INCA - Flood Control - ES Flow - 2006-2012

This dataset is an output of KIP INCA.

All ecosystems but in particular forests, shrubland, grasslands and wetlands reduce runoff by retaining water in the soil and aquifers and slowing down the water flow. This prevents the rapid downstream runoff of surface water, hereby lowering peak runoff, and thus reduces the detrimental effects to citizens, farmland, and infrastructure from flooding. The accounting approach developed here presents the potential of ecosystems to regulate water flows together with the socio-economic demand for protection against river floods.

This dataset presents the actual use or flow of ecosystems to control floods. Actual use of the service is based on the spatial relation between the service providing area and the service demanding area. It is expressed as the number of ha of demand protected by upstream ecosystems which serve as service providing areas. The data is available for catchment for 2006 and 2012.

A detailed description of the calculation is available in the associated report.