CONCEPT PAPER ON

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE
Earlier known as Joint UNESCO-WMO Flood Initiative (JUWFI)

Prepared by:
WMO-UNESCO Joint-Task Teamin collaboration with:
UNU and IAHS

Dedicated to the
UN International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” (2005 - 2015)

February 2007

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

CONCEPT PAPER ON

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVECONTENTS1.

INTRODUCTION

22.

CONCEPT

4

2.1
2.2
2.3

4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
6
6

2.4

3.

IMPLEMENTATION

7

3.1
3.2
3.3

7
9
10
10

3.4

4.

Integrated Flood Management
The Mission of the IFI
The Objectives of the IFI
2.3.1 Overall Objective
2.3.2 Specific Objectives
Guiding Principles
2.4.1 Living with floods
2.4.2 Interdisciplinarity and trans-sectorality
2.4.3 Equity Empowered participation
2.4.4 Inter-disciplinary and Trans-sectorality
2.4.5 International and Regional Cooperation

Strategic Activities
Performance indicators
Administration
3.3.1 The International Flood Initiative Advisory Committee(IFI-AC)3.3.2 The IFI Secretariat
Funding

REFERENCES

10
11

11

Annexes

12-21

Members of the Task Team:Mr Bruce Stewart
Mr Karl Hofius
Mr Philip Munah

Mr Junichi Yoshitani
Ms Katharina Thywissen
Mr S. Simonovich

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INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
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1.

INTRODUCTION

1
Flooding, due to flash and riverine floods, coastal floods, snowmelt floods, ice jams andmud flows, is the most taxing of water-related natural hazards to humans, material assets, as wellas to cultural and ecological resources. Annually, flooding affects about 520 million people andtheir livelihoods, claiming about 25,000 lives worldwide. The annual cost to the world economy, offlooding and other water-related disasters, is between $50 and $60 billion (1). At the same time,
economic development activities in and around water bodies have contributed extensively toprogress in both developed and developing countries. Agriculture-centered developing economies
largely depend on the fertile flood plains for food security and their poverty alleviation efforts.
Deltas of numerous river systems, which are also prone to riverine as well as coastal flooding,provide excellent opportunities for low-tech agriculture practices and serve as the bread bowls ofthese countries and provide for the livelihoods of millions. The wetlands in floodplains contribute tobio-diversity as well as providing employment opportunities. It is estimated that one billion peopleone sixth of the global population, the majority of them among the world's poorest inhabitants -live
today on the flood plains.
2.
Some 96 percent of deaths related to all natural disasters in the past decade, including
floods, occurred in developing countries (2). In Asia, the continent with the greatest potential flood
hazard, between 1987 and 1997, floods claimed an average of 22,800 (1) lives per annum andcaused an estimated $136 billion in economic damage. The adverse impacts of flooding are not
restricted to the least developed nations. The 2002 floods in Europe claimed 100 lives and caused$20 billion in damage (1). However, it is the least developed nations that suffer both the adverse
economic impact on development and high human toll from flooding.
3.
With the frequency and variability of extreme floods events changing because ofurbanization, coupled with the population growth in flood-prone areas, deforestation, potential
climate change and rise in sea levels (3), the number of people vulnerable to devastating floods
worldwide is expected to rise. Disaster risk reduction actions, in a non-stationary world, will
therefore increasingly be required to build up the necessary capacity to cope with floods.
4.
Despite the long and largely successful history of international and national efforts todevelop structural and non-structural systems and practices to reduce risk associated with flood
hazards, consideration of other factors, such as poverty, that force people to live in areas at risk offlooding have not necessarily been taken into account. These systems and practices have been
mainly applied through largely isolated sectoral approaches. Exacerbating this situation is the lackof clear understanding of interdependence of development impacts on magnitude of flood hazard,
shortage of resources and political will-factors that demand an enhanced coordination. As such,there is, therefore, a worldwide lack of integrated flood management approaches as well as
inadequate application of those that are available.
5.
It is within this context that a new perspective on flood management incorporating flood risk
assessment needs to be developed- one that recognizes flood management as an integral part ofwater resource management taking into account economic and social welfare in an equitablemanner without compromising the ecological sustainability of vital systems. Appropriate flood
management approaches through investment and the redirection of resources offers significant
economic benefits, as well as increased potential for the reduction in loss of life.

