Chapter Summary

This chapter discusses key overarching foundational concepts and crosscutting issues that will help the guide user understand the fundamental contextual issues related to flood management. The foundational concepts explain biophysical parameters and will help the reader understand how flood-related terms are defined and used. The crosscutting issues are key social and economic factors related to successful flood risk management. Key foundational issues include:

• Flood definitions and causes, benefits, hazards


• Watershed systems and characteristics


• The water cycle and managing water


• Climate, climate variability and weather


• Resilience

Key crosscutting issues include:

• Institutions


• Regulations


• Cross-sector coordination and cooperation


• Community engagement


• Gender


• Private sector


• Finances and funding

Additional Resources

Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM)

APFM, Flood Management in a Changing Climate, 2009.

APFM, Formulating a Basin Flood Management Plan, 2007.

FAO, Forests and Floods: Drowning in fiction or thriving on facts? 2005.

USAID, Climate-Resilient Development: A Framework for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change, 2014.

USAID, Tips for Conducting a Gender Analysis at the Activity or Project Level, 2011.

UNDP, Gender, Climate Change and Community-Based Adaptation, 2010.

UNISDR, Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-Sensitive Policy and Practical Guidelines, 2009.

UN Women, "Gender Responsive Budgeting."

Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, "Games," 2015.

Engagement Lab at Emerson College, "Games for Social Change."