While the inherent capacities of the communities (including financial) have never been factored in and utilized in structural measures which require large financial resources, the risk-based approach to flood management, duly addressing the various options of mitigation, prevention and preparedness, response and recovery phases, presents opportunities for communities. Options such as flood proofing, preparedness, emergency response and recovery from smaller flood events do provide challenging but ample opportunities for financial contributions from individuals and communities.
The source control of floods by adopting individual house level measures, such as increasing infiltration or retention to decrease run-off, is one of the strategies which can encourage financial participation by individuals. The involvement of affected communities in particular and civil society in general, from planning to implementation, provides communities with sufficient exposure to the issues. For example, the total contribution from individual beneficiaries may be limited in monetary terms, but they can contribute towards the maintenance and other activities such as the patrol of dykes or flood fighting, which will reduce the burden of government and the budget.