GAR 2015 Main Report

238

Part III - Chapter 12

Mekong River Commission’s Water Resources Management-based Basin Development Strategy are examples of such strategies with significant spatial coverage and high levels of ambition (European Commission, 2007

European Commission. 2007,Directive 2007/60/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks, Official Journal of the European Union. L 288/27, 6 November 2007.. .

; MRC, 2010

MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2010,Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project, Inception Report. Final Version Prepared by: Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project, Mekong River Commission Secretariat. September 2010.. .

Similarly, national and regional approaches to incorporating disaster risk reduction into environmental management can be found in the context of forest fire management (e.g. in Jamaica and Lebanon), coastal zone management (e.g. in Belize, Viet Nam and Kenya), and protected areas management (e.g. in Mali, New Zealand and Nepal) ( GAR 13 paper

UNEP, 2014

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 2014,Disaster risk reduction is an integral objective of environment related policies and plans, including for land use natural resource management and adaptation to climate change, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR..
Click here to view this GAR paper.

). The application of these tools in practice would seem to be gaining momentum.

However, there are still only few examples of integrated community-level approaches that have been scaled up with success. One exception is the grassroots approach to water management at the border between Guatemala and Mexico, where local initiative has turned into national strategy (IUCN, 2012

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2012,Tacaná Watersheds Guatemala & Mexico: Transboundary water governance and implementation of IWRM through local community action, IUCN Water Programme. Demonstration Case Study No. 5. Water and Nature Initiative.. .

). In the Guatemalan municipality of Tacaná, 14 micro-watershed councils successfully engaged with the municipal authorities to develop a coordinated alliance of government

and non-governmental organizations at the subnational level. The success of this coordination led to replication in other municipalities and ultimately to the creation of a national micro-watershed commission in Guatemala (ibid.).

Ecosystem approaches to disaster risk reduction

Another practice with enormous potential which hasyettobefullyrealizedisthatofpaymentforecosystem services (UNISDR, 2009a

UNISDR. 2009a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Risk and Poverty in a Changing Climate, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. .

). Though difficult to assess in economic terms, the regulating services of ecosystems—such as soil protection and flood management—may be their greatest economic value ( GAR 13 paper

UNEP, 2014

). However, working examples are still few and far between, and the practice remains far from mainstream (UNISDR, 2011a

UNISDR. 2011a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Revealing Risk, Redefining Development, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. .

, 2013a).

New approaches also blend grey and green infrastructure in a way that maximizes different ecosystem services, including the reduction of flood risks. For example, in Napa Valley, California, green infrastructure in the form of wetlands creation and protection as well as floodplain restoration is combined with a set of grey infrastructure investments such as conventional rock and concrete flood protection (Figure 12.7).

Figure 12.7 Living river flood control through green-grey infrastructure, Napa Valley, California

(Source: Conservation International, 2014.)

	238 Part III - Chapter 12 Mekong River Commission’s Water Resources Management-based Basin Development Strategy are examples of such strategies with significant spatial coverage and high levels of ambition (European Commission, 2007 x European Commission. 2007,Directive 2007/60/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks, Official Journal of the European Union. L 288/27, 6 November 2007.. . ; MRC, 2010 x MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2010,Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project, Inception Report. Final Version Prepared by: Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project, Mekong River Commission Secretariat. September 2010.. . ). Similarly, national and regional approaches to incorporating disaster risk reduction into environmental management can be found in the context of forest fire management (e.g. in Jamaica and Lebanon), coastal zone management (e.g. in Belize, Viet Nam and Kenya), and protected areas management (e.g. in Mali, New Zealand and Nepal) (UNEP, 2014 x UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 2014,Disaster risk reduction is an integral objective of environment related policies and plans, including for land use natural resource management and adaptation to climate change, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). The application of these tools in practice would seem to be gaining momentum. However, there are still only few examples of integrated community-level approaches that have been scaled up with success. One exception is the grassroots approach to water management at the border between Guatemala and Mexico, where local initiative has turned into national strategy (IUCN, 2012 x IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2012,Tacaná Watersheds Guatemala & Mexico: Transboundary water governance and implementation of IWRM through local community action, IUCN Water Programme. Demonstration Case Study No. 5. Water and Nature Initiative.. . ). In the Guatemalan municipality of Tacaná, 14 micro-watershed councils successfully engaged with the municipal authorities to develop a coordinated alliance of government and non-governmental organizations at the subnational level. The success of this coordination led to replication in other municipalities and ultimately to the creation of a national micro-watershed commission in Guatemala (ibid.). Ecosystem approaches to disaster risk reduction Another practice with enormous potential which hasyettobefullyrealizedisthatofpaymentforecosystem services (UNISDR, 2009a x UNISDR. 2009a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Risk and Poverty in a Changing Climate, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. . ). Though difficult to assess in economic terms, the regulating services of ecosystems—such as soil protection and flood management—may be their greatest economic value (UNEP, 2014 x UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 2014,Disaster risk reduction is an integral objective of environment related policies and plans, including for land use natural resource management and adaptation to climate change, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). However, working examples are still few and far between, and the practice remains far from mainstream (UNISDR, 2011a x UNISDR. 2011a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Revealing Risk, Redefining Development, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. . , 2013a). New approaches also blend grey and green infrastructure in a way that maximizes different ecosystem services, including the reduction of flood risks. For example, in Napa Valley, California, green infrastructure in the form of wetlands creation and protection as well as floodplain restoration is combined with a set of grey infrastructure investments such as conventional rock and concrete flood protection (Figure 12.7). Figure 12.7 Living river flood control through green-grey infrastructure, Napa Valley, California (Source: Conservation International, 2014.)	Page 1 Page 10 Page 20 Page 30 Page 40 Page 50 Page 60 Page 70 Page 80 Page 90 Page 100 Page 110 Page 120 Page 130 Page 140 Page 150 Page 160 Page 170 Page 180 Page 190 Page 200 Page 210 Page 220 Page 228 Page 229 Page 230 Page 231 Page 232 Page 233 Page 234 Page 235 Page 236 Page 237 Page 238 Page 239 ->Page 240 Page 241 Page 242 Page 243 Page 244 Page 245 Page 246 Page 247 Page 248 Page 249 Page 250 Page 251 Page 252 Page 260 Page 270 Page 280 Page 290 Page 300 Page 310