Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2017 (97. évfolyam)
2017 / 3. szám - TRANSNATIONAL EFFORTS - Oroszi Viktor György - Tamás Enikő Anna - Tamás Beatrix: Flood management education in the Danube basin - needs and challenges
30 Hidrológiai Közlöny (Hungarian Journal of Hydrology) 2017. 97. évf. 3. sz. the PA5 Steering Group to enhance the PA5 action plan respectively and to ICPDR FP-EG in order to find proper measures to be included during the update of the DFRMP. The main findings of the event were the following: • In vocational schools because of the aging of teachers and their limitations in speaking foreign languages (mainly English), the attrition of young professionals, the low number of full time teachers and the lack of continuity caused huge fluctuation, that is why secondary school level technical education is disappearing, therefore enhanced dual education is needed. In some cases water supply companies started to set up postgraduate and secondary level courses (i.e. in Bratislava); • Recruiting of prospective students is a constant problem for universities. There is a lack of proper marketing and people (students) arent’t aware of these fields of expertise. Therefore, close cooperation between secondary schools and higher education institutions is important; • There is a low interest for technical studies and a deacreasing number of university students in general, that is why less educated people are present in this field; • General knowledge of hydrology is given during civil engineering studies at the bachelor level, but hydraulic engineering is appearing only as a specialization. Some of the specialised master studies are focusing on flood issues and climate change induced problems, or urban floods and related EU legislation; • At university level, the topic of flood management is covered mainly within other subjects (e.g. hydrology, hydraulic structures, river regulation, economy), that is why students are not able to see this issue in an integrated way as a complex whole problem; • Social issues of hazards (e.g. socio-hydrology, social memory in natural hazards, resilience of landscapes and population, social aspects of floods, participatory planning methods) and green measures should be more in focus. Interdisciplinary research in the field of victims and real estate should also be emphasized; • Several problems could be overcome with good cooperation of water directorates, giving special courses and organizing technical excursions, therefore co-operation with water institutions should be sustained or enhanced; • • Traditional education and local knowledge are disappearing and implementation of education in small communities is needed; • Training of volunteers and inhabitants is important; • Lack of knowledge on floods in administration-related sciences results in inadequate education of municipal experts, who indeed need to be prepared and to effectively cooperate with water resources and disaster risk management as well as urban planning sectors in order to see the flood problem in an integrated way. Implementation of the learnt knowledge is also missing, because educated people are usually not present in the field; • Changing political background and missing longterm strategy of water policy results in interference in the sector (and this can also influence project implementation and investments). Despite big floods, political attention on floods is very low; • Several discussions took place on the ways of application of the 2nd, 3rd and other cycles of the Water Framework Directive. Flood Directive is also not complete at all. Flood Directive is not enough to reestablish education; • Re-establishment of the Danube hydrology discussion is necessary. There are very few good experts in hydrology, therefore networking should be emphasized; The key messages of the workshop will be communicated to the EUSDR PA5 Steering Group to enhance the PA5 action plan and to ICPDR Flood Protection Expert Group in order to find proper measures to be included in the pursuance of the Danube Flood Risk Management Plan update. REFERENCES Baaker M.H.N. (2009). Transboundary River Floods: Examining Countries, International River Basins, and Continents. Water Policy 11: 269-288. COWI-IPF (2015). Flood prevention and management - Gap analysis and needs assessment in the context of implementing the EU Floods Directive. 24p. Available at: https://europa.ba/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FLOOD- PREVENTION-AND-MANAGEMENT-GAP- AN ALYSIS-EXECUTIVE-SUMMARY1 .pdf (Last access: 28/8/2017) Demeritt D., Nobert S., Cloke H. L. and Pappenberger F. (2013). The European Flood Alert System and the communication, perception, and use of ensemble predictions for operational flood risk management. Hydrological Processes 27/1: 147-157. European Commission Press Release (2013). EU Solidarity Fund - Commission moves to help Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania after flood and drought disasters. Available at: http://europa.eu/ra- pid/press-release_IP-13-907_en.htm (Last access: 22/8/2017) EUSDR PA5 (2015). Danube Region Operative Flood Management and Cooperation Programme, Budapest 16p. Available at: https://www.danubeenvironmentalrisks.eu/files/directory/ 84 (Last access: 28/8/2017) EUSDR PA5 (2017). International workshop on flood protection education network in the Danube river basin - Common Findings. Budapest, 12p. Available at:
