Workshop on Transboundary Flood Risk Management

A workshop on transboundary flood risk management will be organized on 22 and 23 April 2009 within the framework of the programme of work of the UNECE Water Convention, under the joint leadership of the Government of Germany, the Government of the Netherlands and in cooperation with the World Meteorological Organisation.

Background:

Extreme flood events and especially the economic, social and environmental as well as human life losses they cause have significantly increased during the last years in the UNECE region. At the same time, flood prone areas represent vital assets to the economy of many members of the region that can and should not be abandoned. Due to the transboundary nature of many rivers in the region, flooding often has transboundary consequences and thus cooperation is required.

For this reason, under the Water Convention, Guidelines on Sustainable Flood Prevention were adopted in 2000 and subsequently Model Provisions on Transboundary Flood Management were adopted in 2006. The fourth meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention in 2006 created a new Water and Climate Task Force which was entrusted with activities in two main areas of work: transboundary flood management and water and climate change adaptation. In the area of transboundary flood management, the Task Force should support the transfer of the experience and results of the European Network of Expertise on Flood Risk Management to non-European Union countries. To this aim, the workshop on transboundary flood risk management is organized.

Objectives:

Practical information:

The workshop will take place on 22- 23 April 2009, back-to-back with the second meeting of the Convention’s Task Force on Water and Climate (24 April 2009). It will be held in conference room VIII of the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The working languages will be English and Russian. Experts interested in making a contribution to the workshop should inform the UNECE secretariat as soon as possible (water.convention@unece.org).

The workshop is targeted at all those who are involved in flood risk management at the transboundary, national and local levels - in particular governmental and ministerial representatives, representatives from national hydrological and meteorological services, academia and non-governmental and international organizations - from the entire UNECE region. Interested participants should fill out the registration form and send it by 6 April 2009 at the latest to the UNECE secretariat (olga.carlos@unece.org).