Catchments represent hydrological units of direct interactions between social, economic and environmental systems, and physical processes and services of water resources at the catchment scale are very sensitive to environmental change.
A Training of Trainers workshop on “Catchment-based Approach to Flood Disaster Risks Management in the Context of Climate Change” was organised from 17–19 October 2018, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aim of the workshop was to develop capacities of stakeholders and communities to better appreciate climate change induced flood disasters risk at the catchment scale.
Overall, 25 participants from 8 institutions drawn from a broad range of stakeholder groups (research and education, private sector, civil society, government ministry, river basin organisations) participated in the training. The methodological approach to the workshop was centred on plenary sessions, group exercises and field visit.
The last day of the training was spent at the Lukaya catchment, a UN-Environment IWRM pilot demonstration project, where the participants had an opportunity to match the theory to practice on catchment processes and functions. It was also possible to evaluate the impacts of flood on key socio-economic activities in the catchment, including water supply and sanitation, water uses, local enterprises such as farms (poultry, fish and agriculture), and gravel quarry.
A key outcome of the workshop is the establishment of a Working Group on flood disaster risks management. This Working Group is made of stakeholders from research and education, private sector, civil society, policy and decision makers from government and river basin organisations, with a mission to assess adequate data and tools, and provide information required to support policies and decision making of flood disaster risks management, and to carry out awareness raising actions for communities at the catchment levels.
The workshop was implemented by the Congo Basin Network for Capacity Development in Water (CB-HYDRONET) in close collaboration with the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center (CRREBaC) of the University of Kinshasa, DRC.
')}
