The International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) is playing a central role in organizing the Global Workshop on Floods and Health, which is being held under the auspices of the UNECE Water Convention, with leadership from the Netherlands, as well as the UNECE Protocol on Water and Health and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, led by Italy and the Netherlands.
Strengthening Resilience to Floods in a Changing Climate
Floods pose a growing global challenge, causing significant human and economic losses while severely impacting public health. Climate change has intensified extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall, heatwaves, and droughts, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases and vector-borne infections. In the past two years, nearly every region of the world has experienced devastating floods. In 2024, 7.2 million people were affected in West and Central Africa, almost 2 million in Central Europe, and over 100,000 people were displaced in Kazakhstan due to dam failures and reservoir overflows. Additionally, 41 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean remain vulnerable to storm-induced coastal flooding.
Floodwaters increase the risk of chemical and biological contamination, endangering water supply and sanitation infrastructure. They erode riverbanks, transport pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers, and degrade ecosystems. Contaminated floodwaters can infiltrate drinking water networks, causing serious health hazards. Beyond immediate threats, floods contribute to long-term health crises, including mental health disorders, infectious disease outbreaks, and increased mortality among vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children, and individuals with chronic illnesses.
Workshop Objectives and Key Themes
This global workshop will bring together policymakers, water and health experts, environmental organizations, and financial institutions to discuss innovative flood risk management strategies. It will emphasize transboundary cooperation, recognizing that 60% of the world’s freshwater flows across borders, necessitating coordinated responses to extreme hydrological events. Discussions will be structured around key thematic sessions:
- Global and regional policies on flood risk management within the context of climate change and their impact on health, water, and sanitation services.
- Integration of flood-related risks into national adaptation plans, including nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
- National practices for climate resilience and their transboundary effects, highlighting the role of river basin organizations.
- Transboundary flood risk planning, integrating flood management into basin-wide strategies.
- Health risks associated with floods, particularly wastewater treatment facilities and their transboundary effects.
- Early warning systems, data sharing, and flood monitoring at transboundary and national levels.
- Public awareness and community resilience, including response strategies to early warnings.
- Land-use management and nature-based solutions, such as reforestation and wetland restoration.
- Contributions to the development of new international guidelines, including the WMO-UNECE Guidelines on Transboundary Basin Hydrological Extremes Management.
- Shaping the future work program of the Protocol on Water and Health for 2026-2028, focusing on climate resilience.
Workshop Organization and Participation
The event will feature plenary presentations, thematic discussions, and interactive regional working groups. Interpretation will be available in Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Participants will include representatives from governments, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, financial institutions, academia, the private sector, and other experts.
INBO at this event
“UNECE is co-organising with WHO, INBO and WMO the Global workshop on building resilience to climate change, focusing on floods and health at the transboundary and national levels, on 19 and 20 March 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, with the financial support of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
This workshop, which is part of the Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health, brings together around 200 experts in water, climate, the environment, health and disasters, as well as transboundary basin organisations with the aim of strengthening cooperation, identifying links and synergies between their activities and sharing good practices. In addition to chairing Session 2, which is devoted to data, information systems and flood warning tools in river basins, INBO is involved in Session 5, sharing experience in flood risk management, from prevention to protection, including forecasting, preparedness and stakeholder involvement..
Découvrez les manuels à paraître et les appels à contributions actuels :
Christophe BRACHET
Advisor to RIOB & Director of Africa Programmes at OiEau