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The Indus River is a major transboundary river in Asia with nine tributaries. The River is about 2,800km long, with 2,682 km in Pakistan. The Indus drainage basin covers an area of about 1,140,000 km2 stretching from Afghanistan through China, India, and Pakistan. Monsoonal rains are the most important flood-causing factor in the Indus basin, followed by the size, shape, and land-use of the catchments as well as the conveyance capacity of the corresponding streams. The monsoon rains fall from June to September, and are generally intense and widespread.

The European rivers Mura, Drava and Danube form a 700 km long “green belt” connecting more than 800,000 ha of highly valuable natural and cultural landscapes in five countries (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia). This area is a symbol of unity among the countries and is planned to become a protected Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube” (TBR MDD).

Water is central to food security, poverty reduction, economic growth, energy production, and human health. Due to climate change, catastrophic events, such as droughts and floods will increase, impacting lives, livelihoods, land values, and investment incentives. This briefing note focusses on programmes for Climate Resilience, and on integrated drought management in particular. Briefing notes are two-page summaries on selected topics. They are prepared by GWP’s Global Secretariat and its partners.

Montevideo is a region with the highest population density in Uruguay; with just over 1,3 mil. inhabitants (INE, 2011) and has the one of the smallest surface areas (530 km2). Mildly undulated plains and reasonable water resources characterize its geography. There is a wide coastal strip by the River Plate with arches of beaches of great recreational and tourist value; Santa Lucía river in the west that supplies the region with drinking water and three urban watersheds similar to Pantanoso, Miguelete and Carrasco streams. From an economic point of view, it is the main industrial and commercial activities concentration in the country and has the highest rates of human development and per capita GDP. The Pantanoso watershed in Montevideo was identified as the most vulnerable to threats of intense rains and floods and the area has the highest number of settlements on its banks. Strong winds and intense rains bring high water levels or floods in some urban watersheds and sporadically affect the local population. Both the local population and governmental authorities have never had specific training in disaster risk management for floods. Therefore, they prepared the necessary skills to be able to handle disasters of the nature. The Spanish version.