Volume 3 No.3
ISSUE No. 10

ICHARM

November 2008

第1巻

第1号

発行日

► 2-5

Special Topics► 6-8

International Meetings and Seminars►9

Visitors to ICHARM► 10-12

Research and Training

ICHARM
Newsletter

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR WATER HAZARD AND RISK MANAGEMENT
under the auspices of UNESCO

Message from the Director-tech flood forecasting systems, various local studies andconsultation activities and especially in success of externalfund raising. The voices echoed indicating wider
collaboration needs with related organizations andprograms,
especiallyforthesocio-economical
consideration in local assistance programs.

ICHARM had a series of the most important events in thepast one month since its foundation two and a half years
ago. They were the graduation of the first year MasterCourse students, the second ICHARM International
Symposium, the second ICHARM International Advisory
Board Meeting, the 3rd IFI meeting, and the GFAS kick-off
training course.

Our view was well accepted that ICHARM is still in the firststage and needs to focus on the firm establishment ofcompetitive research competence with prioritized activity
areas.

Congratulations on the Graduation of the first year
ICHARM Master Course Students
We are so glad to have all the ten first year ICHARM
Master’s Course students successfully graduated on 17
September. They were awarded the GRIPS-PWRI/ICHARM joint Certificates of the Master’s degree inDisaster Management Policy at the GRIPS Auditorium. The
course objective is to foster solution-oriented practitioners
with sound understanding of basic theories in water-related
disaster management. Their individual studies are valuablefor their home countries as they are the extensive practicalstudies of their local problems. They are now back home
and in the front line of disaster management. Miss Lili Yesaid during their graduation trip to Ichinoseki, “Now we areproud of ICHARM, and in the future ICHARM will be proudof us.” Indeed, we are looking forward to seeing theirpromising future.

Donation of Geometric Art “Tsukuba” by French Artist
Madam Judith Nem’c
The highlight of the Board Meeting was a visit by Madam
Judith Nem’c to the unveiling ceremony of her geometricartwork entitled “Tsukuba”. Madam Judith Nem’c is Mrs.
Andras Szollosi-Nagy. The artwork is a composite of fivecolors and shapes in permutation. Please pay a visit to theexhibition when you visit ICHARM where you feel a sudden
fresh breeze from water.
Local Ownership of Flood Forecasts started with the
GFAS kick-off training course
The last event of this busy month was the GFAS kick-off
training course jointly held by IFNet and IID (Institute ofInternational Development). It was our great pleasure to
start distributing the IFAS ver.1 model in CD to theparticipants with training. ICHARM considers that the local
ownership of flood forecasts is essential for the efficient
exercises of early flood warning and preparedness, andbelieves that the local ownership of models and data are
key components. ICHARM would like to strongly promote
this direction together with all the organizations sharing thecommon views.

Success of the 2nd ICHARM International Advisory
Board Meeting
The 2nd Advisory Board Meeting was held at theInternational Conference Room of NILIM in Tsukuba on the
1st of October, preceded by the ICHARM International
Symposium on Local Practices of Integrated Flood Risk
Management at the National Olympics Memorial Youth
Center in Yoyogi, Tokyo, on 30 September. We preparedvery hard for the Board Meeting as this was the mostimportant occasion for ICHARM to show the Board
members the report of our achievements in the pastbiennium and the committed plan for the next biennium.

Kuniyoshi Takeuchi
Director, ICHARM

Both the report and the plan were well received by all the
Board members and many constructive suggestions andencouragements were provided. There were strong voices
supporting the achievements in capacity development, high1

ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

Special Topics
ICHARM has recently held a series of international meetings: a symposium entitled “Local Practices ofIntegrated Flood Risk Management under Changing Natural and Social Conditions” on 30 September, abiennial ICHARM Advisory Meeting on 1 October, and an International Flood Initiative Advisory/
Management Committee meeting (IFI AC/MC meeting) on 2 October. The following are brief reports onthese meetings.

ICHARM International Symposium“Local Practices of Integrated Flood Risk Management
under Changing Natural and Social Conditions”(30 September)
An international symposium entitled “Local Practices ofIntegrated Flood Risk Management under Changing
Natural and Social Conditions” was held on 30
September for experts and researchers in water-related
disasters at the National Olympics Memorial Youth
Center in Yoyogi, Tokyo. The symposium started with
opening addresses by Dr. Sakamoto, chief executive of
the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) and Dr.
Andras Szollosi-Nagy, director of the UNESCO Divisionof Water.
ICHARM Director Kuniyoshi Takeuchi presented theoverall view of ICHARM activities, followed by moredetailed presentations by ICHARM researchers. Other
invitedinternational
speakers
also
deliveredpresentations on current situations and issues on water-related disasters under local natural and social
conditions. An audience of about 90 asked questions
and made comments on the presentations, contributing
to fruitful discussions with the speakers.

Dr. Sakamoto, chief executive of PWRI,
greets speakers and participantｓ

The participants listen to a presentation
A participant makes a comment after a presentation

For more details, visit the ICHARM website at: http://www.icharm.pwri.go.jp
The presentation files are available in PDF format on the website.

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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

ICHARM 2nd Advisory Board Meeting (1 October)
ICHARM, established under the auspices of
UNESCO, is required to have a biennial
advisory board meeting, in which ICHARM
reports activities during the previous two
years and presents an action plan for the
next two years. The board members ask
questions and give advice to help ICHARM
take necessary action effectively with a clear
vision.
The ICHARM advisory board consists of 13
prominent individuals. Some are membersof the UNESCO International Hydrology
Progremme, representing each regions ofThe board members and other participants smile for photos.
the world, while others come frominternational organizations, such as the UNESCO Headquarters, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), andUnited Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).
This year’s advisory board meeting was held at ICHARM. The board highly praised the global contributions that
ICHARM made for the past two years and also gave useful comments andadvice on various issues, such as the importance of cooperation with otherinternational organizations in research and training and the necessity of
training designed specifically for policy makers in addition to engineers.
The board also suggested the importance of research on hydrologic cycle froma viewpoint of climate change as a future research topic.
ICHARM is planning to publish the “ICHARM Action Plan 2008-2010” after
reviewing the plan based on comments and advice from the board members.

The board meeting in session

International Flood Initiative (IFI) Meeting (2 October)
The third meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC) and Management Committee (MC) of the International Flood
Initiative (IFI) was held at ICHARM. The main agenda of this joint meeting was to propose an IFI Action Plan.
Following the review of the IFI mapping activities exercise, the discussion on the IFI Action Plan went to emphasize
the role of the initiative in synthesizing what we already know on flood issues and translating available research andstudies to an understandable format for flood policy makers. In order to formulate sensible IFI outcomes, three typesof IFI products were proposed:- IFI briefs: About 2 pages (at most 4 pages); a brochure-type multilingual publication to communicate flood issues
and available solutions to governments and policy makers. They can be in a printed format or web-based.
- IFI reference series: A kind of guidebooks and manuals to fulfill gaps and elaborate in detail on flood issues andsolutions for practical use with respect to ongoing activities at WMO and various other available texts.
- IFI web tutorials: web-based education and training
with respect to the available e-courses at UNU and
UNESCO-IHE.
In order to promote the exposure of IFI activities, it wasagreed that the IFI Secretariat at ICHARM should
publish IFI newsletters and periodical reports. They canbe distributed using the UNESCO-IHP network as wellas WMO-CHy and other relevant networks. The next
meeting of the IFI AC/MC will be held at Geneva-WMO
Headquarters on the occasion of the 2nd Global
Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (16-18 June2009).

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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

ICHARM has developed a flood forecasting system (IFAS) using satellite-based rainfall information as a
streamflow version of GFAS and jointly organized a kick-off training course for GFAS validation with WMO
and IFNet on 3-8 October. The following are a brief introduction of IFAS and a report on this training
course.

