Global Water Partnership

Flood Management:

The Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) is a joint initiative of the World Meteorological Organization and the Global Water Partnership. It promotes the concept of Integrated Flood Management (IFM) as a new approach to flood management.

The Integrated Flood Management (IFM) HelpDesk is a facility that provides guidance on flood management policy, strategy and institutional development related to flood issues to countries that want to adopt the Integrated Flood Management (IFM) concept. It is based on close partnership with the country and tailored to their specific needs, with the aim of assisting in IFM implementation.

The objectives of the IFM HelpDesk are to:
- Provide quick access to relevant flood management information;
- Provide guidance and momentum for reform in favour of IFM in countries or river basins in developing long-term flood management policies, strategies and institutional arrangements;
- Serve as a link between flood management practitioners and decision-makers and multi-disciplinary scientific expertise and best practice in various fields such as hydrology, river engineering, legal and institutional development, ecology, sociology and development economics;
- Provide a continuous and sustainable capacity development mechanism in support of IFM implementation.

The target audience of the HelpDesk includes the following groups:
- National, provincial and local government agencies involved in decision making charged with a role in flood management (policy makers, flood management practitioners, development planners, disaster managers;
- National Hydrological and Meteorological Services, etc.;
- River Basin Organizations;
- Bi- and Multi-lateral Organizations involved in Technical and Financial Cooperation;
- Non-Governmental Organizations, in particular those working with flood affected communities;
- Voluntary Organizations and Community-based Organizations; and
- Universities.

Programme on Integrated Drought Management

After the successes of the WMO/GWP Associated Programme on Flood Management, the two organizations decided that it would be a fruitful to continue this kind of cooperation by working together on a new Programme about Integrated Drought Management. As stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC, 2007) the world has become more drought-prone during the past 25 years and projections for the 21st Century show clear increase frequency in drought events. It clearly appears that management strategies are needed to mitigate the effects of droughts.

The aim of the Programme is to alleviate poverty in drought-affected regions of the world through an integrated approach to drought management, cutting across sectoral, disciplinary, and institutional jurisdictions. The Programme would provide policy and management guidance through the globally coordinated generation of scientific information, sharing knowledge and best practices for drought risk management.

The overarching approach proposed for the Programme centres around four key principles:
- shift the focus from reactive to proactive measures.
- integrate vertical planning and decision making processes at regional, national and community levels.
- promote the evolution of a consistent knowledge base and sharing.
- build capacity of various stakeholders, and support drought management efforts.