Open approach to rivers

Chapter 10 provides an overview of the Open approach, focusing on its merits, progress, and prospects and showing how it can be more conducive to sustainable development. It shows that the Open approach is not a passive approach but requires sustained activities along many dimensions, including both flood-proofing and flood-regulating measures. The chapter follows the progression of the Open approach. It discusses the reflection of this approach in the European Union’s Directive on Floods and its implementation. It takes note of country level initiatives in many European countries, such as the Netherlands’ “Room for River” project, that conform with the Open approach. The chapter then examines some recent policy changes in the United States regarding the Mississippi levee system that also reflect the Open approach. It also reviews the progress of the Open approach in other parts of the world.