Community and Impact Based Early Warning System for Flood Risk Preparedness: The Experience of the Sirba River in Niger

Vieri Tarchiani, Giovanni Massazza, Maurizio Rosso, Maurizio Tiepolo, Alessandro Pezzoli, Mohamed Housseini Ibrahim, Gaptia Lawan Katiellou, Paolo Tamagnone, Tiziana De Filippis, Leandro Rocchi, Valentina Marchi and Elena Rapisardi
Additional contact information
Vieri Tarchiani: Institute of BioEconomy–National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Giovanni Massazza: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico and University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Maurizio Rosso: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy
Maurizio Tiepolo: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico and University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Alessandro Pezzoli: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico and University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Mohamed Housseini Ibrahim: Hydrology Directorate (DH), Ministry of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Niamey BP 257, Niger
Gaptia Lawan Katiellou: National Directorate of Meteorology (DMN), Ministry of Transports, Niamey BP 218, Niger
Paolo Tamagnone: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy
Tiziana De Filippis: Institute of BioEconomy–National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Leandro Rocchi: Institute of BioEconomy–National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Valentina Marchi: Institute of BioEconomy–National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Elena Rapisardi: Institute of BioEconomy–National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-24

Abstract: Floods have recently become a major hazard in West Africa (WA) in terms of both their magnitude and frequency. They affect livelihoods, infrastructure and production systems, hence impacting on Sustainable Development (SD). Early Warning Systems (EWS) for floods that properly address all four EWS components, while also being community and impact-based, do not yet exist in WA. Existing systems address only the main rivers, are conceived in a top-down manner and are hazard-centered. This study on the Sirba river in Niger aims to demonstrate that an operational community and impact-based EWS for floods can be set up by leveraging the existing tools, local stakeholders and knowledge. The main finding of the study is that bridging the gap between top-down and bottom-up approaches is possible by directly connecting the available technical capabilities with the local level through a participatory approach. This allows the beneficiaries to define the rules that will develop the whole system, strengthening their ability to understand the information and take action. Moreover, the integration of hydrological forecasts and observations with the community monitoring and preparedness system provides a lead time suitable for operational decision-making at national and local levels. The study points out the need for the commitment of governments to the transboundary sharing of flood information for EWS and SD.

Keywords: early warning; flood risk; hydrology; local communities; Niger river basin; rural development; Sahel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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