Initiatives

Exchanges

Dutch Delta Commission

On 15 September 2011 a delegation from the Netherlands visited the Corps of Engineers (Headquarters) to discuss the use of bypasses and floodways during the 2011 Mississippi River floods, the organization and experiences of flood-fighting efforts, communication efforts during the event, the possibility of cooperation between the Dutch Delta Program and the U.S. National Committee on Levee Safety and governance issues in the Netherlands and the U.S.

Dutch Rijkwaterstaat (RWS)

Coordinative Meetings with Dutch Rijkwaterstaat (RWS). On March 21, 2011 Nate Snorteland, Director of the IWR Risk Management Center (RMC), and Alex Roos, RWS detailee to the RMC, met with senior Dutch leaders including Jan Hendrik Dronkers, Director General of RWS, Luitzen Bijlsma, Managing Director of the Water Management Center, and Harry Baaijen, Managing Director of Deltares. They discussed the status of the bilateral partnership on levee safety. The meeting also addressed the current staff exchange and the technical and policy differences on levee safety between the U.S. and the Netherlands. On March 22nd, the USACE-RWS Memorandum of Agreement Executive Steering Committee met. The status of ongoing partnership activities was discussed, along with other opportunities for future partnering. Priorities for next year were addressed, including the staff exchange of RMC Subject Matter Expert Jason Needham to RWS. The Executive Steering Committee also explored the willingness of both parties to provide joint technical assistance in support of an ex-post analysis of the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT)

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) Technical Exchange Meeting in Japan. Representatives from the Corps of Engineers and Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism met in Tokyo on 30 September 2011 for the 7th meeting in an ongoing technical exchange program between the two agencies. The US delegation, headed by Civil Works director Steve Stockton, shared views and experiences with a group of engineers and other professionals from the Water Management and Disaster Management Bureau (formerly called the River Bureau). The meeting was devoted to discussion of three major topics: "Recovery and Reconstruction from Mega Disasters," "Response to Large-Scale Disasters," and "Concepts of Project evaluation." Both agencies handled responses to large-scale events in 2011 - the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami for MLIT and the Mississippi and Tributaries floods for USACE - and the wide-ranging discussions following the formal presentations gave both organizations ample opportunity to discover similarities and differences in their methods and experiences in water-related emergencies.

This year's meeting was planned to coincide with the 5th International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM5) and members of both delegations attended that conference as well. Technical exchange meetings between USACE and MLIT occur roughly annually, as part of a technical exchange program, which has been in place since 2003.

Technical Exchange Meeting in Japan. A delegation of Corps personnel traveled to Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, February 23-25, 2010, to attend a technical exchange meeting between the Corps and Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT). Formal exchanges occurred on four topics: Adaptive Management on Climate Change, Risk Management of Levee Systems, Disaster Response, and River Information Systems. Following the formal exchange, the delegation continued discussions and visited numerous sites, including the Shinden district "Super Levee", the AraKawa-Karyu River Office, and the Ukima district river disaster prevention station. The group also visited sites of centuries-old flood countermeasures in the Kiso River estuary system. This same region was devastated in 1959 by Typhoon Vera, and MLIT continues to improve drainage, levee, and pump systems in the region. Technical exchange meetings occur regularly between the Corps and MLIT per an agreement between the two organizations.

Information Exchange at ICFM5 in Japan.

Corps of Engineers personnel participated in the 5th International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM5), held 27-29 September 2011 in Tokyo with over 450 participants from 40 nations. The conference included a special session "Coping with Mega-Water-Disasters" to share experience on the March 2011 megatsunami in Japan and other recent hydro-meteorologial catastrophes in the world, and a special session presenting the results of a multi-lateral report on flood risk management approaches. The conference concluded with presentation of a draft declaration, available at http://www.ifi-home.info/icfm-icharm/icfm5.html. The conference is typically held every three years. The Corps is a member of the ICFM ad-hoc committee.