Catchment management consists of interventions that affect the hydrological processes and includes introduction of suitable soil-protecting vegetation and crops, possible land use regulations, forestation, better forest management, controlling of shifting cultivation in conjunction with minor engineering works, e.g. check dams, trenches, contour bunds, etc. However, the impact of catchment management measures is limited to small floods, with decreasing effects for larger drainage basins. The most important contribution of catchment management is the reduction in the silt load contributed to rivers aggrading in nature.

Land use regulations play an important role in catchment management and in reducing the risk due to flooding. Land use change, particularly due to urbanization, has significant impacts on the magnitude and timing of floods in small catchments; it increases flood peaks due to reduced infiltration, reduces time of concentration and shortens flood duration. Regulating land use through building bylaws can help in preventing negative consequences due to urbanization or restricting development in such a manner that the hydrological response characteristics of the catchment are not changed.

The flood plain, as an integral part of the river corridor, offers possibilities for various economic activities. The harmful impacts of flooding can be reduced, through regulation and sometimes prohibition of certain activities and new development in high flood risk areas. These can be in the form of land use bylaws, subdivision regulations, building codes, development policies and cost sharing through tax adjustments, etc. Location of industries producing or storing hazardous chemicals, sewage treatment plants and activities, such as storage of harmful chemicals that have potential to be dispersed due to flooding, should be regulated through such regulations. Flood risk maps form an essential prerequisite for land use regulations. Managing the flood plain in a disciplined and environmentally sound manner requires a legal framework, especially where such a discipline needs to be enforced. In densely populated plains – with mostly landless people – equitable solutions are invariably opposed. In such situations, governments may struggle to curb encroachment by people. This is where a proactive legal regime, addressing both ecological and economic imperatives, is useful. Flood insurance, another nonstructural measure, is largely complemented by a floodplain-zoning program. (WMO 2006a)