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Multi-hazard Watershed Management for Flood and Drought Control
As a response to the 2010 devastating floods in Pakistan, UNESCO in cooperation with the Government of Japan has started a major project on 鈥淪trategic strengthening of flood Warning and Management Capacity of Pakistan鈥. During the first phase from July 2011 to September 2014, the project has developed the flood-forecasting systems using satellite technology: the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS) and the Rainfall Runoff-Inundation (RRI) models, for the upper and lower catchment of the Indus River for improving the flood forecasting and early warning system of the country. The system enables the Government of Pakistan to have prior notice of a potential flood event in the targeted areas. The second phase of the project has started in 2015 involves cooperation with neighbouring countries of Pakistan such as Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of the riverine countries within Indus river system where 21 out of 34 provinces are vulnerable to floods from March to May months every year.
UNESCO Offices in Jakarta and Islamabad in collaboration with the Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management (CDPM), University of Peshawar, Pakistan and also in close coordination with UNESCO Kabul office, are conducting a training workshop in Jakarta, attended by 4 officers from the Ministry of Water and Energy of Afghanistan, 5 officers from Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), 4 officers from Ministry of Education and 7 officers from Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. This collaboration between Pakistan and Afghanistan will promote transboundary cooperation, such as transboundary data sharing, increase the capacity of flood management in Afghanistan, and eventually increase community resilience to flood in South Asian region.
The training workshop is conducted from 27 to 30 April 2019 and divided into three parts: 1) Multi-disaster management approach, community based DRR, 2) Watershed management approach, and the third parts field work in 3) Flood and drought control, early warning in action.
On the first day of the training, Prof. Amir Nawaz Khan from Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management (CDPM), University of Peshawar, Pakistan, gave the introduction to Multi disaster management. Then followed by presentation from Mr. Ardito Kodijat, UNESCO, on Principles in Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and the participants learned how to involve the communities into disaster management. Mr. Bustamam Koetapangwa, UNESCO, presented on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation giving green solutions perspective in handling climate change issues. The participants then discussed and reflected in group on different specific disasters. The first day was closed by Dr. Ai Sugiura by giving on overview of the eight years project key activities, outputs and lesson learnt which are all available to Afghan colleagues as transboundary understanding and collaboration between Afghanistan and Pakistan are essential to overcome the regional water management challenges.
Prof Amir Nawaz Khan opened the second day with his lecture on Watershed Management: Back to the Basic. This session serve as refresher on watershed hydrology for some of participants and the introduction to hydrology for some others. Then Prof Shahbaz Khan laid the basic of water balance calculation and integrated water resource management (IWRM) principles highlighting spiral and participatory approach for IWRM. The session will be followed by playing the board game developed during the project 鈥淭he Water Manager in You- Manage Indus Water for Better Pakistan-鈥 by UNESCO Office Jakarta to increase the junior high school and high school students鈥 awareness and understanding of IWRM and the role they can play in reducing water-related disaster risk. The last two days (29-30April 2019) will include field visits during which Afghan participants will learn from the various success story and implementation on flood and drought control and disaster management in Indonesia. During this fieldwork the participants will visit Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, SMK Wikrama Bogor, UNESCO-ESD School, Water Gate Katulampa and Center for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management Southeast Asia and Pacific (CCROM-SEAP) Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).
Further info: s.khan@unesco.org ; a.sugiura@unesco.org
