Progress Report 2006

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Flood Management and Mitigation Programme

The development objective of the MRC Flood Management and Mitigation Programme (FMMP) is: “to prevent, minimise or mitigate people’s suffering and economic losses due to floods, while preserving the environmental benefits of floods”.

This objective is the key to a balanced approach to Flood Management and Mitigation (FMM) and reinforces the region’s commitment to “living with floods”. The heart of the programme is a Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre, which provides technical and coordination services to the four countries in the Lower Mekong Basin. Forecasts, flood data, technical standards and training packages are key outputs of the programme.

The programme has five components:

1. Establishment of a Regional Flood Centre
2. Structural Measures and Flood Proofing
3. Mediation of Transboundary Flood Issues
4. Flood Emergency Management Strengthening
5. Land Management

After one year of full operation, the Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre (RFMMC) is nearly fully staffed and has completed its overall work plan. A communication link between the centre and the secretariat has been established. The construction of the new headquarters progressed well and it is expected the centre will move in mid-2007.

During 2006 the RFMMC reviewed hydro-meteorological, topographic, land-use etc data available in MRCS and the riparian countries and established a GIS database. Shortterm forecasting (1-5 days) was implemented and improved by increasing the accuracy and lead time and a review of existing flood forecasting systems in MRCS and member countries was completed.

The RFMMC developed a road map for medium term flood forecasts. Following the recommendations, the medium term flood forecasting system is being developed with establishment of an operational monitoring database and by strengthening the regional networks and national networks for real time data collection. The RFMMC also formulated a pilot project in the 2T sub-basin in Thailand for flood risk mapping and analysis and this project is now under implementation.

The USAID/ Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance-funded pilot project on provision of Flood Early Warning (FEW) in Cambodia for 40 villages entered its fourth year and trained 238 people on FEW and disaster management, while improving local understanding on FEW, dissemination of flood forecasts via the Internet, media, NGOs and direct information to communities.

During 2006 the FMMP produced the first Annual Mekong Flood Report and conducted the 4th Annual Mekong Flood Forum. These annual events are becoming increasingly important as avenues for the dissemination of flood information within the basin.

Under the Structural Measures and Flood Proofing Component, various essential administrative functions such as tendering processes were initiated, a framework for development and implementation of Integrated Flood Risk Management (IFRM) Guidelines for BDP was completed and a pilot project on roads and floods in the flood plain of Viet Nam and Cambodia is being implemented in conjunction with the Delft Clusters and the WorldWide Fund for Nature.

The FMMP’s Component 3 deals with the important topic of mediation of trans-boundary flood issues and in 2006 this component completed a draft of a concept paper on MRC mediation and coordination and a discussion paper concerning MRC’s mandate on conflict prevention and dispute resolution. It also completed an initial outline of a framework mechanism for mediation process of transboundary flood issues.

While the FMMP places an important emphasis on forecasting and managing floods it is also aware of the necessity of learning to live with floods and this is where the Flood Emergency Management Strengthening component is involved. In 2006 this component prepared and implemented flood preparedness programmes (FPP) in selected provinces and districts; completed institutional role analysis for FPP capacity at provincial level; developed provincial and district flood preparedness programmes; and identified priority sub-projects with provincial and district authorities. In order to raise public awareness of flood preparedness, several activities were organised and provinceto- province trans-boundary emergency assistance schemes were prepared.

Changes in land use can exacerbate floods and in 2006 the Land Management Component evaluated the MRC’s geospatial data, hydrologic/hydrodynamic models and related documentation as part of its work to provide more reliable flood probability information in selected provinces. It also requested source identification and acquisition of topographic data on selected areas of Viet Nam; acquired, processed and incorporated in its geo-database orthophotos, digital elevation map (DEM) and other data on selected areas of Cambodia; and conducted organisational analysis of national partner agencies in Cambodia and Viet Nam.

As part of MRC’s continuing commitment to capacity building in the basin, a number of training courses and workshops on database management, disaster management, radio network communicationand satellite rainfall estimation, and planning and implementation of flood preparedness programmes were held throughout the region.

The FMMP is funded by the Governments of Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States; as well as the Asian Development Bank and the European Union.