Development of Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS)
Flood Forecasting System Using Satellite-based Rainfall Information as a tool of GFAS-streamflow version
For more effective and efficient flood forecasting in developing countries, ICHARM has developed a concise floodrunoff analysis system as a streamflow version of GFAS, which is provided by the International Flood Network(IFNet). This system is called the “Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS).” IFAS is equipped with a number ofinnovative functions. The system can use not only ground-based but also satellite-based rainfall information. It cancreate river channel networks based on GIS data. It can also estimate parameters for a default runoff-analysis
engine and display output results. Furthermore, to promote the effective use of IFAS, ICHARM has a plan to holdtraining seminars for potential users and conduct joint research with governmental agencies and other organizations.
ICHARM hopes that IFAS will be used worldwide as a tool which contributes to the development of flood forecasting
and warning systems in developing countries and other ungauged areas. The following are some of the mainfeatures of IFAS.

Conceptual image of IFAS

1) Utilization of satellite-based rainfall as input data
IFAS allows users to use satellite-based rainfall information instead of ground rainfall information. In recent years,
real-time or semi real-time satellite-based rainfall information, which cover almost the entire globe, have been
provided by NASA, NOAA, JAXA, and other agencies. These satellite-based rainfall information are easily
accessible through the Internet, even with a personal computer.

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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

2) Multi run-off analysis engines based on distributed hydrological models
IFAS has adopted run-off analysis engines based on physics-based distributed hydrological models. Most
parameters for a distributed hydrological model are related to physical basin conditions, such as land use and soil
types, and they are also globally available for public use. In addition, guideline parameters have also been preparedbased on past simulation results. Therefore, IFAS is now ready to be easily put into practical use in any poorly
gauged basin. Moreover, IFAS is equipped with multi run-off analysis engines, which enable users to try different
simulations of their own choice.
3) Model creation function
IFAS has unique functions to create a run-off model and estimate parameters using GIS data including elevation,
land use, soil type, etc. With these functions, run-off analysis can be applied to basins with insufficient hydrologicaland geophysical information.
4) Visualization of flood forecasting results
IFAS has interfaces to display output results not only in figures and tables but also on a digital map. In this way,users can easily identify flood risks at different locations, looking at visualized simulation results.
5) Free distribution
ICHARM distributes IFAS executable files to users for free.

Training course for the validation of the Global Flood Alert System (GFAS)ICHARM and IFNet jointly organized a kick-off training course for GFAS validation at Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture,
Japan, on 3-8 October in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This training course wasdesigned for trainees to become able to undertake hydrological forecasting and warning in relatively ungauged
catchments by (1)validating GFAS using ground observation data (rainfall data) and (2)practicing using IFAS.
ICHARM introduced IFAS in this training course and provided a lecture about how to operate IFAS and also how to
install a flood forecasting system using IFAS.
For this kick-off training course, the trainees were invited fromseven nations (Argentina, Bangladesh, Cuba, Ethiopia,
Guatemala, Nepal, and Zambia). They studied about products ofsatellite-based rainfall information, the GFAS-rainfall and GFASstreamflow versions (i.e. IFAS), and flood forecasting systems andhydrological observation currently in practice in Japan. Eachtrainee also had an opportunity to use IFAS and created a runoff
model for a basin of his/her own country. Afterwards, they
discussed GFAS validation results and IFAS application plans intheir own countries.
ICHARM will continue to carry out this type of training courses topromote further installation of flood forecasting systems
worldwide.
The course participants with ICHARM staff

The participants discuss with ICHARM staff.

Team Leader Fukami of ICHARM lectures on IFAS.

5ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

International Meetings and Seminars
Seminar and training workshop on use ofsatellite-based data in flood risk management-Jakarta & Bundung, Indonesia (21-24 July)

Planning meeting for topic 1.3 of the 5th World
Water Forum (WWF5)-Stockholm (20 August)

The seminar and training workshop in the title were
held in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia, on 21-24
July. They were organized by the Indonesian Ministryof Public Works (DPU) and other related agencies asa capacity-building activity under the GEOSS-AWCI(Asian Water Cycle Initiative). Team Leader Kazuhiko
Fukamiof
ICHARM
Hydrologic
ResearchEngineering Team attended these meetings. Other
resource persons were from the University of Tokyoand the United Nations University. The seminar washeld on Day 1 at DPU in Jakarta. The team leader
made a presentation on the historical development offlood management in Japan and outlined ICHARM
activities for government administrators and public
engineers. In the three-day workshop at the Instituteof Water Resources in Bundung, he introduced how
to operate IFAS (see p.4) to Indonesian participants.
IFAS was jointly developed by ICHARM and theprivate sector to technically assist developing
countries in prompt, efficient implementation of aflood forecasting and warning system. IFAS iscapable of using satellite-based rainfall informationand conducting GIS analysis, which enables instantflood runoff analysis even for poorly-gaged river
basins. The system is expected to contribute to the
reduction of flood disasters in developing countries.
The IFAS executable file is available free of charge.

