Integrated policies and practices for flood and drought risk management

The paper argues for an integrated approach to the management of water-related disasters that becomes a full part of the political decision-making process at the earliest possible moment and focuses on preparedness, mitigating their negative impacts and also considering their positive impacts, particularly those of floods. By doing this, there is an opportunity to consider the three pillars of sustainable development, and understand the options that exist and the trade-offs that may need to be made between economic efficiency, environmental sustainability and social equity. Within the post-2015 agenda, water-related disasters are addressed by targets under a number of different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As climate change becomes an ever-more-present reality, whose impacts are often experienced through water-related disasters such as floods and droughts, there is an urgent need to build disaster-resilient societies through more integrated policies and practices, including stakeholders' perspectives and a partnership approach. The paper provides stakeholder perspectives and approaches from around the world that are putting these ideas into practice.