Towards sustainable flood and coastal management: identifying drivers of, and obstacles to, managed realignment

Managed realignment—the deliberate process of realigning river, estuary or coastal defences—is increasingly seen as a key element to sustainable long term flood and coastal management in the UK and other parts of the world, given current trends of sea level rise, and increasing costs of flood and coastal defence. This paper presents results of an extensive consultation of key stakeholders in England and Wales on what they consider to be the main drivers, of and obstacles to, managed realignment. It reveals why managed realignment has not taken place on a larger scale so far, and suggests new directions for a long-term strategic approach to river and coastal flood management.