Transboundary Flood Risk Management Experiences from the UNECE Region

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes Transboundary flood risk management Experiences from the UNECE region United Nations Economic Commission For Europe Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes Transboundary Flood Risk Management: Experiences from the UNECE Region United Nations New York and Geneva, 2009 Note The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The approach to geographical names in this publication is not uniform. English names have been used in some cases and local names in others. Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. This publication is based on presentations, discussions and findings of the Workshop on Transboundary Flood Risk Management (Geneva, 22–23 April 2009) organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Government of Germany, the Government of the Netherlands and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Opinions expressed do not imply endorsement by UNECE, WMO or the Governments of Germany and the Netherlands. Further information about the workshop, including presentations and the discussion paper, is available at: www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/transboundary_flood_workshop.htm. ECE/MP.WAT/31 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. 09.II.E.15 ISBN: 978-92-1-117011-5 Foreword ince the beginning of the century, more than 3 million people have been affected by S floods in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 1.9 million in Eastern Europe alone. Extreme flood events and the economic, social and environmental impacts and losses in human life they cause have significantly increased in recent years. Against this already serious background, enhanced climate variability and climate change are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of floods. On the other hand, floods are natural phenomena that can also bring benefits: seasonal floodplain inundation is essential to maintaining healthy rivers, creating new habitats, depositing silts and fertile organic material, and sustaining wetlands. The vulnerability to floods mainly depends on human activities – the location of buildings and infrastructure, the existence of early warning systems and emergency planning, appropriate legal and institutional frameworks, etc. An integrated approach to flood management – one that recognizes both the opportunities provided by floodplains for socio-economic activities and that manages the associated risks – is essential for the sustainable development of river basins. In the UNECE region, as in many other parts of the world, the situation is further compli- cated by the transboundary nature of water resources. There are more than 150 transboundary rivers in the European part of the region and their basins cover more than 40 per cent of its surface. Thus major flooding events often have impacts in several riparian countries. Transboundary cooperation on flood risk management is not only necessary, but also bene- ficial. Early warning by upstream countries can save lives and reduce economic losses. Moreover, cooperation helps to strengthen the knowledge and information base and enlarge the set of available strategies. Widening the geographical area considered in basin planning enables finding better and more cost-effective solutions. Finally, disaster management is highly dependent on early information and requires data and forecasts from the whole river basin. Numerous challenges hamper effective transboundary cooperation in general and cooperation on transboundary flood management in particular. Lack of capacity and resources, insufficient data, differing institutional structures, lack of political will – and even mistrust in some cases – are serious obstacles. The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) aims to support the creation of frameworks fostering transboundary cooperation. Within the Convention’s programme of work, UNECE closely cooperates with its partners, in particular the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to provide guidance for transboundary flood risk management. This publication is based on the discussion and findings of the Workshop on Transboundary Flood Risk Management organized under the Water Convention in April 2009 in cooperation with the Governments of Germany and the Netherlands as well as WMO. It builds on the practical experience from 10 river basins in the UNECE region. The examples are offered here not as good practices, but rather as an analysis of concrete situations, problems encountered and progress made, as well as of remaining challenges and possible solutions. iii The publication aims to document practical experience, together with general conclusions, which can be applied throughout the region. There will always be floods, but appropriate management can greatly reduce their impacts. I hope that this publication will provide inspiration to water managers, policymakers and land planners, and will help to reduce risks and damage from floods in the UNECE region and beyond. Ján Kubiš Executive Secretary United Nations Economic Commission for Europe iv Preface loods do not respect boundaries, be they national, regional or institutional. Therefore, trans- F boundary flood risk management is imperative – it involves both Governments – as borders are involved – and their people – as risk is involved. However, it is not easy to implement: joint moni- toring, forecasting and early warning, coordinated risk assessment and joint planning of measures, and appropriate legal and institutional frameworks are all necessary. Transboundary flood management has been at the core of the work under the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) since its entry into force in 1996. Although the Convention does not address floods in detail, most of its provisions are fundamental to the management of transboundary floods. Above all, the Convention obliges Parties to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impacts, including those resulting from floods and from unilaterally decided flood protection measures such as dams. Since the Convention came into force, these core obligations have been elaborated in more detail and expanded in a number of guidelines. Several capacity-building activities have also allowed for strengthening capacity in the region and exchanging knowledge and experience. The Task Force on Flood Prevention and Protection, under the leadership of Germany, has been guiding these efforts. A major achievement was the adoption of the Guidelines on Sustainable Flood Prevention at the second session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention in 2000. The Guidelines were complemented by the Model Provisions on Transboundary Flood Management, adopted in 2006. It should be noted that work on floods under the Convention has also had an important influence on the work at the level of the European Union (EU): the Guidelines on Sustainable Flood Prevention served as a basis for the EU Best Practice Document on Flood Prevention, Protection and Mitiga- tion, which led to Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Octo- ber 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks. In 2006, the mandate of the Task Force on Flood Prevention and Protection was broadened to take into account the climate change perspective, and the Task Force was transformed into the Task Force on Water and Climate. In the Convention’s work programme for 2007–2009, efforts in the areas of floods management mostly focused on exchanging experiences and knowledge between EU and non-EU countries. To this end, a Workshop on Transboundary Flood Risk Management was organized on 22 and 23 April 2009 in Geneva by UNECE, the Governments of Germany and the Netherlands as well as WMO. The workshop aimed to take stock of current problems, recent progress and remaining challenges in transboundary flood management, all on the basis of concrete examples. The workshop was prepared in close cooperation with Parties and non-Parties, who elaborated the case studies by analysing in depth flood management problems in the different basins. Moreover, a background study was prepared to guide the discussions. This publication condenses the preparatory work, the analysis of the case studies as well as the workshop’s discussions and conclusions. Although it provides some general and concrete recom- mendations, it does not intend to be a guidance document. It also does not address all of the different realities in the region. But it does show that in spite of the very different circumstances, there are common problems, objectives and approaches. The publication identifies a number of useful tools for managing transboundary flood risk. This publication would not have been possible without the generous contributions of many experts from the whole region to whom I wish to express my sincere thanks. v This publication is a concrete demonstration

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