Flooding can devastate communities. Sniffer helps to spread good practice that keep people safe.

Why flood risk management matters

Flooding is a frequent natural hazard in Scotland which, if poorly managed, can have dreadful impacts on people, businesses, and our natural and built environments. At present, 108,000 properties across Scotland are at some risk of flooding, and current estimates suggest Scotland could suffer approximately £250 million of flood-related damages annually. In the future, changes in our climate, how we use our land and how we live have the potential to bring more people and property into flood risk.

What is the solution?

Flooding is a complex challenge, with many influencing factors, but the risks are manageable if we work together. Building on this belief in collaboration, for over ten years Sniffer has supported a range of research and events to promote the effectiveness of a co-operative approach to flood risk management. In 2009 the Scottish Government introduced a new Flood Risk Management Act, emphasising the key role such collaborative actions and partnership working has on protecting people and places from flooding. This was followed in 2015 by SEPA’s publication of 14 Local Flood Risk Management Strategies, covering the whole of Scotland, and in 2016 by a set of Local Flood Risk Management Plans aiming to put these strategies into practice. These plans help to target resources in the areas where they can best protect people, businesses and critical services.

How Sniffer helps to reduce flood risk

Sniffer provides a range of services to the Scottish FRM Community to help encourage and deliver a holistic approach to Flood Risk Management. Chief among these is our annual Flood Risk Management Conference, which Sniffer has run for twelve successive years. The conference is the premier event in the Scottish Flood Risk Management calendar and regularly attracts more than 250 delegates. You can read more about how our approach has helped the conference to become one of the top policy and practice forums in the country in this case study. 

Sniffer was delighted to support the Interreg Building with Nature coordination meeting in Dundee in September 2018. In 2019 additionally to planning next year's annual conference Sniffer is organising a series of knowledge exchange workshops:

• Climate change allowances for flood risk assessment in land use planning
• Accessing funding for flood risk management actions
• Working together to manage flood risk: developing and implementing flood studies