15 Nov 2017 | News

Regional Hands-on Training on Community Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS)

In the Hindu Kush Himalaya, floods and flash flooding are among the most common natural hazards in the region. These disasters cause considerable loss of lives and property in downstream communities, particularly during monsoon season. To address such flood risks and to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities, ICIMOD and some of its partner organizations have initiated community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS) in the HKH. These systems minimize flood risks by providing real-time flood warnings to downstream communities in advance.

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A five-day course in September 2017 was designed to enhance the capacity of participants to install and use community-based flood risk management system. The course provided technical know-how as well as conceptual knowledge about the use of flood early warning device designed by ICIMOD with support from Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE).

The hands-on portion training was designed for those who directly work on the ground for the implementation of the project. Participants of the training were representatives from the CBFEWS implementing communities and organizations especially, staff from local government and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, caretakers and ICIMOD staff.

Altogether 17 participants from three countries i.e. 4 from Pakistan (including FOCUS and WWF Pakistan), 3 from India, 10 from Nepal (including 4 from CBFEWS implementing communities, 2 from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, 1 from District Administration Office, 1 from Oxfam, 1 from UNDP and 1 from ICIMOD).