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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1999; v. 163; p. 89-97;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.163.01.07
© 1999 Geological Society of London

Floodplain Management, Restoration and Ecology

Scientific and institutional constraints on the restoration of European floodplains

W. M. Adams1 & M. R. Perrow2

1 Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK wa12{at}hermes.cam.ac.uk
2 ECON, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TS, UK

Most river restoration (or often more appropriately rehabilitation) projects have focused on the river channel, in-stream and channel-edge environments. The desirability of extending restoration to the active floodplain is now widely recognized, because of the critical importance of the floodplain-riparian zone in river structure and function. However, the extension of river restoration to floodplain environments presents the environmental manager with complex scientific and institutional challenges. This paper considers the constraints on floodplain restoration as a result of scientific uncertainty, the ways in which scientific and technical knowledge are applied, the complexity of formal institutions of floodplain governance, and the complexity of informal institutions influencing floodplain environments.