OSCE organizes study visit to Switzerland on flood prevention and transboundary co-operation for Eastern Europe environment experts
The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) supported the visit of 16 representatives of environmental authorities and environmental experts from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine to Switzerland, to learn about good practices in restoring ecosystems in flood-prone areas. The visit, which took place from 31 August to 4 September 2015, is part of a joint OSCE – UNEP project initiated during the 2014 Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE and funded by Switzerland within the framework of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC). The project aims to increase the potential for ecosystem restoration, in order to mitigate flood risks in the transboundary river basins in Eastern Europe. It also envisions a pilot ecosystem restoration activity in one of these transboundary river basins, building on the experience acquired in Switzerland.
During the visit and in order to better explore and learn from from the Swiss experience in, and approach to flood management, participants met with representatives of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, as well as flood protection and ecosystem experts of the Canton of Geneva and Canton of Valais. A number of field visits to both cantons were organized to showcase and assess concrete examples of ecosystem restoration in Switzerland. The combination of discussions, targeted presentations and field visits facilitated a continued exchange of experience among the three countries, which share transboundary rivers and work to strengthen transboundary co-operation in their basins with the support of ENVSEC partner organizations, including the OSCE.
As part of the broader efforts undertaken by the OSCE to address various aspects of water governance, this project will also contribute to the implementation of the Ministerial Council (MC) Decision on “Enhancing Disaster Risk Reduction”, adopted at the 2014 Ministerial Council in Basel.