"Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), as defined by the Global Water Partnership, is “a process which promotes the coordinated management and development of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems”. This approach recognizes that a single intervention has implications for the system as a whole, and that the integration of development and flood management can yield multiple benefits from a single intervention.
Integrated Flood Management (IFM) integrates land and water resources development in a river basin, within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management, with a view to maximizing the efficient use of floodplains and to minimizing loss of life and property. Integrated Flood Management, like Integrated Water Resources Management, should encourage the participation of users, planners and policymakers at all levels. The approach should be open, transparent, inclusive and communicative; should require the decentralization of decision-making; and should include public consultation and the involvement of stakeholders in planning and implementation.
The management of floods as problems in isolation almost necessarily results in a piecemeal, localized approach. Integrated Flood Management calls for a paradigm shift from the traditional fragmented approach, and encourages the efficient use of the resources of the river basin as a whole, employing strategies to maintain or augment the productivity of floodplains, while at the same time providing protective measures against the losses due to flooding. Sustainable development through Integrated Water Resources Management aims at the sustained improvement in the living conditions of all citizens in an environment characterized by equity, security and freedom of choice. Integrated Water Resources Management necessitates the integration both of natural and human systems and of land and water management."
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