Words into Action guidelines: Implementation guide for addressing water-related disasters and transboundary cooperation

This Words into Action guide has been prepared to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework. It aims to raise awareness on the importance of river basin management and transboundary cooperation in DRR, while taking into account climate change adaptation. It provides information on steps that governments in particular at the different levels can take to harness the values of river basin management and transboundary cooperation together with good practices and lessons learned in this field. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in this guide is considered as the implementation of DRR. DRM describes and implements actions that aim to achieve the objectives of reducing risk.

The general objective of this guide is to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework in (transboundary) basins through bringing together disaster risk management, integrated water management and climate adaptation approaches. This includes ensuring that IWRM issues are considered at all levels including at the international level, and that the role of water and basins is taken into account. The guide will also consider the framework of various international commitments including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Taken together, while ultimately measures are taken at the local level, policy development and planning should take into account transboundary aspects when relevant. Consequently, a national disaster risk management strategy cannot be developed without first looking at relevant transboundary aspects and vice versa. Moreover, even at the national level, administrative boundaries exist (e.g. states, provinces, counties, and so on). Thus, the transboundary approach applies to all governance levels, and the approaches and methodologies described in this guide are relevant at all levels. 

The purpose of this guide is not to offer a detailed methodology that could be followed step by step, but rather to propose a set of principles and guidance with references to additional materials that combine disaster risk approaches with transboundary water management and climate adaptation. This guide is intended to offer guidance to countries implementing the Sendai Framework as well as to help in implementing the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) with regards to disasters and climate change. This guide is not legally binding and does not preclude the legal obligations arising from the Convention.