Download Daegu Workshop Outcome Document Priority Policy Recommendations

Daegu Workshop Outcome Document
Priority Policy Recommendations
for Urban Flood Management in the Context of Climate Change
in the Asia-Pacific region
Overview
In Asia and the Pacific cities are increasingly the engines of both national and regional economic
growth. The urban contribution to national GDP is significantly higher than urban share of total
population, and this trend will be more pronounced over time. By 2050 the proportion of those
living in towns and cities in the Asia-Pacific will reach around 64 per cent, a nearly 50 per cent
increase from the figure of 43 per cent today.
Yet despite the increasing role of urban centers in the region’s development, for the most part cities
and towns are highly vulnerable and lack resilience. As cities grow so too will their exposure to
disasters and the projected impacts of climate change. This increased vulnerability is an
impediment to sustainable economic growth, as well as a growing threat to quality of life,
especially for the urban poor who bear disproportionately higher impacts and costs.
Among disaster types, flooding is among the most common type of disaster. According to the
Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012, from 1970 to 2010 the number of people exposed to the impact of
flooding rose from 29.5 million to 63.8 million, and the economic exposure to flood hazard has
increased at a faster rate than any other hazard 1. In response, there is an urgent need to strengthen
the capacity of local governments which are on the frontline of dealing with urban flooding,
including the forging of coordination mechanisms across various levels of government,
establishing partnerships with civil society and formulating effective future planning responses in
the context of climate change.
In recognizing to the need to develop greater knowledge and platforms for sharing experience and
policy frameworks, particularly in the ASEAN region, ESCAP in partnership with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Korea, and Korea Water and Wastewater Works Association organized the
‘Regional workshop on climate change and urban flood management’, in Daegu, Republic of
Korea, 19-20 March, 2013.
ESCAP & UNISDR. (2012). The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012: Reducing Vulnerability and Exposure to Disasters (ESCAP Reference
No.: ST/ESCAP/2639). Retrieved from http://www.unescap.org/idd/pubs/Asia-Pacific-Disaster-Report-2012.pdf
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The key objectives of the Workshop were to:

Identify challenges faced by local governments in urban flood management in the context
of climate change and sustained urban growth;

Strengthen the capacity of governments in ASEAN countries by sharing knowledge and
good practices on urban flood management, enhance understanding of the impact of
limited or weak coordination, and promote opportunities of cooperation via institutional
and legal mechanisms;

On the basis of the Workshop outcomes, formulate policy recommendations including
urgent actions on urban flood management in the context of central-local government
cooperation mechanisms and institutional arrangements.
The workshop consisted of sixteen participants from ten countries and twenty one participants
overall who identified the following key challenges and priority policy recommendations for
further action2.
Key Challenges
(1) Effective planning for and responses to urban flooding are hampered by structural and nonstructural dynamics. This includes a lack of efficient and effective institutional frameworks and
mechanisms; limited authority; insufficient resources for local governments; and weak
coordination between different tiers of government.
(2) There are critical gaps in the integration of urban flood management in the context of urban
planning, in particular land use planning. Where land use plans are in place, they are often
ineffectively implemented resulting in unplanned development which undermines natural and
planned response systems.
(3) Knowledge and action is hindered by fragmented partnerships between critical actors and
sectors. Linkages between professional groups including industry sectors, research institutions,
civil society and government are often underutilized which limits opportunities to harness local
knowledge and technologies that contribute to effective urban flood prevention and adaptation.
(4) The source and impact of urban flooding extends into non-urban environments and across
administrative boundaries. Regional and national vulnerabilities result from deforestation,
degradation of natural systems such as basins and deltas, as well as unmanaged development
taking place in upstream and coastal environments. The spatial scale of natural hydrological
boundaries (e.g. basins and deltas) is often different from administrative and political
boundaries, but flood mitigation strategies and action plans inadequately reflect the need for
integrated ecosystem management. Developing adaptive and responsive institutional
For more information about the workshop (including list of participants and presentations delivered), please visit
http://www.unescap.org/esd/suds/egm/2013/urban-flood-management/index.asp
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frameworks which enable ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation is a critical need for
urban flood management.
(5) Financial gaps at the level of local government constrain the development and implementation
of necessary structural measures such as flood control infrastructure. Capacity is aggravated in
many cases by insufficient fiscal resources and a lack of long-term planning for local fiscal
autonomy in urban flood measures.
Priority Policy Recommendations
(1) Strengthen institutional frameworks to support improved capacity of governments, and
especially local government
 Review and improve institutional frameworks to accommodate needs of local governments
on sufficient legal authority, financial resources and administrative processes
 Establish effective communication channels (e.g. national early warning systems) and
empower coordinating agencies to improve coordination between tiers of government and
enhance institutional coherence
 Conduct pilot programmes on urban flood mechanisms in selected cities to identify suitable
policy arrangements which can be implemented across levels of government
 Ensure that responses to climate change and variability, sea-level rise and urban flooding
garner the highest level of political support and commitment
(2) Mainstream urban flood management into urban and regional planning, including land use
planning
 Higher prioritization of urban flood management needs to be reflected in the policy agenda
based on adequate risk assessment, and the data generated on risk and vulnerability should
be available to all stakeholders and result in greater public awareness and transparency of
information
 Governments should design urban flood mitigation measures based on comprehensive,
effective and responsive urban planning and land use planning for existing and future
populations
 Urban flood data and planning should be mainstreamed into urban, regional and national
development planning frameworks and mechanisms, and integrated across sectors and
institutions
 Future planning needs to be ‘disaster-resilient’ and shaped by ‘no-regrets’ planning to
create an adaptive built environment in which cities are made more resilient against the
impacts of flooding. Emphasis should be given to the protection and rehabilitation of
natural defense systems, water storage and harvesting systems to improve the adaptive
capacity of low-lying areas (coastal and river systems), for example waterways, vegetation,
drainage networks/ponds and natural barriers to sea level rise and tidal flooding
(3) Promote multi-stakeholder engagement
 Establish formal and informal institutional mechanisms and cross-sectoral partnerships
which consist of industry, research institutions and civil society to maximize local
knowledge, experiences and capacity of those groups for cost-effective urban flood
management
 Create platforms through which good practices can be shared regionally, and which
particularly highlight successful partnerships in urban planning for flood prevention
measures in cities in the Asia-Pacific region
 In responding to the challenges posed by urban flooding, the needs of poorer and more
vulnerable populations must be given particular attention, as it is often these groups which
face the greatest vulnerability and lack institutional support
(4) Financing

In parallel with efforts to secure sufficient budgets from national government, review and
reform local tax/subsidy systems to ensure financing for urban flood-related infrastructure,
and provide appropriate financial incentives to support flood mitigation initiatives
 Greater effort needs to be made to broaden and strengthen the resource support base,
including revenue, through promotion of partnerships among stakeholders including
business sectors (e.g. PPP guidelines in urban flood – related investments, city level social
pacts for corporate social responsibility and so on)
 Strengthen integrated approaches for urban planning and urban flood infrastructure in
order to utilize limited financial resources more effectively

Budgets should be earmarked for urban flood prevention and mitigation in annual or
equivalent budget plans

Flood insurance and mechanisms of financial support should be developed and extended
to include vulnerable and poorer populations not covered by existing schemes