Reducing Water Related Risks in the Lower Danube Through Nature Based Solution Design: A Stakeholder Participatory Process

Abstract This chapter describes the research conducted in the Lower Danube case study to understand the role of natural assurance schemes in complex natural, economic and social contexts. In order to improve the accuracy, replicability and the scalability of the natural assurance scheme to be developed and potentially implemented, we have concentrated our efforts on the Dabuleni-Potelu-Corabia (DPC) enclosure, a land reclamation area exposed to water-related risks. NAIAD Project proposed the implementation of a wetland restoration project by designing a Nature Based Solution (NBS) for dealing with flood risk. The implementation in the Romanian case study aimed at providing support to facilitate both local collaboration between the different stakeholders and the engagement of these local stakeholders in decision-making and policy setting, by integrating their (local) knowledge with the results of scientific models. The entire process aimed to design intervention scenarios based on NBS implementation and the key co-benefits to be produced, followed by the assessment of its effectiveness. Furthermore, to assess the DPC enclosure vulnerability to water-related hazards, we performed an economic assessment based on the literature review and the development of a GIS infra-territorial indicator methodology. The GIS-based indicators can support the lack of insurance data, with the objective to define the most exposed areas. The literature review together with the GIS analysis were able to provide a reliable cost estimation of the damage related to destroyed and affected dwellings. This indicator should be a tool to help the decision-making process to assess the case study vulnerability and to select the more appropriate NBS.