الخلاصة:
This study evaluates the institutional framework for flood risk management in Djelfa
Commune, examining the shift from the reactive model of Law 04-20 to the
proactive, resilience-based approach of Law 24-04. Utilizing the Analytical
Hierarchy Process (AHP), the research reveals a severe spatial conflict between
urban planning tools (PDAU/POS) and hydrological realities, as high-density
developments encroach upon statutory river easements. Field diagnostics expose
structural bottlenecks in the drainage network, a regulatory void due to the lack of a
Flood Risk Prevention Plan (PPRI), and institutional fragmentation that cripples the
ORSEC Plan during flash floods. To enhance urban resilience, the study advocates
for enforcing non-aedificandi zones, adopting Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), and
integrating a shared Web-GIS decision-support system.
الوصف:
This master’s thesis, it has performed an extensive analysis of spatial, legal
and institutional flooding crisis management within the Djelfa Commune, in which
it has compared the abstract Norwegian national doctrine for risk management with
the tangible deficiencies of the urban environment of the Djelfa Commune.
By utilizing empirical geographic analyses and public policy analyses
together, the research confirms that repeated crises caused by flash flooding within
the Djelfa Commune are fundamentally structural in nature; i.e., that they result from
a systemic disconnect between dynamic hydrologic processes and rigid master
planning practices, as well as fragmented institutional governance.
The findings of the spatial and physical analysis validated the first hypothesis
(H1) that the semi-arid climate and unique geomorphological characteristics of
Djelfa Commune contribute to its being a closed syncline which contributes to rapid
surface run-off during episodic and very intense convective storms. Thus, the
naturally hazardous conditions of flash flooding are significantly increased due to
human actions; e.g., the rapid population growth within the Djelfa Commune over
the last 30 years has resulted in massive soil impermeability and caused large
changes to how land is used in the Djelfa Commune.
We found that human actions cause significant spatial conflicts to arise
because of formal planning tools including: master plans (PDAUs) and permitting
zoning ordinances (POS) which authorize urban expand and the construction of
infrastructure in the original drainage corridors and to replace very necessary
permeable drainage channels with rigid concrete bases and legally encroaching into
the statutory floodway easements.
In addition, the legal and operational diagnostics confirmed that there was
significant strength behind the second and third hypotheses (H2 and H3) - which
demonstrate that despite Law No. 04-20 creating the theoretical framework with
regards to Water Resource Management being structurally absent at the local level;
there are no localized, updated regulatory by-laws pertaining to semi-arid climate
conditions.
The governance of risk in Djelfa is severely impacted by massive institutional
fragmentation and widespread administrative siloing within government
departments. The empirical field stage of this study highlighted these limits through
the extreme level of information asymmetry and bureaucratic defensive behaviour
observed within both the National Office of Sanitation (ONA) and the Directorate
of Water Resources (DRE). The chronic lack of accessible technical data, together
with a reliance upon outdated documentation and the lack of a binding Flood Risk
Prevention Plan (PPRI), prevents municipal authorities from having any enforceable
spatial mechanisms.
Therefore, where convective storms produce immediate structural blockades
upon the primary national transport corridors (RN 01 and RN 46), the Emergency
Relief Plan (ORSEC) executions occur at lower levels of management entirely
reactively as opposed to proactively in relation to local rescue operations.