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6.
Being intimately aware of the significant achievements that have been made in flood
management in recent years and also of existing opportunities to elaborate practical solutions to
the above-mentioned context, UNESCO and WMO in close collaboration with the United Nations
University (UNU), the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and theInternational Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) agreed to the launching of this International
Flood Initiative. Other UN agencies dealing with various facets of flood management will also be
invited to join the Initiative. The Initiative will develop a comprehensive suit of activities that willdefine the programme to be implemented under the Initiative.
7.
The concept of the International Flood Initiative (IFI) embodied in this document builds on the
successful record of cooperation between UNESCO and WMO and other partner organizations toconceptualize, design and implement flood mitigation and protection actions and activities within
their individual areas of expertise. It will provide a stepping-stone for targeted joint activities aimed
at building on the successes of the past, while addressing existing gaps in a holistic approach tothe issue of floods.
8.
The Initiative is based on the concept of integrated flood management and aims to ensurethat an end-to-end process of flood management is put in place in a balanced manner, duly
considering prevention and mitigation measures and the positive and negative impacts of floods.
By applying the Integrated Flood Management approach that considers comprehensive risk
management principles and approaches that aim at multi-hazard responses, IFI will foster themobilization of resources and networks of the UN system, non-governmental organizations(NGOs), donor agencies, the insurance industry in order to assist communities and governments indeveloping culturally sensitive flood management strategies comprising of optimal structural andnon-structural measures thereby targeting sustainable development.
9.
This initiative will be a major UNESCO and WMO led contribution to meeting the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), address the issues identified in Hyogo Framework of Action (20052025), and contribute to the UN International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” (2005 - 2015) (4)and UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development. The Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation of WSSD (5) also highlights the need to mitigate the effects of droughts and floods.
The international community has committed itself to an innovative approach to addressing
vulnerability and risk management that includes prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response
and recovery. It is important to provide the means to carry forward and implement thiscommitment. The Initiative is a step in that direction and is foreseen to be implemented initially fora period of ten years coinciding with the above-mentioned decades and the timeframe forachieving MDGs.
10.
The second section of this paper outlines the concepts behind the IFI, and begins bydefining the integrated flood management as the integral and thematic approach of the Initiative. It
also outlines the mission and objectives. In accordance with the intentions of the partneredorganizations, the principles that will guide the implementation of the Initiative are also delineated.
11.
The third section builds on this concept and focuses on the modes and mechanisms of
implementation. The IFI strategic activities are put in place, followed by the IFI Initial Plan of Action,
which sets in motion the intended first phase of the Initiative. A list of performance indicators thatwill monitor the initiative's progress is identified. The section concludes with a description of theinstitutional arrangements and the expected funding considerations.

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12.
It should be noted that the present IFI concept paper is an evolving process, and will
therefore be reviewed on a regular basis in order to fully respond to constraints and opportunities
that arise with time.

2.

THE CONCEPT

2.1

Integrated flood management

13.
Integrated flood management (IFM) (6) is a process that promotes a holistic, (rather thanfragmented) risk-based approach to flood management. IFM aims at reducing the human andsocio-economic losses from flooding and at the same time increasing the social, economic, andecological benefits from floods and use of flood plains. It integrates land and water resources
development, includes the institutional components of flood management, and recognizes thecritical importance of stakeholder participation and cultural diversity.
2.2

The Mission of IFI

14.
The IFI aims at implementing recommendations of the WSSD taking into consideration thephysical parameters of flooding, its socio-economic conditions and the risk a society is prepared totake in order to achieve its development objectives.
Mission Statement
The International Flood Initiative promotes an integrated approach to flood
management, at the same time, reducing social, environmental and economic risks
that result in and from floods and increasing the benefits from floods and the use offlood plains.

2.3

Objectives of the IFI

15.
The mission will be realized by focusing on an overall objective, a set of specific objectives
and guiding principles.
2.3.1

Overall Objective

16.
The overall objective of IFI is to build capacities in countries in order to gain and advocate
better understanding and handling of hazards, vulnerabilities and benefits involved with floods bypromoting all measures leading to that end by applying the following guiding principles:
•
•
•
•
•

Living with Floods;
Equity;Empowered participation;
Inter-disciplinarity and trans-sectorality; andInternational and regional cooperation.

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2.3.2

Specific Objectives

17.

