The role of regional cooperation in flood control and management is
becoming a crucial factor in natural disaster reduction. As part of its
ongoing activities in that field, the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) organized a Workshop on Regional Cooperation
in Flood Control and Management for Improvement of the Urban Environment
in Asia and the Pacific, phase I, in Bangkok from 26 to 30 October 1998.
Funding assistance for the Workshop was generously provided by the
Government of the Netherlands.
Second left: Minister to the Prime
Minister’s Office, Mr Savit Bhotiwihok, gives his opening address.
Listening are the Director of the Environment and Natural Resources
Development Division (left), the Officer-in-Charge, a.i., of ESCAP (second
right) and the Government of the Netherlands’ representative, Mr Jan
Leentvaar.
The Workshop was attended by 46 representatives from 13 member
countries of the Commission: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. Twelve
experts also attended from the secretariat of the International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific Cultural
Organ-ization (UNESCO), World Health Organization, the Technical Support
Unit of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/ESCAP Panel on
Tropical Cyclones (TSU), the Asian Institute of Technology and the private
sector. The services of two consultants from Australia and Malaysia were
also utilized at the Workshop.
Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office of the Royal Thai Government, Mr
Savit Bhotiwihok, opened the Meeting. In his inaugural address, the
Minister stressed the importance of the Workshop in view of the heavy
losses resulting from the annual floods of the past two years and
especially the worst flooding in several decades that had devastated some
countries in the region, particularly Bangladesh and China, in 1998.
He said the Workshop was part of a project that had been formulated
following an audience of the Executive Secretary of ESCAP with His
Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 1996. At that time, His
Majesty the King had urged that the United Nations could be of assistance
to Thailand and neighbouring countries in the area of flood control and
management.
The Minister then highlighted some important aspects of the Thai
experiences in flood control and management, the central role of the
Monarchy in the evolution and development of the conceptual approaches and
practices in that field. He emphasized the increasingly prominent role of
His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej in providing a guiding light for the
national efforts and as a major driving force for progress and achievement
in many flood control projects and water development programmes.
The Minister expressed his appreciation to ESCAP for its cooperation in
the preparation and implementation of the project and to the Government of
the Netherlands for its financial assistance.
In his message to the Workshop participants, the Executive Secretary
pointed out that the project was part of an ESCAP programme for regional
cooperation in natural disaster reduction, the improvement of the
environment, and more suitable management of natural resources in the
region.
He called on the participants to exchange experiences and information
on the flood disasters experienced in 1998 by several countries in the
region and accord priority to stronger regional cooperation in natural
disaster reduction. He also urged the participants to help in establishing
an effective long-term regional cooperation programme on natural disaster
reduction and to contribute to the following special events scheduled for
1999:
- The closing event of the International Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction;
- The commemoration of the fiftieth year of ESCAP's contribution to
the development and management of water resources in the region,
particularly in flood control and management;
- The commemoration of the sixth cycle birthday of His Majesty the
King of Thailand in 1999.
The representative of the Netherlands pointed out that his government
attached importance to international cooperation in improving the
environment and bringing about better management of natural resources.
Since floods frequently threatened his country, he said, the government
understood the importance of flood control and management and appreciated
the benefits of international and regional cooperation in that area. He
called on the participants to contribute to strengthening the framework of
regional co-operation in that area for the benefit of the developing
countries of the ESCAP region.
Four background papers that had been prepared by ESCAP and its resource
persons were presented under the agenda item, "Conceptual approaches
to regional cooperation in flood control and management for improvement of
urban environment in Asia and the Pacific and an overview of existing
practices and experi-ences in the region and international trends".
The important points covered under this agenda item are summarized
below. In addition, the working groups held at a later point during the
Workshop utilized information provided in the background documents. Flood
control, which is among the priority issues in water resources management,
first received attention in 1949 when ESCAP created the Bureau for Flood
Control (now the Water and Mineral Resources Section). Since then, the
ESCAP secretariat has continued to modify its approach to ensure the
effectiveness of its assistance to member governments in:
- Emerging issues in flood control and management;
- Formulating policies and strategies on the subject for sustainable
development;
- Promoting regional co-operation in water resources management and
natural disaster reduction.
The conceptual approach adopted by ESCAP has evolved and achievements have
been made. Among the lessons learned from sub-regional cooperation on
flood control and management were the following:
- Successful cooperation in flood mitigation depended on how the
related measures were integrated into subregional develop-ment and
annual disaster preparedness;
- Apart from firm commitment of the members, external assistance was
essential to building national capacities into a sustainable system of
cooperation;
- An effective system of cooperation could create an environment
conducive to foreign investment in the respective subregions.
