Flood risk governance and communication development for coastal municipalities: Information and education, participation and practise self-experience

Climate change also increase different natural risk possibility - erosion and floods in coastal local municipalities in Latvia are becoming increasingly more important. The most significant flood risk factor, particularly in the climate change context, are wind surges, especially coinciding with ongoing sea level raise and, even, rapid and intence, rainfall, while the nation wide spread snowmelt flood risks are less impacting the coastal municipalities. Research-and-development study analyzed coastal risk governance and communication in two coastal municipalities in Latvia – Ventspils town and Salacgriva rural territory. The floods affected and also general household’s questionnaire surveys, complemented by structured in-depth interviews were performed. Both studies dealt in particular with still barely known risk communication as a specific field of communication, being multidisciplinary and complex. Analyzing risk communication developments, there have been applied and discussed the collaboration communication model, after its successful spreading at municipal level in Latvia during last decade. In order to provide successful environmental and development risks communication within a coastal municipality, it is necessary to collaboratively develop a set of four non-traditional communication instruments – information and education/training, participation and environment/health friendly and risk adapted behavior - among all of the parties and groups of interest involved, supported by the municipality and selectively focused on the relevant target groups. This mentioned collaboration communication model shall be introduced both into the planning process of whatever specific risk management and into the general planning process of the municipal environment and development, incl. spatial planning, as well as into the municipal normative and everyday process prescriptive action documentation, using appropriate communication tools and channels, taking into account the context of the situation and values of target groups. The research results suggest to use this model not only at the local, but also at the regional/national levels.