The specific objectives of the IFI are to enable the countries to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Improve data collection and analysis for flood management;
Enlarge the knowledge-base in respect to risk and benefits of floods;
Enhance the benefits of floods;
Develop and improve institutional frameworks for flood management;
Develop area-specific adaptation strategies;
Develop approaches to assess and reduce vulnerability;
Improve floodplain management in rural and urban areas;
Optimize a mix of structural and non-structural approaches;
Improve forecasting and early warning of floods for both rural and urban areas;
Enhance effectiveness of forecast and people-centred early-warning systems;
Improve community response to flood hazards;
Enhance capacity to cope with floods under climate change;
Develop approaches to public participation that are appropriate for different problem
contexts and cultural settings;
Enhance flood awareness and preparedness with a focus on rural settings;
Include flood management aspects in school and university education;
Improve in-service training on all aspects of flood management; andDevelop financial mechanisms for transferring the risks and sharing the losses fromfloods.

2.4

Guiding Principles

18.

The implementation will be guided by five principles:

2.4.1

Living with floods

19.
‘Living with floods’ recognizes that while it is not possible to completely eliminate floods,
their negative impacts can be reduced through an understanding of flood risks and by working
towards modifying this risk-generation process in a holistic manner. Flood risks are processes that
result from a combination of flood hazards and societal vulnerabilities, hazard modification andamplification, vulnerability enhancement due to various social processes and factors. Such an
approach should also recognize the community resource base and benefit from traditional
knowledge and include training and incentives to reveal and utilize the benefits from floods.
20.
Through proactive and multi-hazard approach the IFI will assist communities andgovernments in developing culturally sensitive and sustainable flood management strategies andharmonizing structural and non-structural measures for “living with floods”. Cooperation with WMO
programme on Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation will be established.
2.4.2

Equity21.
The distribution of costs and benefits of flood management must receive special attention.
This has both ethical and legal dimensions. Equity issues arise between national borders and5

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
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jurisdictions (transboundary flood management), upstream and downstream riparian rights, ruraland urban interests and generally those bearing the costs and receiving the benefits. Therefore,
integrated flood management must promote policy processes and outcomes that are viewed as fairand legitimate among all the effected parties or stakeholders. The stakeholders also include future
generations and thus flood management strategies must also promote intergenerational equity.
2.4.3

Empowered participation

22.
The importance of empowering individuals and communities, who are directly affected byfloods to deal with them through a participatory decision making process is now widely recognized
as important to successfully implementation of integrated flood management throughout the world.
23.
Thus the participation of all the stakeholders through appropriate institutions and innovative
governance frameworks in a coordinated manner will be a key mechanism throughout all levels offlood related activities, noting that flood management is a part and parcel of social development.
Cooperation with the UNESCO programme on Management of Social Transformation (MOST) willbe established.
2.4.4

Inter-disciplinarity and Trans-sectorality

24.
IFI will develop and enhance knowledge systems cutting through all flood related activities.
These will include monitoring, network design, improvements in the statistical analysis of floods,
real-time forecasting and flood modeling. In addition, the IFI will focus on assessing community
vulnerabilities and risks, as well as their respective generating factors (including poverty, migration
to urban centers and mega-cities, population growth, and lack of experience and norms). As such,managing floods requires skills that span technical, social, economical, political, and ecologicaldisciplines as well as consideration for natural resource utilization that are interlinked within river
basin unit. Interdisciplinarity will be the core philosophy of all the actions and activities undertakenby the IFI and carried out in a holistic manner in the context of the wholeness of river basins bymanaging the water cycle at catchment scale through promoting integrated land and water
management to mitigate not only floods but droughts as well. All scientific knowledge including
economic and social sciences, as well as new technologies, particularly remote sensing andInformational and Communication Technologies (ICT), will be harnessed in every step of theInitiative.
25.
One of the major emphases of the IFI will be the integration of all stakeholders in flood
management. Various development activities within a basin that affect and are affected by floods
are carried out under different sectors and administrative jurisdictions. Interdisciplinary andintersectoral coordination and understanding is essential for designing and implementing
institutional reforms and participatory stakeholder processes that promote fair and effective flood
management policies. The IFI shall establish links between the scientific community, decisionmakers inside and between governmental levels, the relevant UN bodies, national and internationalorganizations, NGOs, and market actors. This multi-sectoral approach will increase theeffectiveness of processes and acceptance of flood management decisions, therefore striving
towards sustainability.
2.4.5

