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Report of the IFI (International Flood Initiative) Meeting
31st October, 2016, Jakarta, Indonesia

 


Tadashige KAWASAKI
NARBO Secretariat in Japan Water Agency


 

 

      International Flood Initiative (IFI) was launched00 by The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 2005 to address existing management gaps through a holistic approach and to provide a platform for further collaborative efforts with close collaboration with the United Nations University (UNU), the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). IFI aims to build capacity in developing countries to understand and better respond to floods by taking advantage of their benefits while at the same time minimizing their social, economic and environmental risks. International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) is a secretariat of IFI.


   IFI meeting in Jakarta was hold as a side event of the 8th High-level Expert and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) on 31st October, 2016 hosted by Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Republic of Indonesia. The participants of the meeting reviewed the key ideas of the revised strategy and the implementation planning framework of IFI, and discussed how to realize the IFM for reducing flood risks under climate change and contributing to sustainable development. Over 150 experts from international organizations and government of Indonesia joined, and influential and impressive presentations were offered by many experts.


   From NARBO, Mr. Kei KUDO, Secretary General of NARBO joined the panel discussion. He recommended some points for IFI strategy based on NARBO’s experience and committed to contribute to IFI activity as NARBO, and his presentation was welcomed by IFI.


   As a summary of the discussions, ‘HELP-IFI Jakarta Statement’ was issued to deliver the relevant major UN activities such as High Level-Panel on Water (HLPW) launched by the World Bank and the United Nations. The statement especially stressed the necessity of ‘spiral approach’ for integrated flood management to reduce negative consequences of disasters and of recognition and financing mechanisms for such approaches in collaboration with donor agencies. Participating Organizations agreed to establish a platform on water and disaster as part of its national platform for facilitating dialogues among all stakeholders from national, local and community and scaling up pre-disaster investment and community-based practices into basin-wide and/or nation-wide solutions.


   Japan Water Agency, Headquarters of NARBO agreed to collaborate to the activities of ICHARM and University of Tokyo with IFI strategy. Based on the agreement of the IFI meeting, NARBO would like to explore the opportunities to establish the platform on water and disaster at specific river basin by collaboration with NARBO member organizations.

 

 

Photo of IFI meeting at the meeting room of Ministry of Public Works and Housing


    IFI meeting and HELP meeting were hosted by Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Republic of Indonesia and led by H.E. Dr. Basuki Hadimoeljono. His Excellency offered keynote address at both meetings and introduced the challenges to water-related disasters of Indonesia. His Excellency is one of the Senior Advisors of NARBO. NARBO held the meeting to talk about NARBO with His Excellency during the IFI meeting. His Excellency expressed appreciation to NARBO activities, and NARBO had valuable recommendations for future actions.


  


   

H.E. Dr. Basuki Hadimoeljono, Minister of Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Mr. Kenyu Komura, President, Japan Water Agency