduced from the data known before

The introduction of catchment-wide co-operations: Scalar reconstructions and transformation in Austria in flood risk management

The management of flood risk in Europe is changing. In several European Member States there are significant ongoing processes to shift certain flood risk management duties and responsibilities from the national to the local level. Previously, national authorities dominated the discourse about national flood risk management policy, but increasingly, local and private stakeholders have become responsible for flood risk management. This has greatly influenced the governance structure and arrangements for flood risk management policy. As a result, the co-operation among various stakeholders has become increasingly important. The consequences of this shift toward local stakeholders can be understood in the context of rescaling. This paper analyses the rescaling processes through catchment-wide management plans in the Austrian flood risk management system. Therefore, we selected three different Austrian study sites (Aist in Upper Austria, Triesting-Tal in Lower Austria and Ill-Walgau in Vorarlberg). New management ideas required new dynamics within the current scales and allowed changes in the interaction of local, regional, and national stakeholders in terms of negotiation, funding, and strategy development. The new policy direction demonstrates not only the importance of network connections between stakeholders at the same scale, but also networks between stakeholders at different scales, especially between local and national levels. However, engagement at the local level strongly depends on social capacities, such as knowledge, motivation/self-interest, networks at various levels, and procedural capacity. The theoretical framework of politics of scale helps in understanding and analysing the impact of the new decentralisation policy and practice

The introduction of catchment-wide co-operations : Scalar reconstructions and transformation in Austria in flood risk management

The management of flood risk in Europe is changing. In several European Member States there are significant ongoing processes to shift certain flood risk management duties and responsibilities from the national to the local level. Previously, national authorities dominated the discourse about national flood risk management policy, but increasingly, local and private stakeholders have become responsible for flood risk management. This has greatly influenced the governance structure and arrangements for flood risk management policy. As a result, the co-operation among various stakeholders has become increasingly important. The consequences of this shift toward local stakeholders can be understood in the context of rescaling. This paper analyses the rescaling processes through catchment-wide management plans in the Austrian flood risk management system. Therefore, we selected three different Austrian study sites (Aist in Upper Austria, Triesting-Tal in Lower Austria and Ill-Walgau in Vorarlberg). New management ideas required new dynamics within the current scales and allowed changes in the interaction of local, regional, and national stakeholders in terms of negotiation, funding, and strategy development. The new policy direction demonstrates not only the importance of network connections between stakeholders at the same scale, but also networks between stakeholders at different scales, especially between local and national levels. However, engagement at the local level strongly depends on social capacities, such as knowledge, motivation/self-interest, networks at various levels, and procedural capacity. The theoretical framework of politics of scale helps in understanding and analysing the impact of the new decentralisation policy and practice

Win–win for everyone? Reflecting on nature-based solutions for flood risk management from an environmental justice perspective

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are often framed positively in terms of win–win options or no-regret measures. However, are NbS equally beneficial for everyone? Are burdens and benefits of NbS really equally distributed and projects embraced by everyone? Is the process leading to the implementation of NbS always fair and inclusive? This chapter provides a broad overview of different environmental justice issues, critically reflecting on NbS through recognition justice, procedural justice, and distributive justice. Whereas the current critical literature focuses particularly on urban NbS, this chapter focuses on the wider translocal consequences of NbS projects. The theoretical reflections are illustrated with case studies of NbS from various countries: the recognition of marginalised women in Vietnam in mangrove restoration projects, the challenges when introducing procedural justice in implementing NbS in Serbia, the legal injustices locals are faced in the Czech Republic when they want to implement NbS, the trade-off between public collective and individual economic interest when implementing a sand nourishment project in the Netherlands, and the development of a beneficiary-pays based upstream–downstream compensation scheme in Austria