APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

Case Study on the Effectiveness of Flood Management Measures – England

This case study is part of wider scope Tool “Effectiveness

of Flood Management Measures”. The study summarizes

flood management approaches and policies adopted in

England. The study introduces the national framework of

flood management policies and the roles of flood related

organizations. For better and efficient management,

England has been taking a risk based approach to flood

management for years, including systematic cost-benefit

analyses, investment planning and project appraisal. An

adaptive approach to cope with emerging climate change

issues is also becoming a mainstream management

strategy.

Complementary to the development of the Tool on the “Effectiveness of Flood Management Measures”, it builds the framework for a

collection of selected case studies. Furthermore, the Tool will consist of (1) a guiding document on the theoretical overview of auditing

and evaluation methods; and (2) a practical oriented document presenting case studies from different countries that adopt these

methods.

APFM

Flood Management News

Associated Programme on Flood Management - Newsletter No. 30

Case Study on the Effectiveness of Flood Management Measures – England

Regional Training Workshop in Antalya, Turkey

New Support Base Partners of the IFM HelpDesk

National Workshop on IFM in Mexico

New APFM Website

Outreach & networking

Activities to managing flood and coastal erosion risks

(Environmental Agency)

APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

Regional Training Workshop in Antalya, Turkey

A “Training Workshop on Integrated Flood Management, Flood Forecasting and

Early Warning was organized by WMO through APFM and its Regional Office for

Europe. The five-day workshop was held from 8 to 12 April 2013 in Antalya,

Turkey. As part of the wider project framework of “Building Resilience to Disasters

in Western Balkans and Turkey” – the joint project between WMO and UNISDR –

the workshop was specifically tailored to the task of “Enhancing IPA beneficiaries’

capacity to forecast hazardous meteorological and hydrological phenomena and

deliver timely warnings to support disaster risk reduction”.

Hosted by the Turkish State Meteorological Service, 31 participants from 10

European countries attended the workshop representing a many sectors including

hydrology, meteorology, forestry, disaster risk reduction, emergency & crisis

management, hydraulic works, national security, interior affairs, and academia.

The overall objective of the workshop was to strengthen the know-how and

capacities of the participating countries, as well as to establish a network for

exchange of information related to flood forecasting and management.

Specifically, the workshop was divided in three main thematic areas:

I) Introducing and fostering of Integrated Flood Management

concepts for implementation at national and transboundary levels,

II) Presenting topics related to flood forecasting & early warning

systems and practices,

III) Illustrating with a hands-on demonstration the DEWETRA platform

as an example of an integrated system for real-time monitoring

and natural risks prevision and prevention.

Moreover, the workshop provided the opportunity to promote and make use

of the WMO Manual on Flood Forecasting and Warning. To give an example

of application of a forecasting & early warning system, APFM invited experts

from CIMA Research Foundation, a Support Base Partner of the IFM

HelpDesk. CIMA held a hands-on demonstrative session on the use of the

real-time observation and forecasting platform DEWETRA. It integrates

different hydrological and meteorological observation networks with multiple

forecasting methods providing an operational tool in support of decision-

making for disaster risk reduction.

During the training, four participating countries expressed interest to APFM

to host similar capacity building workshops on the topic of Integrated Flood

Management, and in a second stage, leading to the development of national

flood management strategies.

top Workshop group presentation

bottom DEWETRA platform showing a flood hazard map

APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

New Support Base Partners in the IFM HelpDesk

Australian Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is Australia's national weather, climate and water

agency. The Bureau's flood forecasting and warning service uses rainfall and

streamflow observations, numerical weather predictions and hydrologic models to

forecast and warn for possible flood events across Australia. This information

provides the basis for flood response by emergency services and other flood

managers and is vital for water resource managers responding to large inflows of

water into reservoirs and rivers.

The BoM and APFM have agreed to strengthen cooperation of mutual areas of interest in the IFM HelpDesk in

providing expertise on collection and dissemination of hydrometeorological data, hydrological modeling for flood

forecasting, design and delivery of services for the use of emergency response, as well as on research and

development in the field of water resource management.

Zoï Environment Network

Zoï Environment Network is a specialized international non-profit organisation, based in

Geneva, Switzerland. Zoï’s mission is to reveal, explain and communicate connections

between the environment and society, with a geographic focus on Europe’s margins

and its neighbors. Particular emphasis is put on environmental assessments as well as

visual communication and provision of information for decision-making in order to

support governmental, corporate and individual responses to environmental challenges.

Zoï and APFM are currently preparing for a pilot project on transboundary flood

management as a follow-up of a project on “Reducing vulnerability to extreme floods

and climate change in the transboundary Dniester basin”.

Agreements with Support Base Partners were recently renewed for four more years with Cap-Net, Deltares, International

Association of Hydrological Science (IAHS), UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, International Center for Water Hazard

and Risk Management (ICHARM), Czech Hydrological Institute, EuroAquae Consortium – Sophie Antipolis University, and

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

National Workshop on IFM in Mexico

In the framework of the national program on prevention of water related

emergencies (Programa Nacional de Prevención contra Emergencias Hidráulicas

– PRONACH) launched by the President of Mexico on 22 March 2013,

CONAGUA (Comisión Nacional del Agua) is now coordinating the production of

guidelines for the development of flood management strategies at the State level

in Mexico. In order to ensure proper integration of the IFM principles in these

guidelines, CONAGUA requested APFM to facilitate a three days capacity

building workshop on IFM in Mexico City in early May 2013. The workshop was delivered in the premises of UNAM (Universidad

Nacional Autónoma de México) and attended by more than 30 participants from GASIR (Gerencia de Aguas Superficiales e

Ingeniería de Ríos) of CONAGUA, IMTA (Instituto Méxicano de Tecnología del Agua), CENAPRED (Centro Nacional de Prevención

de Desastres) and the Engineering Institute of UNAM.

APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

New APFM Website

The APFM website including its HelpDesk, as a central part of the APFM, is not only the platform to present the IFM concept and

APFM activities, but is the main conduit for interested professionals to access training materials and publications as well as an entry

point for professionals and organizations seeking support provided by APFM.

Inspired and supported by various partners, member states and colleagues, the APFM TSU is proud to announce the launch of the

new APFM website. A full reorganisation of content and redesign has been undertaken to better serve user needs. Main features of

the new website are:

the entirely revised architecture to better maintain and update the website,

the new design to ensure an intuitive and user-friendly platform,

update of the IFM HelpDesk: training and education material has been added, and

a moving news banner informing about latest developments, activities and upcoming events.

The website is now in the test phase until end of July 2013. Further content will be added and fine-tuned and improved upon

feedback received from users during the test phase. APFM is continuously seeking to improve accessibility to its material and provide

a user friendly platform. Therefore, users, partners and donors, are invited to give feedback on the APFM website and the IFM

HelpDesk.

Screenshot of the introductory page of the new APFM website http://www.apfm.info/

APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

Outreach & Networking

Refreshing Contacts with GWP Regional & Country Water Partnerships

APFM is revitalizing contacts with GWP Regional Coordinators and

Country Focal Points, informing them of past and ongoing flood-related

activities including projects on national and regional levels. The objective is

not only to strengthen existing linkages, but also to launch new

collaboration activities with country and regional water partnerships.

Drawing inspiration from previous activities, Country Water Partnerships could develop original projects as

well as export successful ideas from other regions and states. By contacting regional coordinators in particular,

APFM aims to give a boost to the enactment of transboundary programmes, which are essential for an

effective management of floods in basins shared by multiple countries.

Launch of Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP)

The World Meteorological Organization and Global Water Partnership

have launched the joint Integrated Drought Management Programme

(IDMP) in March 2013 to improve monitoring and prevention of one of

the world’s greatest natural hazards. The IDMP capitalizes on the 11

years of success with the APFM. In order to benefit from the lessons

learnt, the APFM will provide expert advisory services in the early

implementation phases of the IDMP. Both initiatives will then work in

close cooperation and coordination.

Strengthening cooperation between UNESCO and WMO

A workshop on the UNESCO / WMO International Flood Initiative (IFI) was held from 7-8 February 2013, at

the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The main objective had been to plan IFI activities for the near

future, and prepare what was presented at UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disaster side event on

5 March 2013 in New York. In conjunction with the water-related work programme of WMO and the specific

objectives of the APFM, an IFI flagship project was conceptualized to support benchmarking flood risk

reduction at global, national and local levels. The project aims to develop standardized methodologies to

identify flood hazards, as well as benchmarking and creating risk and risk profiles to facilitate decision-making

and monitoring for flood risk reduction.

Prior to the UN Special Thematic Session on Water and

Disasters on 6 March, a technical discussion on key topics on

water and disasters was conducted as a Side Event of the

Special Thematic Session on 5 March, 2013. The Side Event facilitated a common understanding and shared

vision on key topics on water and disasters, leading to enhanced awareness and deepened discussion in the

Special Thematic Session. A presentation was made by UNESCO and WMO on the International Flood

Initiative (IFI) successes and future plans.

Regional and Country Water Partnerships

APFM Newsletter – May 2013. No. 30

Attendance to the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction

Within the overall goal to improve implementation of disaster risk

reduction, the GPDDR constitutes a critical forum for information

exchange, discussion of latest development and knowledge and

partnership building across sectors. Its Fourth Session, taking place in

Geneva, Switzerland from 19 to 23 May 2013, aims to continue the momentum of the prior Global Platform

meetings and to seize the opportunity to progress on the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA).

APFM will contribute to the Global Platform by attending numerous sessions and events featured by WMO.

Information material will be distributed at WMO’s booth throughout the meeting and APFM staff will be present

to promote its activities in flood risk reduction and to enhance linkages with participants and other

stakeholders.

APFM Participation in the World Water Week in Stockholm

The World Water Week 2013 is hosted and organized by the

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and takes place 1-6

September in Stockholm, Sweden. This year’s World Water Week will

focus on “Water Cooperation – Building Partnerships”. It has been the

annual focal point for the globe's water issues since 1991.

Bringing together different stakeholders with a multi-disciplinary approach, the APFM is convening a side-

event on "Stakeholders' Contribution to Drought and Flood Management" on Sunday evening (1 Sep),

together with the recently launched Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP).

Upcoming Advisory Committee and Management Committee Meetings (AC/MC)

The APFM is preparing for its annual meetings of the Advisory and Management

Committees. Both meetings will be held from 4 to 5 June 2013 at WMO Headquarters. Both

Support Base Partners and donors will be informed about APFM’s past activities as well as

advice and give recommendations of activities and emphases for the upcoming period.

APFM Website (http://www.apfm.info/)

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