International and Regional Cooperation

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26.
International cooperation, particularly in trans-boundary watersheds where nearly 50% of
lives are at risk, is important for effective flood management. Data, information and knowledge
exchange and management will be facilitated through cooperative networks, such as the IHPNational Committees, UNESCO Water Centers, National Hydrological and Meteorological Services(NHMSs), WMO Regional Training Centres, UN/ISDR and IAHS National Committees and otherinstitutions, such as, UNU, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, International Centre for
Water Hazards and Risk Management (ICHARM), International Institute for Applied Systems
Analysis (IIASA), as well as initiatives such as Flow Regimes from International Experimental and
Network Data (FRIEND), Hydrology for Environment, Life and Policy (HELP), Predictions in
Ungauged Basins (PUB), Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) and International
Flood Network (IFNet) will run cooperative programmes in technical and scientific capacity
building. The development, promotion and transfer of appropriate technologies in flood
management will also fall under this category of international cooperation.
27.
The nature of the IFI requires close cooperation and coordination to be established with
relevant UN entities, such as UN-Water, World Water Associated Programme (WWAP), World
Climate Programme, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) process, the follow up to
the World Conference on Disaster Reduction [Kobe, Japan, 2005] as established through Hyogo
Framework of Action, the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development and UN
International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” (2005 - 2015) as well as with otherintergovernmental processes such as New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
Similarly, cooperation will be sought with the water related NGO community, such as World Water
Council (WWC), Global Water Partnership (GWP), the World Water Forum series, as well as
technical associations, such as IAHS, International Association for Hydraulic Engineering andResearch (IAHR), International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), International Water
Resources Association (IWRA) and others. Particular attention will be given to the specificproblems of the developing countries, primarily those in the Least Developed Countries (LDC)
category, to enable them to effectively and fairly cope with flood hazards as a part of their national
strategy for poverty alleviation. Enhanced cooperation with River Basin Commissions and various
regional entities will be sought.

3.

IMPLEMENTATION28.
As detailed in the previous section, the IFI will be implemented in an inter-disciplinary,participatory and cooperative manner, and will be characterized by projects of trans-sectoral
scope. Such implementation will be carried out bearing in mind that flood management is an
integral part of water resource management and should aim to increase the resultant economic
and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital systems.
This section builds on these concepts and outlines the strategic activities and a plan that will
dictate the preliminary actions of the IFI. Following this, performance indicators that will supportand monitor implementation are given. Finally, outlining the implementation of IFI would beincomplete without establishing herein the administrative and funding mechanisms.
3.1

Strategic Activities

29.
The overall and specific objectives of the IFI in the preceding section have set forth thebroad, long-term changes that will result from the implementation of the initiative. The

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achievement of these objectives will ultimately depend on the successful implementation of fiveinterlinked strategic activities aimed at building capacities in countries through: research,
information networking, education and training, empowering communities with good governance,
and technical assistance. Like the objectives, these strategic activities are guided by the aforementioned principles, and assessment of their progress will require monitoring and coordination.
•

Research related to all aspects of flood management in an interdisciplinary manner will be
carried out with a view to promote and support the sustainable development andmanagement of river basins as well as serving the needs of local communities. This will
require close cooperation at different scales between different sectors and researchcommunities, such as hydrology, meteorology, engineering, geography, ecology, economy,sociology, anthropology, psychology, law, public administration and policy as well as risk
and systems analysis. Close coordination and synergy with other on-going international
programmes, such as those of IFNet, PUB, Global Earth Observation System of Systems(GEOSS), Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX), International GeosphereBiosphere Programme (IGBP) and others is foreseen.

•

Information networking will be developed between various stakeholders, incorporating
existing networks and/or disciplinary areas not networked yet in order to provide open
access to data, information, knowledge and best practices. These will, inter alia, coverclearing house services for flood management related technologies, whether at household
level or regional, and provide access to flood data as well as to multi-lingual international
bibliographic databases containing all flood related information. Metadata networks to interlink all the stakeholders connecting the technical, relief and insurance communities, will
also be developed.

•

Education and training related to all aspects of flood management will support theobjectives by focusing on formal and non-formal education at all academic levels- fromprimary school on up to graduate courses. On-the-job training will also be a focus.
Training activities such as these are intended for a wide audience and not only for thetechnical community. For example, it is foreseen that the scope of training will help
educate community leaders, opinion makers, journalist and media professionals, while
helping sensitize policy makers, diplomats dealing with international water issues, law
makers, and politicians to flood management issues. The training agenda will be designed
as part and parcel of the UN Decade on Educating for Sustainable Development(UNDESD). Various knowledge institutions part from the educational institutions of the UN
system, such as UNU EHS, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the UNESCO
Water Centers, notably ICHARM, World Bank Institute, will be encouraged to take part inthis endeavour.

