Flood Green Guide Youth Network:  A youth-led consortium to exchange knowledge, expertise, and best practices on Flood Risk Management

Title: Promoting a Youth-Centered Approach to Flood Risk Management

Rising global temperatures increase atmospheric moisture, leading to storms, heavy rainfall, and intense dry spells. Floods and droughts are among the most destructive effects of climate change, impacting nearly 3 billion people and causing significant suffering and economic loss. Vulnerable groups, such as women, disabled individuals, and young people, are often the most affected but are frequently excluded from decision-making. The Environment & Disaster Management’s Flood Green Guide promotes a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to enhancing resilience and reducing vulnerability for both people and the environment. The Flood Green Guide (FGG) was introduced to promote the adoption of natural and nature-based flood-risk mitigation measures through youth involvement.

As sea level rises, crops are lost, communities are swallowed and lives are lost, the FGG provides guidance on controlling and minimizing flood risk while maximizing management measures’ social, environmental, and economic co-benefits. In June 2023, nine young professionals from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific Islands participated in the Environmental & Disaster Management team’s FGG Youth Champions Program workshop to learn about FGG and design an FGG Youth Network (FGGYN) that addresses flooding as a global catastrophe. One of the resolutions from the workshop was to use the Network as a consortium to exchange knowledge, expertise, and best practices on Flood Risk Management.

The Youth Network will prioritize the contribution of youth towards the minimization of flood risk, creating a space for vulnerable groups to bring forth innovative skills and expertise. It will provide a space to explore the principles of flood risk management, the challenges connected with controlling these risks, and the preparedness measures to be taken.

Flood Risk, Youth, and the Sustainable Development Goals

Disaster risk reduction affects many areas and sectors of development. In 10 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), there are 25 targets connected to disaster risk reduction, firmly defining disaster risk reduction as a major development strategy. Flood-prone human settlements impede the achievement of SDG 11 for sustainable cities and communities. Flooding and water scarcity hinder socio-economic development. Urbanization and population expansion cause impermeable surfaces to disrupt natural water absorption and drainage processes.

To realize the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, local and national governments are encouraged to engage young people in the development and delivery of policies and programs. Engaging young people in development programs can positively impact their personal growth and build community relationships. Young people are more open-minded and less hierarchical in problem-solving. Societies will best tackle flood-related issues and create a more resilient and sustainable future by integrating young people into decision-making processes, supporting their initiatives, and providing vital resources.

Moving Forward

Young people have an important role to play in transitioning to natural and nature-based flood risk management, attaining the SDGs, holding governments accountable, and mobilizing others to participate as change makers. The Network will strengthen collaboration between research, communities, advisory services, and civil society groups. The FGGYN is designed to address some of the most serious flooding tragedies, such as deaths, post-traumatic stress, and social and economic hardships, to ensure that they can be avoided or dramatically reduced through pre-, during-, and post-disaster investments in preparedness activities and associated infrastructure, flood plain policy development, effective watershed land-use planning, flood forecasting and warning systems, and response mechanisms. Through a unified voice, the FGGYN will enhance collaboration and representation among organizations that address flood risk.