The first Transboundary Flood risk management Strategy and Plan for the Drin River Basin: a huge milestone in strengthening cooperation in the region

Over the last decades, the Drin Basin has experienced increasingly extreme weather events, driven by shifting natural patterns and the impacts of climate change. These changes have led to more frequent and intense floods, marked by rapid rises in water levels with estimated total flood-related losses across the entire basin amounting to approximately USD 10 million per year. Meanwhile, the institutional framework for flood risk management among the Riparians, is fragmented in terms of competencies and suffers from overlapping responsibilities of institutions. In addition, National Flood Management Plans that have been developed recently by the Drin Riparians according to the EU Floods Directive requirements do not include the transboundary impacts although the EU acquis requires coordination and joint development of the plans for shared river basins. National Flood risk management investments are rarely supported by robust climate-risk informed analysis oriented towards  infrastructure works and there is no comprehensive financial risk transfer mechanisms to assist in mitigation. 

In response, the first-ever Flood Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan for the Drin Basin has been developed under the “Integrated Climate-resilient Transboundary Flood Risk Management in the Drin River Basin in the Western Balkans” Project (2019–2024). This marks a significant milestone in strengthening cooperation among riparian countries and implementing coordinated measures to reduce flood risks.

Coordinated Action (Drin CORDA) in the Drin Basin began with the signing of the Drin Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tirana in 2011, by the Ministers of the water and environment management competent ministries of the Drin Riparians, namely Albania, Kosovo*, Montenegro and N.Macedonia.  The Drin MoU provided the political framework for and defined the context of cooperation among the Drin Riparians. Drin Coordinated Action is guided by an institutional structure comprising joint bodies with officially appointed members and The Drin Core Group (DCG) was given the mandate to coordinate actions for the implementation of the MoU. 

The main objective is to “Promote joint action for the coordinated integrated management of the shared water resources in the Drin Basin, as a means to safeguard and restore, to the extent possible, the ecosystems and the services they provide, and to promote sustainable development across the Drin Basin”. The Parties to the MoU agreed to undertake concrete short, medium and long-term action to address a number of issues, towards the integrated management of the Basin 

The Strategy and Action Plan aim to enhance flood preparedness, improve risk management, and foster mutual support across the basin—key steps toward achieving the objectives outlined in the Drin Basin Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Drin CORDA process. Transboundary Flood Risk management Strategy and Plan for the Drin Basin was adopted by the officially appointed representatives of the Riparians, namely Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and N.Macedonia during the DCG meeting in Tirana in March 2025.  Structured around 3 Components and though a heavily participatory bottom-up approach, the project will improve their capacity to manage flood risk at regional, national and local levels and includes an array of measures such as prevention, preparedness and recovery measures from floods that complement protection measures that countries usually implement. Importantly, it will also enhance community resilience in the basin to climate-induced floods.

The Drin FRM project is executed by the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH). For the delivery of specific regional activities (Outcome 2 that included  development of the Flood Risk Management plan) the  Global Water Partnership Organization (GWP) was the Responsible Party.

In alignment with the Drin MoU, the Drin RFM Strategy has been developed with a long-term vision that reaffirms the shared vision of the MoU and the short-term vision  for the Drin’s Communities to become Resilient and able to Adapt to future Climate Change Challenges.

The Strategy has been prepared as a guidance document that defines the principles and the strategic objectives and goals that shall be achieved by the Municipal / Sub-basin Flood Risk Mitigation Action Plans, based on a common transboundary river framework. Based on that, a full set of Flood risk measures (actions) was developed on the regional scale  as a means to achieve set goals represented in the Flood risk management plan for the Drin river basin.

Methodology:

The spatial scale of the Drin FRM Strategy and the Plan is the transboundary river basin.

The development of the Strategy and the Plan  was guided by the following steps:

• Analysis of the main causes as well as consequences of flooding for each one of the water systems that comprise the Drin basin, together with the main barriers and enablers that could affect the achievement of the strategic objectives and goals of the transboundary Drin FRM Strategy.
• Analysis of the Institutional Framework of each Riparian for the Flood Risk Management have been analysed as well as the Areas of Potential Flood Risk of Mutual Concern for each one of the water bodies that comprise the Drin basin.
• The development of a set of harmonized transboundary FRM measures, fully aligned with the EU Flood Directive Reporting Guidance, synthesizing a set of measures that have been identified for each Riparian. Each action covers an aspect of flood risk management which are prevention, protection, preparedness, recovery and review.
• These measures were the foundation for the development of the Transboundary Flood Risk Management Plan, for each Axis of Action / Strategic objectives of the Drin FRM Strategy

The Drin Flood Risk Management Plan was based on 3 Axes.  60 % of the FRM measures correspond to the Axis of Action I - Ensure Flood Risk Awareness, Preparedness & Good Governance.  The remaining 40 % is homogeneously distributed between Axis II and Axis III.

• The critical factors that can favor or negatively affect the operational implementation of the Transboundary FRM Action Plan. Among others the need of enough financial resources to fund the execution of the different FRM measures, an integrated multi-sector approach (NEXUS), the  Strengthening of key Institutions, and the effective involvement of local communities.   
• The Plan was set into public consultation (9 workshops and over 150 participants) that served as the foundation for integrating local insights, scientific expertise, and institutional frameworks into a comprehensive flood management approach. By fostering dialogue at multiple levels—local, national, and transboundary—these consultations ensured that the strategy reflects the basin's ecological, social, and economic complexities.

Meeting in Tirana and future steps:

At the Drin Core Group (DCG) meeting held in Tirana in March 2025, representatives of the Drin riparian countries officially endorsed the Flood Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan for the Drin Basin. They also committed to integrating the regional measures outlined in the Strategy into their national flood risk management planning processes. This integration will support the mainstreaming of transboundary approaches into national policies and promote better harmonization among national flood risk management plans. Ultimately, these efforts will enable a more coordinated and effective management of floods across the basin and contribute significantly to the implementation of the Drin Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan will be overseen by the joint governance structures established under the Drin Coordinated Action (Drin CORDA) process, with continued support expected through mobilization of financing from international financial institutions.

The approval of the Drin RFM Strategy and Plan by the members of the DCG in the framework of MoU and Drin CORDA indicates their members’ approval of the common vision and the common strategic goals that will guide the development of the FRM Action Plans of the flood risk areas of transboundary Drin River Basin.