•

Empowering communities with good governance and ensuring participatory
approaches in all decision-making will provide the final link towards achieving the initiative’s
objectives. This entails promoting and mobilizing individual and community resources. The
aim will be to apply networking strategies and practices towards the benefit of good
governance for flood management in both rural and urban communities. This will require
close cooperation with institutes devoted to the research of social issues such as the UN as
well as other relevant organizations.

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Technical assistance will provide help where needed and enable the needy to help
themselves. Technical assistance activities will range from local support for enabling thecommunity all the way up to assisting national governments to establish comprehensive
national flood management plans, as a part of the national integrated water resourcesmanagement strategy.

30.
In order to design the details of IFI the following focal areas will be considered, which
encompass both the afore-mentioned strategic activities as well as activities that correspond to theareas of competency:
•

•

•

•

Vulnerabilityo Methodologies to account for multiple stressorso Estimating social, political, health, and ecological impacts
o Estimating economic impacts including benefits of floodso Mechanisms (including financial) to increase coping capacity and resilienceo Indicators
Flood Risk Managemento Multi-hazard analysis
o Data for risk assessmento Hydrologic, hydraulic and economic modelingo Flood hazard mappingo Structural and non-structural measures
Governance and participationo People networkingo Institutional reformo Developing stakeholder processes
People-centred early warning and emergency managemento Effective forecasting and early warningo Effective communicationo Preparednesso Response to warning

31.
The timeframe of the IFI Initial Plan of Action (IFI-IPOA) is for ten years concurrent with the
UN Decades. A framework for the implementation of the IFI-IPOA is provided in Annex A. Annex B
provides examples of the expected products or outputs from the activities of the IFI coveringvarious time frames. In accordance with the UN programming cycle, short-term is defined as a twoyear programming and budget period, while medium-term signifies a six-year strategic planning
period, and long-term covers the 10 years, that is the expected life span of IFI. Subsequentdetailed plans of action concerning the above items will be developed through a consultative
process among the IFI partners and the Member countries.
3.2

Performance indicators

32.
Performance indicators to measure the success of the Initiative at the end of the decade
will relate to the overall objective of the IFI and they will be developed in relation to the following:(a) reduction in human flood casualties;(b) reduction in flood economic losses;

9INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper(c) improvements in the benefits from flood plain use; and(d) improvement in the functioning of flood plain ecosystems.
33.
The indicators will be rescaled to reflect disaster magnitude and frequency, population
movements and other drivers.
34.

Qualitative performance indicators that could be monitored during the decade include:
(e)
(f)
(g)

increase in coping capacity;
improvement in institutional effectiveness and governance; andincrease in stakeholder involvement.

35.
In relation to the specific objectives of the Initiative, the performance indicators for activities
under the initiative may include measures of:









The availability of products (guidelines, workshops, courses, tools, etc.) developed
under the Initiative;
The uptake/application of products developed under the Initiative;
The ability of the products to reduce the loss of life and property damage associatedwith flood disasters;
Increased information available on social, economic and environmental aspects of flood
events;Increased awareness of the social, economic and environmental aspects of floods;
Enhanced flood preparedness and community response to flood hazards;
Established effective forecasting and early warning systems; andImproved quality of flood warnings.

3.3

Administration

3.3.1

The International Flood Initiative Advisory Committee (IFI-AC)

36.
In order to provide effective coordination at the international level an IFI Advisory
Committee (IFI-AC) should be established comprising of elected representatives of the IHPIntergovernmental Council (through the IHP Bureau), the WMO Commission for Hydrology(through its Advisory Working Group), and the UNU, and ISDR. The Director of I-CHARM would
act as its Secretary (See Section 3.3.2) and provide supporting services to the Committee. The IFIAC members will report to their respective constituent bodies. The constitution and the terms ofreference of the Advisory Committee are at Annex- I.
37.
The IFI-AC will be supported by the Management Committee (IFI-MC) which will consist ofrepresentations from the secretariats of the constituent organizations as in the above paragraphand the representatives of the scientific community participating in the Initiative such as IAHS,
IAHR, IIASA, river basin commissions, civil society, private sector and the insurance industry in an
inclusive manner, to jointly implement the flood management agenda and action plans. The
constitution and the terms of reference of the Management Committee are at Annex-II. The
Advisory Committee and the Management Committees will meet in conjunction.
3.3.2

The IFI Secretariat

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38.
To coordinate the activities of the IFI, International Center for Water Hazard and Risk
Management (I-CHARM), located at the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) in Tsukuba,
Japan will act as the secretariat for the initiative. The Secretariat would report to the IFI-AC.
3.4

