Ecological and socio-economic benefits of natural flood management

Floodplains are highly productive and biodiverse areas that provide significant ecological, societal, and economic benefits; however, centuries of human alteration have reduced their natural dynamism and multifunctionality. Traditional strategies for managing floodplains are increasingly being challenged as aging flood defense infrastructure (e.g., dams, dikes, and levees) continues to deteriorate and climate change and land-use pressures intensify flood risks. Simultaneously, there is growing recognition of the numerous ecosystem services provided by healthy, functioning floodplains, including the ways natural processes can support effective flood management. Emerging from these evolving perspectives is the concept of natural flood management (NFM) as a crucial nature-based solution, yet uncertainties persist regarding relevant scales of implementation, effectiveness, and critical trade-offs. To help address these knowledge gaps, this article offers a review of the ecological and socio-economic benefits (i.e., ecosystem services) of NFM, and identifies the following key challenges: articulating goals and defining consistent and context-sensitive indicators to evaluate effectiveness; scaling interventions from small sites to larger catchments while addressing fragmented ownership and governance; ensuring multifaceted and equitable outcomes by integrating diverse stakeholder priorities and broader socio-ecological goals; navigating dynamic trade-offs between benefits and disbenefits across different landscapes and timeframes; and overcoming persistent social, technical, financial, political, and institutional barriers. Addressing these challenges will require standardized yet flexible metrics, advanced modeling and monitoring, inclusive decision-making, adaptive frameworks for managing trade-offs, and more substantial support through funding, policy, and cross-scale collaboration.