<br />Like other domestic policies, flood protection programs are shaped by the events and policies of a
<br />previous era. As citizen expectations, teclmology, and economics change, national policies must
<br />adjust accordingly, Significant new social realities are making additional adjustments in floodplain
<br />management necessary, These new trends include an appreciation of the natural environment,
<br />recognition of the inherent risk of living in floodprone areas (with or without flood control
<br />structures), a growing impatience on the part of society to continuously bailout those who choose
<br />to live at risk, and reductions in federal spending that minimize the number oflarge, single-purpose
<br />programs and make it essential to integrate numerous smaller programs in order to resolve flood
<br />problems, Another trend is an acceptance of sharing roles in flood loss reduction among all levels of
<br />government and the private sector. But because this concept is widely accepted but scarcely
<br />institutionalized, ways need to be found, within the existing framework, to spread responsibility more
<br />widely, A fmal shift in recent thinking is that today's generations are beginning to shoulder
<br />responsibility for leaving natural resources and healthy ecosystems for the generations of the future,
<br />
<br />Five years ago, the ASFPM prepared National Flood Programs in Review 1994, the first
<br />comprehensive effort on the part of the ASFPM to assess national programs and policy related to
<br />floodplain management. The purpose of that document was to provide input for the Galloway-led
<br />task force, and many of the issues identified in National Flood Programs in Review 1994 in fact were
<br />included in Sharing the Challenge. Now, as we now move into the new millennium, it is time once
<br />again to evaluate the status of our national approach to floodplain management.
<br />
<br />The appraisals and recommendations in this report represent the cumulative experiences of floodplain
<br />managers nationwide, As the nation's leading organized voice for floodplain management, the
<br />ASFPM offers this status report of important adjustments needed in national flood protection
<br />programs and policy for the near future,
<br />
<br />SUSTAINABILITY, DISASTER RESILIENCE, AND MITIGATION
<br />
<br />Among floodplain managers, planners, environmentalists, and local officials there has emerged over
<br />the last several years an awareness of the benefits of protecting the natural functions of floodplains
<br />as a means of both protecting property from flood losses and preserving natural ecosystems. This
<br />attitude is part of a broader movement toward using the criteria of "sustainability" in development,
<br />economic decisionmaking, and resource use, Sustainability is already a widely used concept in the
<br />international development arena and one that is rapidly gaining recognition as a guiding principle for
<br />community development in the United States. Many countries, in addition to the United States, as
<br />well as state, regional, and local governments and environmental and nonprofit organizations, have
<br />embraced this ideal and are currently evaluating growth, development, and economic policies with
<br />the goal of ensuring sustainability,
<br />
<br />Sustainable development, broadly defmed, means development that meets the needs of the present
<br />generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the
<br />case of floodplain management, this idea is in sharp contrast to many of the past and existing policies
<br />and programs, which tend to take a short-term view and unintentionally compromise the future both
<br />of floodplain ecosystems and of the people who must live with (or without) them, For example, in
<br />most parts of the United States, flood hazard planning and mapping fails to take into consideration
<br />the likely future condition of the floodprone area and instead, bases risk analysis and resultant
<br />decisionmaking on levels of development and urbanization that are outdated almost immediately. As
<br />another example, widespread current practices are teaching people how to build supposedly safer
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<br />Association of State Floodplain Managers
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<br />National Flood Programs in Review 2000
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