Members of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) met from 21-22 June 2004 in Berlin to address the UNECE’s Water Convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes, focusing on the implementation of the Guidelines on Sustainable Flood Prevention, adopted by the Parties to the Convention in March 2000.

Several countries reported on how the guidelines have been incorporated into national legislative acts, programmes or internal agreements, and that international river basin commissions have been established in most river basin districts in Europe and in some cases flood action plans have been adopted or are in the preparation or planning stages. Members also concluded that UNECE Guidelines for Sustainable Flood Prevention are an effective instrument, and that there was at present no need for a substantial revision. They proposed some additions on particular issues, notably: that the solidarity principle should be applied across the entire UNECE region; that existing financial mechanisms should be used for non-EU Member States sharing rivers with the EU and supporting initiatives, particularly the EU Water Initiative component for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia as well as the Balkans countries; and that the contact of flood management should be broadened by applying the principles of the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and its recent Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessments in order to better integrate environmental and health considerations. More information is available at: http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/flood/seminar.htm