The 4th International Symposium on Flood Defence
“Managing Flood Risk, Reliability & Vulnerability”
May 6-8, 2008
Toronto, Canada
May 6-8, 2008Toronto, CanadaPlenary Key Themes & Presentations
Red River Flood
of the Century – 10 Years Later
Tuesday 6 May 2008 11:00
(Session Leaders: Michael Ryan, US Bureau of Reclamation and
Co-Chair of the International Red River Board and Wayne Dybvig, Saskatchewan
Water Authority and Co-Chair of the IRRB)
The Red River of
the North Flood of 1997 affected a large number of residents from both Canada
and the United States who live within that particular basin.
Life disruption, economic damage, lengthy recovery process, physical and
emotional trauma motivated a number of major initiatives to improve the level
of preparedness in case of future floods. The Governments of Canada and the
United States asked the International Joint Commission (IJC) to investigate the
causes and effects of flooding in the Red River basin and to provide them with
recommendations to improve the preparedness for future flooding in the basin.
In 2001 the IJC submitted a report to the Governments of Canada and the Unites
States and the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota and the Premier of
Manitoba. The session will discuss the recommendations that were made and
the actions that have been taken.
This session will
focus on a review of the lessons learned from the flood, the recommendations
made and what has been done in the succeeding period. This session will
provide insights into the challenges that remain.
Panelists:
Presentations:
Hurricane
Katrina - Perspectives on Risk and Reliability Session
Wednesday 7 May 2008, 09:00
(Session Leader: Dr. Gerald E. Galloway, University of Maryland, "Flood
Risk Management Implications of Katrina - The US National Perspective")
Hurricane Katrina,
which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, was one of the
costliest natural disasters on record. Coastal recovery will require an
integrated approach to development and will take many years to
accomplish. Many questions must be answered along the way, such as: what
constitutes an adequate level of protection; how can you concurrently serve the
needs of flood risk reduction, ecosystem restoration; and navigation and which
has priority? It also raises questions as to how and by whom will key decision
be made, and who bears the ultimate responsibility. This session will
provide perspectives on the challenges of an integrated approach to long term restoration
and use of the US Gulf Coast.
Panelists:
Assessing the
Flood Risk
Wednesday 7 May 2008, 13:30
(Session Leader: Mr. Pete Rabbon, National Flood Risk Management
Program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Davis, CA, Washington DC, USA)
Recent natural
catastrophes, combined with the added threats posed by climate change, are
causing the flood management community to reassess how the risk environment is
being managed. Key fundamental issues relate to: 1) are the
existing policies and resulting infrastructures adequate within high-risk flood
regions, 2) what innovative approaches are available to assess
risk within the context of complex interactions that arise from extreme events,
and 3) who bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the right
measures are in place. A group of international experts will explore
these critical questions
Panelists:
Presentations:
Strategy for
Mainstreaming Flood Risk Reduction in Society
Thursday 8 May 2008, 16:00
(Session Leader: Dr. K. Takeuchi, International Centre for Water
Hazard and Risk Management, Tsukuba, Japan)
Mainstreaming of
disaster risk reduction is the urgent agenda of the world to adapt itself to
higher risk environment due to increasing societal vulnerability and
hydro-meteorological hazards by global warming. The reduction of CO2 emission
was agreed in the G8 of Heiligendamm, Germany in June 2007 "to consider
seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include
at least a halving of global emissions by 2050". It is an important move but
even if it is fully realized by the mid 21st century, the climate change will
continue and the human being has to face the intensified hydro-meteorological
extremes. Adaptation to the higher risk environment is an urgent agenda of the
world and a strong political commitment is necessary to make flood risk
reduction as the main stream of the nation. As the Hyogo Framework for Action
declares, disaster risk reduction should be a national and a local priority
with a strong institutional basis for implementation. How can we realize this
priority action and mainstream flood risk reduction in society? This is the
theme of this IFI (International Flood Initiative) session. The speakers
nominated by the main partners of IFI: UNESCO, WMO, ISDR, UNU and ICHARM will
propose the concrete strategic actions from their experiences and insights on
(1) how in climate adaptation, (2) how with donors, (3) how with science and
technology, (4) what are the local examples and (5) what are the indicators to
measure? The session will be followed by the IFI Technology Session to focus on
the latest advancement of technology to support the commitment of nations.
Panelists:
Presentations:
ICFM Declarations
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