Funding

39. It is essential to note that this Initiative is not entirely a new programme and in its initialstages the work plan will reflect existing and proposed activities being coordinated and directed
towards common goals. That is, activities in the work plan will be those already proposed or
possible under existing budgetary constraints.
40. Furthermore, in the case of WMO the activities that will be undertaken include those which
also fall within other technical areas of WMO related to flood management (for example
Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting, Radar Rainfall Estimation, etc.) and proposed under the
new cross-cutting WMO Programme on Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DPM) that had
been endorsed by the 13th session of the WMO Congress in May 2003.
41.
Once formally established with a more detailed work plan, the IFI will be strongly placed toseek extra budgetary funding which will support a wider range of activities. Funding agencies, suchas the World Bank, regional banks, donors and ODA’s could all make valuable contributions whilein turn could largely benefit from the IFI.

4.

REFERENCES(1)

UNU, Two Billion People Vulnerable to Floods by 2050; Number Expected to Double orMore in Two Generations Due to Climate Change, Deforestation, Rising Seas, Population
Growth, New Release, 2004.

(2)

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Disasters
Report-Forms on Reducing Risk, 2002.

(3)

IPCC, Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group 1 to theThird Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, 2001.

(4)

United Nations General Assembly, Resolution A/RES/58/217(5)

United Nations, Dept. of Public Information, Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable
Development. The final text of agreements negotiated by Governments at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2003.

(6)

WMO, Integrated Flood Management Concept Paper, the Associated Programme on FloodManagement, Geneva, 2004.

_______________

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ANNEX IADVISORY COMMITTEEINTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE

Terms of Reference
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Provide a forum for the identification of the activities of the participating organizations
that will comprise the International Flood Initiative;
Guide the integration of these activities in a manner that reflects the principles of theInternational Flood Initiatives;
Identify gaps and future requirements in relation to the objectives of the International
Flood Initiative;
Make recommendations to the participating organizations on additional activities thatshould be considered to be undertaken by those organizations; andReview and report back to their respective constituent bodies on the effectiveness of
the International Flood Initiative against the agreed performance indicators.

Membership:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Representative of the UNESCO IHP Inter-governmental Council;
Representative of the WMO Commission of Hydrology;
Representative of ISDR; andRepresentative of United Nations University.

Secretarial Support:
International Centre for Water Hazard Risk Management (ICHARM), Tsukuba, Japan.

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ANNEX IIMANAGEMENT COMMITTEEINTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE

Terms of ReferenceManage the implementation of the activities under the International Flood Initiative.

Membership:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)

Representative of the UNESCO IHP Secretariat;
Representative of the WMO Secretariat;
Representative of ISDR Secretariat;
Representative of United Nations University Secretariat;
Representative of ICHARM;
Representative of IAHS;
Representative of IAHR;
Representative of IIASA; andRepresentative of Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).

Secretarial Support:
International Centre for Hazard Risk Management (ICHARM), Tsukuba, Japan.

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ANNEX A (1/3)
FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IFI

TopicsVulnerability

Initial Partners
and Lead

Research

Education andTraining

Information
Networking

Empowering
Communities

Technical Assistance

UNU,
WWAP,IAHR

IAHR ,UNU,

IAHR ,UNU, WWAP

Estimating social, political,
health, and ecologicalimpacts

IAHR ,IHP,
UNESCO-IHE

IAHR ,IHP,
UNESCO-IHE

IAHR ,ISDR, IHP

ISDR,

ISDR

Estimating economic
impacts including benefitsof floods

UNESCO-IHE,

UNESCO-IHE UNESCO-IHE, ISDR

ISDR

ISDR

Mechanisms (including
financial) to increase coping
capacity and resilience

IAHR ,UNU,
ICHARM

Methodologies to accountfor multiple stressors

Indicators

UNU

UNU, WWAP,ICHARM

IAHR

IAHR ,ISDR, UNU,ISDR,

UNU UNU, WMO, WWAP,
ISDR

ISDR

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ANNEX A (2/3)
FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IFI
Topics

Initial Partners
and Lead

Flood Risk Multi-hazard analysis
Management
Data for risk assessment

Hydrologic, hydraulic andeconomic modeling
Flood hazard mapping
Structural and nonstructural measures
Governance People networking
andparticipation
Institutional reform
Developing stakeholder
processes

Research

IAHS, ICAHRM, IAHS, UNESCO
UNESCO, WMO
FRIEND
IAHR ,IAHS,
UNESCOFRIEND,ICHARM
IAHR ,IAHS,
ICHARM,
UNESCO
IAHS, ICHARM
IAHR ,IIHP,(ICHARM)

