 IFI
Concept
International Flood Initiative
(IFI) is a joint initiative in collaboration with such
international organizations as UNESCO (IHP),
WMO,
UN/ISDR, UNU, IAHS and
IAHR. IFI
made its
official launch in January 2005 at the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in Kobe, Japan. To
coordinate IFI activities, the IFI Secretariat is located in
ICHARM, Tsukuba,
Japan.
The Initiative is based on the
concept of integrated flood management and aims to ensure that
an end-to-end process of flood management is put in place in a
balanced manner, duly considering prevention and mitigation
measures and the positive and negative impacts of floods. By
applying the Integrated Flood Management approach that
considers comprehensive risk management principles and
approaches that aim at multi-hazard responses, IFI will foster
the mobilization of resources and networks of the UN system,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donor agencies, the
insurance industry in order to assist communities and
governments in developing culturally sensitive flood management
strategies comprising of optimal structural and non-structural
measures thereby targeting sustainable
development.
Integrated flood management (IFM) is a
process that promotes a holistic
risk-based approach to flood management. IFM is aimed at minimizing the
human and economic losses from
floods while at the same time
maximizing the social, economic, and
ecological benefits from floods
and the use of flood plains. It integrates land and water resources
development within a river
basin, addresses institutional
challenges, and recognizes the
critical importance of
stakeholder participation
and cultural diversity.
Read more on IFI Concept (PDF, 94KB).
Guiding
Principles:
The
implementation will be guided by five
principles:
- Living with
floods
- Equity for
all stakeholders
- Empowered
participation
- Interdisciplinary and
trans-sectorality
- International and
regional cooperation
IFI's
Objectives: IFI’s overall
objective is to build the necessary in-Country capacity to gain and
advocate for a better understanding and handling of hazards,
vulnerabilities and benefits associated with
floods. IFI’s specific objectives will enable
the countries to:
• Improve data
collection and analysis for
flood management
• Broaden the
knowledge-base with respect to
the risks and
benefits of floods
• Take advantage
of the benefits of floods and
flood plains
• Build on and
improve institutional frameworks
for flood
management
• Develop
area-specific adaptation strategies
• Develop
approaches to assess and
reduce vulnerability
• Improve
floodplain management in rural
and urban
areas
• Optimize a mix
of structural and
non-structural approaches
to flood management
• Improve flood
forecasting and early warning
for both
urban and rural areas
•
Increase the effectiveness of
forecasts and people-centered early warning
systems
• Improve
community responses to
flood hazards
• Strengthen
coping capacity to deal
with flood
risks under climate change
• Develop
participatory approaches to
be used in a
variety of contexts and cultural
settings
• Increase flood
awareness and preparedness with a focus on rural settings
• Incorporate
flood management into
school and
university curricula
• Improve
in-service training in all aspects
of flood
management
• Develop
financial mechanisms for transferring risks
andsharing losses from
floods
• Increase the effectiveness of forecasts
and people-centered early warning
systems
• Improve community responses to
flood hazards
• Strengthen coping capacity to deal
with flood risks
under climate change
• Develop participatory approaches to
be used in a
variety of contexts and cultural
settings
• Increase flood awareness and
preparedness with a focus
on rural settings
• Incorporate flood management into
school and university
curricula
• Improve in-service training in all aspects
of flood
management
• Develop financial mechanisms
for transferring
risks and sharing losses from floods
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IFI
Secretariat:
