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Environment
Christina McCabe, PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Canterbury

Giving rivers room to move: how rethinking flood management can benefit people and nature

Shutterstock/S Watson

When we think about flood management, higher stop banks, stronger levees and concrete barriers usually come to mind. But what if the best solution – for people and nature – isn’t to confine rivers, but to give them more space?

This alternative is increasingly being considered as an approach to mitigating flood risk. But allowing rivers room to move also delivers ecological benefits far beyond flood risk reduction. It supports biodiversity, improves water quality and stores carbon.

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