Education andTraining

Information
Networking

WMO, IAHS,
UNESCO FRIEND
IAHR ,IAHS,
UNESCO FRIEND,ICHARM

WMO, IAHS,
UNESCO FRIEND
IAHR ,IAHS,
UNESCO FRIEND,ICHARM, ISDR

IAHR ,WMO, IAHS,
ICHARM, UNESCO

IAHR ,WMO, IAHS,
ICHARM, UNESCO

IAHS, ICHARM

WMO, IAHS,
ICHARM

IAHR ,IHP, WMO,ICHARM

IAHR ,(ICHARM)

ISDR

ISDR, UNU,

ISDR

ISDR, WMO

ISDR

ISDR

Empowering
Communities

Technical Assistance

WMO, IAHS
IAHR ,ISDR, IAHS,
UNESCO

IAHR ,WMO, IAHS,
UNESCO
WMO

WMO, IAHS
IAHR ,WMO

WMO

15

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

ANNEX A (3/3)
FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IFI-IPOA

TopicsInformation
Networking

Empowering
Communities

UNESCO-IHE,
UNU, WMO,ICHARM IAHR

ISDR/PPEW, UNU,
WMO, IAHR

ISDR/PPEW, WMO

WMO

ISDR/PPEW,

ISDR/PPEW,

Preparedness

UNU, (ICHARM)

ISDR/PPEW,

Response to warning

UNU, (ICHARM)

ISDR/PPEW,(ICHARM)
ISDR/PPEW,

PeopleEffective forecasting andcentred early early warning
warning andemergency
management
Effective communication

Initial Partners
and Lead

Research

WMO, ISDR,ICHARM

IAHR,UNESCO-IHE,
IHP, UNESCOFRIEND,ICHARM
ICHARM

Education andTraining

Technical Assistance

IAHR,WMOISDR/PPEW,

16

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

ANNEX B (1/4)
EXPECTED OUTPUTS OF THE IFIRESEARCH AGENDA

Medium term products

Short term products

Research agenda outputs
Agencies currently involved
1. Risk assessment methodologies, risk
IAHR, UNU, IAHS, WMO, ISDR,
management tools and risk communication (for
ICHARM
objective and subjective risks)
2. Enhanced understanding, forecasting and
IAHR, IAHS, WMO, ISDR,
management of flash floods in urban areas
ICHARMand arid zones as well as those resulting fromdam break and dike break
3. Improved methodologies for estimating flood
IAHR
benefits and flood damages for various land
uses (agriculture, urban, peri-urban, industrial)
4. Establishment for flood susceptibility
UNU
indicators based on community vulnerability
and resiliency
5. Comparative assessment of institutional
WMO
models for flood management
1. Methodologies for reliable inundation
IAHR, IAHS, WMO, UNESCO,
mapping
ICHARM
2. Probabilistic laws for non-stationary extreme(IAHR), IAHS, UNESCO
events under changing environment (climate
variability and change, land use andpopulation change)
UNESCO
3. Understanding trade-offs between structuraland non-structural flood management
measures under different socio-economic
conditions
4. Improvement of combined physical and
IAHR, IAHS, UNESCO
stochastic distributed hydrologic models formore reliable real-time runoff forecasting
5. Improved methodologies for estimating flood
UNESCO
benefits and flood damages for various land
uses (agriculture, urban, peri-urban, industrial)
6. Tools for group based multi-objective
IAHR
decision making with multiple stakeholders
7. Comparative analysis of socio-economic
incentives and instruments in flood
management
8. Understanding flood anthropology for the
UNESCO
description of traditional technologies (naturefor nature) in flood management
9. Improved communication strategies for(UNU), IAHR, WMO, (ISDR),
effective flood warning and forecasting
ICHARM
10. Enhanced understanding of psycho-social
impacts of flooding on individual and family
responses
11. Strategies for effective flood mitigation
investment scheduling17

Long term products

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

1. Improved medium term flood forecasting
incorporating medium and long term weather
prediction
2. Understanding trade-offs between structuraland non-structural flood management
measures under different socio-economic
conditions
3. Tools (data assimilation, downscaling,
remote sensing) for warning and forecasting of
ungauged basins
4. Tools for hydro-meteorology triggered landslide prediction
5. Improved management of floods caused by
ice jams
6. Procedures for ecologically sound flood
management
7. New design criteria for non stationary flood
computation
8. Strategies for effective flood mitigation
investment scheduling

