Assessing the legitimacy of flood risk governance arrangements in Europe: insights from intra-country evaluations

Legitimacy has received comparatively less attention than societal resilience in the context of flooding, thus methods for assessing and monitoring the legitimacy of Flood Risk Governance Arrangements (FRGA) are noticeably lacking. This study attempts to address this gap by assessing the legitimacy of FRGAs in six European countries through cross-disciplinary and comparative research methods. On the basis of this assessment, recommendation

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition, we tested the effects of Halophytophthora sp. Zostera and Phytophthora gemini on Z. marina seed germination in a full-factorial laboratory experiment under various environmental conditions. Results suggest that Phytophthora species are widespread as we found these oomycetes in eelgrass beds in six countries across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Infection by Halophytophthora sp. Zostera, P. gemini, or both, strongly affected sexual reproduction by reducing seed germination sixfold. Our findings have important implications for seagrass ecology, because these putative pathogens probably negatively affect ecosystem functioning, as well as current restoration and conservation efforts

High cycle fatigue analysis in the presence of autofrettage compressive residual stress

An experimental and numerical investigation of the effect of residual compressive stress on the high cycle fatigue life of notched low carbon steel test specimens is presented. Experimentally determined cyclic stress strain curves for S355 low carbon steel are utilized in a Finite Element Analysis plasticity modelling framework incorporating a new cyclic plasticity material model representative of cyclic hardening and softening, cyclic mean stress relaxation and ratcheting behaviors. Fatigue test results are presented for standard tensile fatigue test specimens and novel double notch specimens. Double notch specimens are tested with and without compressive residual stress prior-induced through tensile overload. It is shown that cyclic plasticity phenomena have a significant influence on the induced residual stress distribution and also on material behavior when fatigue tested in the high cycle regime. It is observed that higher initial compressive residual stresses magnitude does not necessarily lead to a longer fatigue life. Finite Element Analysis using the new cyclic plasticity material model shows this behavior is due to combined residual stress redistribution under fatigue test cyclic loading and cyclic hardening effects. A fatigue life methodology based on the stress-life approach augmented by a critical distance method is proposed and shown to give good agreement with experimental results for test specimens with no induced residual stress. The results obtained for specimens with induced residual stress are more conservative but the degree of conservatism is significantly lower than that in the conventional stress life approach. The proposed methodology is therefore suitable for analysis and design assessment of components with pre-service induced compressive residual stress, such as autofrettaged pressure components

The undebated issue of justice: silent discourses in Dutch flood risk management

Flood risk for all types of flooding is projected to increase based on climate change projections and increases in damage potential. These challenges are likely to aggravate issues of justice in flood risk management (henceforth FRM). Based on a discursive-institutionalist perspective, this paper explores justice in Dutch FRM: how do institutions allocate the responsibilities and costs for FRM for different types of flooding? What are the underlying conceptions of justice? What are the future challenges with regard to climate change? The research revealed that a dichotomy is visible in the Dutch approach to FRM: despite an abundance of rules, regulations and resources spent, flood risk or its management, are only marginally discussed in terms of justice. Despite that the current institutional arrangement has material outcomes that treat particular groups of citizens differently, depending on the type of flooding they are prone to, area they live in (unembanked/embanked) or category of user (e.g. household, industry, farmer). The paper argues that the debate on justice will (re)emerge, since the differences in distributional outcomes are likely to become increasingly uneven as a result of increasing flood risk. The Netherlands should be prepared for this debate by generating the relevant facts and figures. An inclusive debate on the distribution of burdens of FRM could contribute to more effective and legitimate FRM

Bridging the legitimacy gap—translating theory into practical signposts for legitimate flood risk governance

Legitimacy is widely regarded as a founding principle of ‘good’ and effective governance, yet despite intense academic debate and policy discourse, the concept remains conceptually confusing and poorly articulated in practice. To bridge this gap, this research performed an interpretive thematic analysis of academic scholarship across public administration, public policy, law, political science and geography. Three core themes were identified in relation to representative deliberation, procedural and distributive equity and justice, and socio-political acceptability, with numerous sub-themes therein. In an attempt to clarify conceptual confusion, this paper grounds these theoretical debates in the context of flood risk governance where numerous legitimacy dilemmas exist. A number of questions are presented as conceptual ‘sign posts’ to encourage reflexive governance in the future. Thus, more broadly, we assert the importance of bringing legitimacy to the forefront of contemporary flood risk governance discourse and practice, moving beyond the realm of academic reflection

Sticks and carrots for reducing property-level risks from floods: an EU-US comparative perspective

In discussing legal and policy frameworks for flood risk management, the attention is often put on increasing resilience in public spaces. In terms of private properties, discussions are geared toward enhancing the adaptive capacity of future developments. This paper focuses on the instruments associated with resilience of existing privately owned residential buildings mainly from the perspective of post-flood policies and compensation regimes. The paper scrutinizes the relevant legal and policy landscapes in the United States, the European Union and two Member States – the UK and the Netherlands. The goal is to provide mutual lessons learned between the EU, its Member States, and the US and to set forth generally applicable recommendations for improving post-flood policies for existing buildings

Fluid structure interaction in piston diaphragm pumps

Piston diaphragm pumps are used world-wide for the transport of aggressive and/or abrasive fluids in the chemical, mining and mineral processing industries. Figure 1 shows a cross section of a piston diaphragm pump as is used in the mining and mineral processing industries for the transport of mineral ores and tailings in the from of a solid water mixture, called a slurry.Marine and Transport TechnologyMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin

Exemptions of the eu water framework directive deterioration ban : Comparing implementation approaches in lower saxony and the netherlands

The sustainable use of precious water resources requires effective water management. In the European Union, water management is mainly regulated by the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), introducing an integrated river basin management approach. As a European Union (EU) directive, the legislation needs to be implemented in the Member States, entailing not only legal transposition but also application and enforcement. One major instrument introduced by the Water Framework Directive is the environmental goal achievement obligation of article 4 WFD, containing also a deterioration ban with several exemptions. We compare the transposition, application, and enforcement of the exemption of permanent deterioration (art. 4 (7) WFD) in the context of the environmental goal achievement obligation regime in Lower Saxony (Germany) and the Netherlands. The study rests on a comparative legal analysis of literature, river basin management plans, and jurisprudence. Although based on the same EU directive wording and case law of the European Court of Justice, the deterioration ban and the exemption of permanent deterioration are implemented rather differently. While the deterioration ban is predominantly understood as planning obligation in the Netherlands, it became an important permit requirement in Lower Saxony since the Weser ruling of the European Court of Justice.</p