A planning meeting for disaster management (called“topic 1.3”) of the fifth World Water Forum (WWF5)
was jointly organized by ICHARM and the Japan
Water Forum (JWF) on 20 August at the occasion of
the Stockholm International Water Week. The twoorganizations are the coordinators of this important
topic for WWF5. Approximately 30 participants fromdifferent organizations, including Deputy Director
Akira Terakawa and Chief Researcher Katsuhito
Miyake of ICHARM, joined lengthy discussions on thefour sessions to be organized under topic 1.3. Leadsession conveners were also agreed. The agreed
sessions are: (1) Trialogue session, (2) Technologies
for water-related disaster management, (3) Risk
management under changing climate, and (4) Water
management during and after disasters/conflicts. For
more information, visit the WWF5 website at:
http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/.

13th IWRA Congress-Montpellier, France (1-5 September)International Seminar on Long-Term Flood
Forecast Technology for Disaster Management-Dhaka, Bangladesh (3-4 September)

The special session entitled “Scientific andTechnological Innovation in Water Management inJapan and Promotion of International Collaboration”
was held on 2 September during the IWRA Congressin Montpellier. The session was organized by Japan
Commission for IWRA and coordinated by Deputy
Director Akira Terakawa of ICHARM.

The International Seminar, organized by the
Bangladesh Department of Water Resources withsupport from the U.S. Agency for International
Development and other related organizations, washeld on 3-4 September in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The
seminar discussed a wide range of topics fromadvanced flood forecasting technologies using satellite-based rainfall data to community-based dissemination
trials. Team Leader Kazuhiko Fukami of ICHARM
Hydrologic Research Engineering Team participated in
the seminar. He chaired an international country-reportsession, where speakers from several other Asian
countries introduced their flood forecasting/warning
systems. He also made a presentation on Japan’scurrent systems for river information and flood
forecasting/warning, including the introduction of IFAS
(see p.4), which ICHARM has recently developed
jointly with the private sector.

The session started with the key note speech entitled“Water Issues in Monsoon Asia including Japan” by
Prof. Katsumi Mushiake of Fukushima University,
followed by six presentations on several topics, which
included: 1) recent river administration issues inJapan, focusing on how to implement adaptation
measures to cope with possible climate change
impacts; 2) activities for conserving and restoring
nature-rich river environment; 3) current status andtrend of the application of information technology to thedissemination of river-related information to the public,
and; 4) promotion of international collaboration in rivermanagement.
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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

ICHARM researcher lectures at UNESCO-IHE-The Netherlands (8-12 September and 15-19 September)Research Specialist Rabindra Osti of ICHARM International Technical Exchange Team visited the UNESCO Institutefor Water Education (UNESCO-IHE) in the Netherlands on 8-19 September to give lectures on flood-related issues.
ICHARM and UNESCO-IHE have been exchanging expertise in the form of guest lecturers for their training courses
since 2006. The two parties formally signed a cooperation agreement in June 2008 to strengthen the bilateralcollaboration in research and training of professionals.
This time, UNESCO-IHE invited the ICHARM research specialist to speak in two different interdepartmental courses,
respectively entitled "Framework for Modeling in Water andClimate (8-12 September)" and "Climate Change in Integrated
Water Management (15-19 September)." He lectured on flood
management policy in general for the first course and flood
hazard mapping in Japan for the second course.
Although the titles were different, both courses actually dealt
with climate change impacts and adaptation measures in thewater sector. The first one was lecture-oriented while thesecond was practice-oriented. For the practice, theparticipants were divided into small groups to work on
problems concerning water input and demand under different
climate scenarios. Simulations were carried out for a virtualenvironment called the “Republic of Climate Land.” Theparticipants were advised to focus on climate change impacts
and adaptation measures in the water sector in the upstreamdownstream situation of the imaginary country. There wereabout 20 participants, and most of them were trainees
currently involved in a Master’s course at UNESCO-IHE.

