The first workshop on transboundary flood risk management, which was held in April 2009, highlighted that there are common problems, objectives and approaches to flood risk management in the UN-ECE region and beyond. The workshop identified a number of useful tools for managing transboundary flood risks and provided important conclusions for flood risk management, including, among others, the need to strengthen political support, improve communication among riparian countries, data sharing and facilitate capacity-building (for more details see http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/transboundary_flood_workshop.html).
The second workshop on transboundary flood risk management was organized on 19-20 March 2015 within the framework of the programme of work of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). This workshop brought together professionals from all over the world working on transboundary flood risk management and provided a platform to:
- Exchange experiences concerning the latest developments and the progress made in the transboundary case studies since the 2009 Workshop;
- Identify relevant problems, successful strategies for transboundary flood risk management and new cooperation models and develop new ideas and approaches;
- Present best practice examples of successful transboundary cooperation on flood risk reduction and management;
- Analyse lessons learned from the latest flooding events in 2014 (e.g. in the Danube River Basin);
- Consider the experiences made in the European Union during the implementation of the EU-Flood Directive and the current work on flood risk management plans; and
- Review and update the recommendations of the 2009-workshop.