The Workshop noted that cooperation in flood control in the region had
evolved into a multidisciplinary area. It had become more sophisticated,
involving the latest tech-nologies, and had expanded into projects,
programmes and institutions. While ESCAP had attempted to promote regional
cooperation in meeting the urgent needs of its members, the Workshop noted
that its resources were limited and it involvement of the latest
technologies, and therefore, it required greater active participation by
the members as well as stronger support from the donor community. It was
therefore considered essential to prioritize ESCAP activities to meet
increasing needs.
The Workshop reviewed the experiences on flooding, as well as flood
control and management measures and processes adopted in the region. It
was noted that two aspects of the process, economic and social, needed to
be complemented by the environmental aspects to reflect more clearly the
ultimate goal in sustainable development.
On the basis of information on the new developments in flood control
along the River Rhine, the Workshop noted with interest the importance of
the linkage between flood control and environment management through the
integration of water manage-ment into ecological rehab-ilitation
development and spatial planning, and through institutional arrangements.
It was considered important to have detailed targets, such as (a) the
reduction of damage risk, (b) the reduction in flood stages, (c) an
increase in the awareness of flooding, and (d) an improvement in the flood
forecasting system.
The Flood Action Plan for the Rhine, which was adopted in 1998 by the
Ministerial Meeting of the Rhine Committee included the following goals:
(a) the integration of water into ecological rehabilitation develop-ment
and spatial planning; (b) the retention of water for as long as possible;
(c) finding room for the Rhine River; (d) awareness of the flood danger;
and (e) an integrated approach.
The workshop also took note of various measures taken in the long and
complex history of river management and flood control along the
Mississippi River, and particularly the lessons learned from 280 years of
experience in comprehensive planning, organizational arrange-ments, public
involvement and strategic planning, as well as non-structural approaches
to reduction of flood damage, environmental impact mitigation and
information systems.
Those lessons, together with the strategic approach adopted for flood
control along the River Rhine, were used by the working groups for later
discussion on the agenda item, "Recommend-ations on priority needs in
strengthening national cap-abilities and opportunities in regional
cooperation on flood control and management for improvement of the urban
environment".
Under the agenda item on "National experiences of flood control
and management for improvement of urban environ-ment in the region",
three case studies on Australia, Malaysia and Thailand were presented,
together with country reports from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. The representatives of the IDNDR
secretariat, UNESCO and TSU also briefed the Workshop on those activities
of their organizations that were related to flood control and management
in the region.
Under the agenda item, "Recommendations on priority needs in
strengthening national capabilities and opportunities in regional
cooperation on flood control and management for improve-ment of urban
environment", the participants were divided into three workinggroups.
They discussed a variety of measures and strategies, and identified
priority activities and follow-up actions for improving the effectiveness
of regional cooperation in flood control and management in the region. The
Workshop recommended that the secretariat provide assist-ance to the
members and associate members of ESCAP in their efforts to formulate
strategies and programmes on the following five priority areas:
- Realistic integrated planning;
- Enhancement of disaster preparedness, including real-time exchanges
of information, along trans-boundary rivers;
- Community participation throughout the flood control and management
process;
- More effective transfer of flood control and management technology;
- The exchange of experiences and information on institutional
arrangements for flood control and management under integrated water
resources management.
With respect to information exchange for enhancing disaster preparedness,
the Workshop was particularly pleased to note the intention expressed by
Bangladesh and India to strengthen cooperation on the flood forecasting
and warning system.
To guide the common efforts towards realistic targets, the Workshop
recommended the adoption of the following common objectives: (a) a
reduction of damage; (b) an increase in flooding awareness; and (c)
improvements in forecasting systems. However, quantification of those
targets would depend on the conditions prevailing in the respective
countries. The Workshop urged the participating countries to provide the
secretariat with information related to those targets, such as the timing
and goals, taking the River Rhine experience as an example.
The Workshop encouraged the secretariat to continue its conceptual
approach towards the promotion of regional cooperation, and it called for
an increase in the use of resources for technical co-operation among
developing countries. The secretariat was requested to update the
questionnaire used in its annual damage survey of water-related disasters
in order to include information related to achievements of the members and
associate members of ESCAP in flood control and management. That would
contribute to better information exchange and cooperation in the region.
The Workshop also requested the secretariat to undertake activities
that would ensure that regional cooperation in the twenty-first century
could meet emerging and priority needs of the countries, both for urban
and rural areas.
The Workshop urged the ESCAP secretariat to continue disseminating
information on practices and techniques in flood control and management
and, if possible, to update its recent publications on the subject and
place them on the Internet.
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