Background: Recent experience indicates steadily growing damages caused by natural disasters, including floods. In principle, flood management measures can be grouped into two categories - non-structural measures, which increase threshold flows for which no damages occur and include living with floods, regulations and policies, flood defence and flood insurance; and, structural measures, which attempt to reduce flood volumes and peaks and thereby protect people and property against floods. When dealing with floods within a single administrative territory, the existing flood management knowledge can be fully utilised by a responsible agency for coping with floods as best as their resources will allow. However, the situation is much different in the case of transboundary floods, which generally start in one jurisdiction (country) and then propagate into another jurisdiction(s) further downstream. Besides the technical aspects of flood management, a whole plethora of new problems appear, including those related to multinational sharing of flood related data and information, and joint actions and consultations in dealing with flooding. This particular aspect of transboundary flood management will be emphasized at the workshop.

Purpose: NATO Advanced Research Workshops (ARW) are advanced-level meetings focusing on special subjects of current interest. The main purpose of this ARW is to review the state of the art of managing transboundary floods, with respect to reducing risks and enhancing security through improved flood management planning. Emphasis will be placed on discussing actual case studies dealing with transboundary flood management issues.

Language: The ARW will be conducted in English. To fully contribute to, and benefit from, the workshop program, all participants must be proficient in English.

Participation: This ARW is open to professionals with experience related to flood management. The attendance will be limited to not more than 50 experts, by invitation only. Early applications to attend will be accepted until February 1, 2005, at the workshop Secretariat (see the address above). Late applications will be considered only if space is available. The final selection of participants will be made in consultation with NATO, respecting their recommendations on numbers of participants from various countries. Where deemed necessary, we will require official endorsements of applications by applicants' employers. The selected participants will receive official invitations to attend in late February 2005. Participants are responsible for obtaining their own health, accident and travel insurance, as well as visa to enter Romania and/or any other country visited during their travel to and from the workshop.

Costs of Attendance and Financial Assistance: The workshop registration fee of 200 Euro will be waived for all NATO-sponsored participants. The cost of room and board (approximately 300 Euro), and travel expenses, may be partly or fully subsidized for the selected candidates from the NATO and Eligible Partner Countries (including Mediterranean Dialogue countries), provided that (a) they do not work for commercial or industrial undertakings, or (b) are invited as key speakers. Travel support will be awarded for the most economical way of travel and in competition for the limited funds available. Invitations to attend will be conditional - pending the candidate's acceptance of the ARW conditions. We will advise NATO and the responsible offices/employers about any late cancellations by applicants or no shows at the meeting, and will take steps to recover any financial losses caused to NATO by late cancellations or no shows.