The International Workshop on managing large scale inter-connected systems for sustainable flood risk reduction was held at the Institute of Urban Environment (IUE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), from March 22 to March 23, 2014. It was jointly organized by IUE, University of Lancaster, JBA trust and Science and Innovation Network. Over 40 flood management experts and practitioners from Britain, National Engineering Research Centre for Water & Wastewater, Fujian Provincial Department of Water Resource, and People’s Insurance Company of China, convened in Xiamen for the two day conference to discuss the key strategies, challenges and cooperation opportunities on the path to sustainable flood management.

Professor Yong-Guan Zhu, the director of IUE and Professor Hong Li from Lancaster University addressed and welcomed all the distinguished speakers and participants. The workshop was then started off by keynote speeches delivered by Chinese and British experts focusing on urban planning, flood forecasting and warning system, underground drainage system and flood modeling for management. Roundtable discussions were held after each session aiming to exchange experience and set the scene regarding future challenges, opportunities and innovation strategies.