IAHR, IAHS, WMO, UNESCO(UNU), (IAHR), IAHS, UNESCO,ICHARM
WMO
WMO

IAHS

18

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

ANNEX B (2/4)
EXPECTED PRODUCTS OF THE IFIEDUCATION AND TRAINING AGENDA

Agencies currently involved
WMO, ISDR

3. Enhanced public awareness through various
international events on various aspects of flood
management (campaign, media, web)

UNU, WMO, UNESCO, ISDR,(ICHARM)

Long term products

Medium term products

Short term products

Training and education agenda products
1. Synthesized flood preparedness guidelines
on flood emergency for communities (country
specific)
2. Training courses and manuals forcommunity leaders, decision makers, technicalpersons on various aspect of flooding, such as
preparedness planning, flood fighting and flood
recovery
3. Post evaluation conferences/lessons
learned of case studies highlighting bestpractices on all aspects of flood issues
4. International network of flood related
institutions to cooperate on producing training
materials for various users groups
1. Production of teaching material for training
courses for various levels
2. Training courses and manuals forcommunity leaders, decision makers, technicalpersons on various aspect of flooding, such as
preparedness planning, flood fighting and flood
recovery
3. Post evaluation conferences/lessons
learned of case studies highlighting bestpractices on all aspects of flood issues
4. International network of flood related
institutions to cooperate on producing training
materials for various users groups
5. Popularized publications, books, videos andpublic education programs dealing withdifferent aspects of flood preparedness, floodfighting and flood recovery in different culturaland socio-economic settings
1. Introducing the concept of living with floodsin schools programs through text books andteaching materials
2. Curricula for undergraduate disciplinary
programs and integrated curricula forinterdisciplinary graduate programs promotinginterdisciplinary thinking

UNU, (IAHR), WMO,UNESCO/IHP/IHE, ISDR,ICHARM

UNU, IAHS, ISDR

UNU, ICHARM with IHE,ICHARM
IAHS, UNESCO/IHE, ICHARM
UNU, WMO, UNESCO/IHE,ICHARM

UNU, IAHS

UNU, (IAHR), ICHARM

WMO, UNESCO/IHP, ISDR

WMO, UNESCO/IHP, ISDR

WMO, UNESCO/IHE,ICHARM

19

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

ANNEX B (3/4)

EXPECTED PRODUCTS OF THE IFIINFORMATION NETWORKING AGENDA

Long term products

Medium term products

Short term products

Information network agenda productAgencies currently involved
1. Global hydrological database on
IAHS, ICHARM
extreme flood events
2. Database for description of the various
IAHS, ICHARM
aspects of flood (physical, economic andsocial)IAHS, ISDR
3. Open access multi-lingual CDS/ISISbased international bibliographicaldatabase on flood literature and reports(published and informal)
4. Open access and reviewed depositary
IAHS, WMO, ISDRof proven methodologies and tools forflood prediction, analyses andmanagement
5. Network between IFI and relief and
ISDR
humanitarian agencies
1. Database of data-type relevant to theIAHSvarious aspects flood management
2. Compilation of available DEM data andother spatial datasets (land use) in theappropriate resolution for flood
management
3. Open access international depository offlood related legal instruments, policies
and comparative studies
4. Cooperative network between IFI and
insurance industry
5. Network between IFI and relief andhumanitarian agencies
1. Global hydrological database on
extreme flood events
2. Compilation of available DEM data andother spatial datasets (land use) in theappropriate resolution for flood
management
3. Cooperative network between IFI and
insurance industry(IAHS)

WMO

UNU
ISDR
IAHS, ICHARM(IAHS)

UNU, ISDR

20

INTERNATIONAL FLOOD INITIATIVE:
Concept Paper

ANNEX B (4/4)

EXPECTED PRODUCTS OF IFITECHNICAL ASSISTANCELong term
products

Medium term products

Short term
products

Technical assistance products
Agencies currently involved
1. Help design cooperative
WMO
agreements for flood related activities
in transboundary watersheds
2. Flood emergency management
WMO, ISDR
manuals and procedures
3. Flood Relief and recovery manuals
ISDR
and procedures
1. Facilitation of jointly coordinated
WMO
flood fighting in transboundarywatershed
2. Design and construction of
WMO
appropriate methodologies for flood
mitigation measures at local scale
3. Assessment of individual andUNU (case by case)community flood vulnerability exposure
4. Provide assistance to the
UNU (case by case), WMO
governments in designing national
strategies for flood reduction
1. Provide assistance to the
UNU (case by case), WMO
governments in designing national
strategies for flood reduction

21