Samenvatting

Due to environmental protection efforts, there is a growing number of beavers in the Netherlands. As these animals make their burrows in the levee system they cause damage within it, increasing the risk of flooding. This paper assesses the factors which increase the risk of beaver activity within the area of Den Bosch, in the Netherlands. This area had been chosen due to the large beaver population and their effect on the levee. The burrows created by these animals damage the levee protecting the nearby settlements and raise the risk of flooding. The analysis includes factors such as the presence of waterways, floodplains, protected natural areas, vegetation and the lack of human activity. Such factors have been selected due to data on them being readily available, thus easing the data gathering part of future assessments. These factors will afterwards be used to construct a risk analysis framework for the levees around Den Bosch. The framework relies on probability analysis based on existing literature correlated to spatial data on the area. Using the probability of beaver occurrence and the potential damage in the area a risk matrix had been developed as the product of the framework. When all levee segments were evaluated, the risk matrix showed that the areas of Keent and Oijen are at the greatest risk of flooding out of the twelve areas. The framework created by the research can function as a baseline for further risk assessment methods to assist levee maintenance and safety.