WGF16-Draft Proposal Flood Preparedness, Resilience and Adaptation

WORKING GROUP F – SHORT WORKSHOP

Flood Preparedness, Resilience and Adaptation

March2015

PROPOSED WORKSHOP OUTLINE

1.PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT

At the meeting of Working Group F (WG F) of 1st and 2nd April 2014, it was agreed that a workshop would be held in Brussels on the topic of ‘Flood Preparedness andResilience’ taking into account climate change. This document sets out a proposed outline of this workshop, as a basis for review, comment and discussion by WG F.

2.BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

2.1Background to the workshop

Following coastal surges, winter storms and major flooding affecting the UK, France and other Member States during the 2013/14 autumn and winter, a thematic workshop was proposed on flood preparedness and resilience at the April 2014 Working Group F meeting. The Floods Directive provides the tools to enable Member States to plan and respond more effectively, and in so doing raise their resilience to flood events of all types. This will be an essential part of climate adaptation at a time when the frequency and severity of major flood events in many parts of Europe appears to be increasing, consistent with climate change predictions. The workshop thus links with a previous workshop on Climate Change and Flood Risk Management (September 2010) and it was proposed that the link with climate change and adaptation should beretained.

2.2Target audience for workshop attendance

The workshop will target policy, technical and strategic implementation issues, and will be valuable to WGF members, emergency planners, emergency responders, policy makers, and flood risk managers.

3.WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES AND OUTPUTS

The proposed core objectives of the workshop are:

Lessons learnt in relation to preparedness/ resilience from recent flood events for countries and across Europe.

To discuss the key policy and technical issues around preparedness/resilience that make a difference that would help countries prioritise their main flood risks.

To discuss and draw conclusions/recommendations on how we use the activitiesof the Floods Directive to raise the overall level of preparedness of Member States to manage flooding.

To reviewand identify key adaptation actions that support the EU Adaptation Strategy and initiatives relating to flood risks.To report conclusions and recommendations to WG F for second cycle consideration.

The proposed output of the workshop will be a concise workshop report that will incorporate:

The papers presented at the workshop including recent developments across Europe.

Summaries of the discussions held and in particular conclusions and recommendations.of thepreparedness theme

An outline of issues requiring further analysis and discussion.

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4.KEY ISSUES

Proposed key issues for discussion at the workshop are:

  • Shared experience from recent major incidents, Balkans, Germany, Sweden, UK, France and other Member State experience. What were the positive outcomes, lessons learned and scope for pan European cooperation?
  • How has/can preparedness make communities more resilient in the face of increasing flood risk (all types).
  • Which Flood Directive actionshave been most useful in raising the resilience/preparedness of Member States to future floods?
  • What are the key Adaptation Actions in relation to flooding at administrative, business and community levels?
  • Communication of risk to the public and understanding of risk to raise community resilience. Have we achieved a better understanding of flood risks across Europe?
  • Critical infrastructure preparedness and resilience. Failure of a key communications link can have major impacts on regional economies.

5.WORKSHOP STRUCTURE AND LOGISTICS

5.1Workshop Structure

The workshop will be a one day event. A questionnaire will be sent out to Member States prior to the workshop to gain information to inform the workshop and reported on as part of the workshop outputs. The day will comprise brief plenary sessions with a small number of invited presentations, followed by breakout sessions to discuss key issues. The breakout sessions will focus on key issues and questions in the plenary session, including developing solutions or recommendations for addressing issues raised. A closing session will be held to summarise the conclusions of the workgroups and provide a forum for common discussion.

5.2Workshop Logistics

The workshop will be held in Brussels in March 2015 and is planned to be back-to-back with WGF17. Details of nearby hotels for reservation by delegates will be issued, along with a workshop programme, maps and travel details, following discussion on this proposal at the WGF16 meeting in October 2014.