Course participants including instructors stand in frontof the Dordrecht Municipality Building, Dordrecht, theNetherlands

5th Meeting of the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Measuring Vulnerability-Vietnam (14-16 September)

A conference banner posted across the entrance welcomed participants.

ICHARM was invited to participate in the Fifth Meeting of the Expert Working Group on Measuring Vulnerability
organized by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS, Bonn). The
meeting was held at Can Tho University in Vietnam on
14-16 September. Twenty experts from the field ofvulnerability and climate change discussed issues on
capturing and assessing vulnerability and coping andadaptation in coastal and delta regions. Research
specialist Ali Chavoshian attended the meeting andmade a presentation on “Pressure and Release Case
Studies in Asian Monsoon Regions.” The meeting was
led by Dr. Birkmann of UNU-EHS. It was partiallyfinanced by the WISDOM project under UNU-EHS. The
outcome of the discussions will be presented in thenext EWG meeting on vulnerability, scheduled to beheld in 2009 in Bonn.
Vulnerable houses in the Mekong River Delta

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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

AIDCO Consultation Meeting-Bangkok, Thailand (17-19 September)
The AIDCO Consultation Meeting organized by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17-19 September. Research Specialist Dinar Istiyanto of ICHARM International Technical
Exchange Team attended the meeting, made a presentation to communicate the achievements of ICHARM’sComprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course, and actively participated in working group discussions. This
Consultation Meeting is related to the Building Resilience to Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean programme, an ISDRcoordinated multi-partner initiative funded by the Europe Aid Cooperation Office (AIDCO) of the European Union. ICHARM
is one of the implementing partners and carried out the Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course inJune 2008.
The overall objective of this two and half-day consultation is to bring players from the project countries together andstimulate dialogues amongst them as well as with the European Commission and UN/ISDR. The meeting provided an
opportunity to revisit the objectives of the project, discuss issues and concerns, and share lessons, achievements,
accomplishments, and plans.
During the meeting, ICHARM’s tsunami training course was highlighted by national program officers of India, Indonesia, theMaldives and Sri Lanka in their presentations. More specifically, a Maldivian officer mentioned the training’s contribution to
the enhanced focus of disaster risk reduction by their National Disaster Management Center, while an Indian officer statedthat the training’s extensive curriculum assisted the country’s participant in developing an action plan back home. For thecourse details, visit the website of the “UN/ISDR Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course”.

The participants discuss issues and concerns.

The participants of the AIDCO Meeting

Integrated Workshop of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee-Beijing, China (22-25 September)
The Integrated Workshop of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC)was held on 22-25 September in Beijing. Representatives from 14 TC
member countries participated. The workshop was convened to develop
andimplement
coordinatedactivities among the members
and related sectors, such as
meteorology, hydrology, anddisasterprevention
andpreparedness,toreduceThe workshop in session
typhoon-related disasters in the
TC regions. Chief Researcher
Katsuhito Miyake of ICHARM attended the workshop, and served as chair of theWorking Group on Hydrology (WGH). Now that much severer typhoon-related
disasters are anticipated as a result of climate change, the TC is focusing on
activities that can contribute more to climate change-related issues for the
betterment of people in the TC regions. Miyake has been coordinating TC/WGHThe Working Group on Hydrology
related international cooperation activities as well as sector-wise cross cutting
activities.

International Symposium on Science and Practice of Basin-scale Water Policy for Population
Upsurging Asia
-Tokyo, Japan (25-26 September)
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) organized an international symposium in the title on 25-26 September at
the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo with the support of the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and the University of Yamanashi Global COE program. There were approximately 120 participants including
invited speakers from Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Thailand. This symposium aimed to deliver the findings ofa JST’s five-year science program led by Prof. Kengo Sunada of Yamanashi University. Team Leader Junichi Yoshitani of
ICHARM Disaster Prevention Research Team, a sub-leader of the project, made a joint presentation on flood control
policies for the Changjiang River Basin with Prof. Wang Yicheng, who is a former PWRI specialist and currently the directorof the Remote Sensing Center of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research.

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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

Visitors to ICHARMICHARM and UNESCO-IHE promote research and educational collaboration
Dr. Nigel Wright, professor of UNESCO-IHE, visited ICHARM on 5 September to promote mutual
research and educational collaboration based on the signed Memorandum of Understanding on 9
June. A lecture by Prof. Wright on inundation modeling and flood risk management was followed bydiscussion on the promotion of mutual collaboration. The following is a list of some discussed
topics:- Collaboration in the International Flood Initiative (IFI)- Joint research on flood disaster preparedness and continuing collaboration on PhD-level researchon the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI).
- Possibility of joint research on Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) and information sharing- Sharing research results and information on flood inundation modeling
Dr. Wright gives a lecture- Collaboration in online training courses- Continuation of the exchange lecturers program

ICHARM and RCUWM-Tehran discuss mutual collaboration
Dr. Farhad Yazadndoost, director of the Regional Centre on Urban
Water Management (RCUWM) under the auspices of UNESCO, visited
ICHARM on 12 September. It was the first directors’ meeting since theMemorandum of Understanding was signed between the two category
II centres in Paris on the occasion of the 18th UNESCO-IHP InterGovernmental Council on 9-13 June.
Director Takeuchi and Dr. Yazadndoost

The meeting resulted in an agreement between ICHARM and RCUWMTehran to work closely on a few research and educational topics for starters, such as urban flood management andclimate change issues. The possibility of holding joint workshops and research collaboration was also discussed.

ICHARM agrees on collaboration for WWDR-III Side Publication
On 1 October, Director of UN/ISDR Salvano Briceno and Chief Executive of PWRI
Tadahiko Sakamoto signed an agreement to collaborate for developing the Side
Publication of the Third World Water Development Report (WWDR-III) on Water Risks
and Disasters. UN/ISDR and ICHARM have been closely working together to implement
the Hyogo Framework for Action.
Research Specialist Adikari Yoganath is the lead author to WWDR-III from ICHARM. ThisSide Publication will be a collaborative work with main actors in water-related disaster risk
reduction at the global level, including UNESCO, WMO, UNU, ICHARM and UN/ISDR,
with assistance from WWAP. It will supplement WWDR-III with policy-related issues of Mr. Salvano and Dr. Sakamoto
sign the agreement.
water-related disasters and will be completed by the end of August 2009.

Dutch officials visit ICHARM to discuss flood risk management policy
Dutch officials from the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management(VenW) and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Japan visited ICHARM on 6
October to discuss and share information on flood risk management policy. The
Dutch delegates consisted of Senior Policy Advisor Hans Balfoort, Senior Policy
Advisor Jos van Alphen, and Policy Advisor Michelle Hendriks. They wereaccompanied by Mr. Michiel de Lijster and Mr. Rob Stroekst from the embassy.
After a brief introduction of ICHARM by Director Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, Mr. Alphan
presented the outline of the Netherlands and the European Directive on the
The Dutch officials discuss flood risk Assessment and Management of Flood Risk.
management policy with ICHARM staff. Team Leader Junichi Yoshitani of ICHARM
Disaster Prevention Research Team alsodelivered a presentation on Japanese flood management experiences, andafterwards, moderated the discussion on a new flood risk management plan in the
Netherlands, in which the Dutch delegates presented their issues and problems to
ICHARM researchers, hoping to find hints for solutions to them.
ICHARM has a close tie with Dutch organizations on water-related disaster risk
management and climate change issues.

9

The visitors and ICHARM staff smile
for a photo after the discussion.

ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

Research and Training
Debris-flow dewatering brakes: a promising tool for disaster management in developing countries
ICHARM/PWRI has taken an initiative to transfer “debris-flow dewatering brakes” to the Philippines with financial
support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Masayuki Watanabe, coordinator for disaster mitigation research of
ICHARM, is leading this pilot project at a site along Kennon Road, which connects Manila with Baguio City in Benguet
Province. This Japanese technology and its know-how are cost-effective and can be constructed with locally available
materials. Therefore, it can be considered as one of the best debris-flow countermeasures for remote communities.
ICHARM promotes the transfer of this technology for the benefit of communities in rugged disaster-prone terrains androad management authorities throughout the world.
"Debris-flow dewatering brakes" are one of the sediment control structures and designed to help remove water fromdebris flows, reduce flow energy, and thus contribute to damage mitigation in downstream areas. Prof. Noriaki
Hashimoto of the Nagoya Institute of Technology contrived the concept in 1956. The idea was experimentally verified
by PWRI, which was under the management of the then Ministry of Construction at that time. The structure wasnamed "teimen mizunuki,” or “screen dam," literally meaning “dewatering through a screen”. Debris-flow brakes were
tested in three pilot projects in Japan to collect data and technical know-how regarding their construction andmaintenance. Then, a full-scale project was implemented at Mt. Tokachidake in Hokkaido, Japan.
Debris-flow brakes are considered to efficiently prevent sediment-related disasters in mountain terrains andresidential areas anywhere in the world, especially in developing countries, because they can be cost efficient, simply
designed, easily repaired and maintained if size and location are well planned before construction. The ongoing pilot
project in the Philippines is a collaboration among ICHARM, ADB and the Phillipines’ Flood Control and Sabo
Engineering Center of the Department of Public Works and Highways to further demonstrate the practical efficiency ofdebris-flow brakes in developing countries.

Debris-flow dewatering dam at work（Matsumoto sabo office, MLIT）

Longitudinal
slope

River
bed

?

ScreenBeam (I)

Substructure

Screen shape
type (□)
Beamshape (I)Beam spacing
Slit aperture

Structure of a debris-flow dewatering brake

For more information: http://www.adb.org/Water/PDA/PHI/pda-phi-200802.asp
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ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

Master's Program "Water-related Risk Management Course of Disaster Management Policy
Program" completed its successful first year
ICHARM has been conducting a one-year Master’s program entitledthe “Water-related Risk Management Course of Disaster Management
Policy Program” since September 2007 in collaboration with the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS).
Utilizing the synergy of a large number of experts in water and waterrelated disaster management, we at ICHARM aim to respond to an
urgent need for experts and professionals, particularly to that ofdeveloping countries, through this program, which is the first of its kindin the world. The unique feature of this program is to train
professionals who can blend state-of-the-art technology with societal The first class of graduates from the Master’s program
needs and expectations so that in the future they can demonstrate to gathers for photos at the front gate of the GRIPS (17 Sep.)
policy makers the importance of disaster management in national
planning.
In the first year, out of eleven who initially started this program from 30 September 2007, ten
students (three each from China and Japan, two from Bangladesh, one each from Nepal andIndia) finally fulfilled the graduating requirements and were granted a Master’s degree indisaster management. After the graduation ceremony at GRIPS on 17 September, the first
Mr. Mitra is awarded thegraduates proudly went back to their home countries with their enhanced expertise.

Outstanding Award by Director

for his distinguishedThe students were diligently engaged in lectures and exercises despite some difficulty living in Takeuchi
achievement.
an unfamiliar environment for a long period of time. In particular, when working on their Master’stheses, they spent many hours in a study room at ICHARM completing the theses while getting helpful advice fromICHARM researchers. The programprovided a great opportunity forstudents
toincrease
theirprofessional knowledge by working
on their theses. Additionally, it
greatly helped ICHARM itself tobuild closer relationships withstudents and create and spread a
global network through them. The
network of this kind will surely
Greeting Address by Mr. Robin fromcontribute to future ICHARM
Group Photo at the Opening Ceremony
Bangladesh as a representative
activities to a great extent.

