Priest, S. J., C. Suykens, H. F. M. W. Van Rijswick, T. Schellenberger, S. B. Goytia, Z. W. Kundzewicz, W. J. Van Doorn-Hoekveld, J.-C. Beyers, and S. Homewood. 2016. The European Union approach to flood risk management and improving societal resilience: lessons from the implementation of the Floods Directive in six European countries. Ecology and Society 21(4):50. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08913-210450

Goytia, S., M. Pettersson, T. Schellenberger, W. J. van Doorn-Hoekveld, and S. Priest. 2016. Dealing with change and uncertainty within the regulatory frameworks for flood defense infrastructure in selected European countries. Ecology and Society 21(4):23. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08908-210423

Van Doorn-Hoekveld, W. J., S. B. Goytia, C. Suykens, S. Homewood, T. Thuillier, C. Manson, P. Chmielewski, P. Matczak, and H. F. M. W. van Rijswick. 2016. Distributional effects of flood risk management—a cross-country comparison of preflood compensation. Ecology and Society 21(4):26. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08648-210426

The EU Floods Directive calls for integrated flood risk management at a catchment scale. The potential of this directive to integrate relevant policy areas and deliver catchment-based measures may however be undermined by sectoral laws and policies in the Member States. This article focuses on the legal issues affecting the integration of catchment-based measures for managing flood risk in three relevant policy areas, namely, energy (in the form of hydropower production), agriculture, and forestry, in Sweden. The results show that that the present legal frameworks not only can restrict attempts to introduce catchment-based measures through compulsory means, but in some cases can also encumber collaborative and voluntary initiatives. It is therefore important to reinforce the catchment perspective in the processes leading to the adoption of flood risk management plans, in terms of assessing flood risks, evaluating measures and engaging stakeholders.