The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 

Scotland's approach to how we manage flood risk is changing due to the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRM Act).  The FRM Act aims to reduce the adverse consequences of flooding on communities, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity. 

The illustration below shows how managing floods sustainably means considering all sources of flooding and what actions can be taken to reduce the impact of flooding on communities. 

Managing flood risk sustainably requires a long term approach to be taken.  We need to improve our understanding of flood risk and its impacts before we can plan actions to manage flooding in a way that improves the environment, provides opportunities to restore rivers and coastlines and creates green spaces for everyone to enjoy.

To take a sustainable approach to managing flood risk we need to look at whole river catchments.  A catchment approach ensures that flooding is tackled effectively and not moved to another part of the river.  The diagram below shows the benefits of taking a catchment approach to managing flood risk.

                                                             Image courtesy of Scottish Government 2011

To find out more information about the enactment and to download a copy of the Flood Act, please visit the Scottish Government website  .