Following the first graduation, the program has already started its second year on the occasion of this year's International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, which fell on 8 October. The opening ceremony was held at ICHARM on 3 October.
Nine students came all the way from Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand to participate in the
program.
This program is also a contribution to the United Nations (UN) Decade for Education and Sustainable Development(DESD) 2005-2014. For more detail, please visit: http://www.icharm.pwri.go.jp/html/training/index.html

It was a great opportunity for me to be a participantof the one-year Master’s Program on Flood-related
Disaster Mitigation. I am also feeling proud of being
one of the first graduates of this course. The course
curriculum was successfully completed, as GRIPS,PWRI, ICHARM and JICA managed it well. I
enjoyed the environment of the institute campus andmy time in Japan, especially in Tsukuba. My
acquired knowledge helped me to formulate an action plan for a project
which I hope to implement after going back my country. Bangladesh is adisaster prone country like Japan. So, as a participant from Bangladesh, I
hope my acquired knowledge from Japan will be very helpful for mycountry.
Muhammad MASOOD (Bangladesh)

After completing the Master’s Program...
11

This one-year course has given me many ideas about the solutions offlood-related disaster mitigation based on Japan’s experiences.
Deeply I have realized the weakness in China in comparison with oursituations. As a member involved in the field of flood-related disastermitigation, I feel more responsibilities we have to shoulder. My
action plan is about flood hazard mapping in Mengwa Detention
Basin. In China there are 157,800 people living inside 97 detention
areas with a total area of 180.4km2. Hopefully this project will lay asolid foundation for the management of detention areas in China.
ICHARM provides a very good platform to share their successful
experiences in flood-related disaster mitigation
with developed countries, which is a forevermore
beneficial move to enhance human capability to
mitigate flood-related disasters. Let’s treasure
the chance to update our knowledge about floodrelated disaster mitigation and shoulder the greattask with our passion.
YE, Li-Li (China)

ICHARM Newsletter Volume 3 No.3

ICHARM contributes to a JICA training course “Comprehensive Management of River and Dam”
The “Comprehensive Management of River and Dam” training course organized by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) started in 1973 as a response to a request in which developing countries asked
developed countries to transfer advanced technologies in flood control and water resources development. The course
used to be called the “River Engineering” training course, and it has provided a training opportunity for a total of about
420 people from 51 countries in various regions including Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. This fiscal
year, JICA revised the entire training course and restarted it as a new training course designed to be more problemsolving oriented.
ICHARM contributes to this training course by planning and managing the course as
well as conducting lectures, exercises and field
trips. This year, ICHARM provided lectures andexercises such as “Principle of disasters”,“Hydrologicalobservation”,“Hydrologicalstatistics”, “Run-off analysis”, “IFAS”, “Hazard
mapping”, and other related issues for 10
participantsfrom
China,
Indonesia,
Iran,
Mauritania, Myanmar, Syria, and Vietnam.
The participants take part in a From now on, the course participants will work on
Town Watching exercise in interim reports on their independent study
Kurihashi.
subjects. Then, after going back to their home Each group presents the findings
countries, they will complete and submit final from a field trip in front of theclass.
reports with support from their supervisors in the organizations they work for.

Flood Hazard Mapping Training Course starts on 28 OctoberThis year’s Flood Hazard Mapping Training Course is conducted
at ICHARM from 28 October to 28 November. This is one of the
training courses organized by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and carried out by
ICHARM for practitioners in Asian
countries who work in the field ofwater-related disaster mitigation.
The purpose of this training course
is to provide an opportunity forthem to learn how to make anduse hazard maps through lecturesby specialists in water issues andfield trips to several areas across
A group photo at the opening ceremony
Team Leader Mr. Tanaka
Japan. Five years have passed
gives a Lecturesince this course first started in
2004. This year, 10 participants came from seven countries, including Cambodia,
China, Lao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. More information on this training course will bereported in the next newsletter.

About usThe mission of ICHARM is to function as the Centre of Excellence to provide and assist implementation of best practicable strategies tolocalities, nations, regions, and the globe to manage the risk of water related disasters.
ICHARM Newsletter is quarterly and non-commercial publication to develop information networking on water-related disaster. It is distributed via e-mail. They can also be downloaded from our website.
Subscribe/unsubscribe to our mailing list, please contact us.
1-6 Minamihara, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8516, Japan
Tel: +81 29 879 6809 Fax: +81 29 879 6709
Email: icharm@pwri.go.jp
URL: http://www.icharm.pwri.go.jp
Copyright (c) 2008 Public Works Research Institute12