The role of knowledge in greening flood protection. Lessons from the Dutch case study future Afsluitdijk

Greening flood protection (GFP) is an upcoming approach in coastal protection knowledge and policy. The central notion of this multifunctional concept is that natural processes, nature development and the dynamics of ecosystems are taken into account in realising flood protection. In practice, implementation of GFP is faced with multiple barriers, of which some are strongly related to knowledge. In this paper we aim to further our understanding of the realisation of GFP in projects by focussing on the role of knowledge and specifically looking at the interaction between knowledge related to different policy fields. We analyse under what conditions knowledge can enable GFP in projects. We apply a conceptual framework of knowledge arrangements (KAs)—drawing attention to the policy fields and the knowledge base— on the Dutch flood protection project Future Afsluitdijk. While the project aimed at more than just flood protection, this was not achieved. The case serves as an illustrative example of the struggle to organise knowledge processes for an integrated, greening flood protection design. We identify four main lessons on the role of knowledge: (1) knowledge development should take place at close distance to the policy process and include intensive interaction, (2) multiple design iterations are needed, (3) integration at policy level requires structural embedding to endure, and (4) tools are required that allow for an integrated assessment. Interestingly, the failure of integration between KAs within the project led to the development and re-organisation of the nature domain. As a result nature actors managed to pursue their goals, but in a different arena. •Greening Flood Protection (GFP) requires the integration of knowledge arrangements.•Greening flood protection (GFP) integrates human use and ecosystem functions.•Knowledge serves as a barrier in implementing GFP in projects.•The Dutch Afsluitdijk provides lessons on the role of knowledge for GFP.