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4. ENHANCE EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND PUBLIC AWARENESS The sustainable use of the nation's floodplains can only be achieved at the hands of an educated cadre of professionals from various fields, The principles of sustainability themselves will need to be brought into sharper focus as they apply to floodplain management, and as they pertain to the public at large, . Encouragement and support should be given by federal agencies and states to professional certification programs for floodplain managers, adjusters, agents, and others. . Better ways need to be found to convey to the public the uncertainties associated with weather and flood forecasts, and to help people understand their risk and take appropriate action to prepare for and avoid such hazards, . Specific information about, and techniques for, sustainable floodplain management need to be catalogued, docwnented, and built into the appropriate curricula of universities, elementary and secondary schools, training facilities, and programs for the continuing education of professionals, . We must find clearer ways to communicate flood risk so that it is meaningful to citizens and communities, thus enabling them to take appropriate steps to reduce risk and damage, The confusing terminology "I DO-year floodplain" should be abandoned in favor oflanguage that is more understandable to the layperson, The ASFPM suggests using "1% chance flood," As an alternative, the broader terms "high-risk flood" could be used for the 1 DO-year flood and "moderate-risk flood" when referring to the SOD-year event, 5. ASSESS AND EVALUATE PROGRAMS The most pressing deficiency in our nation's flood loss approach is the failure to stop periodically and conduct a rigorous questioning of the value of what has been done already and what its effects have been, There needs to be an independently conducted, comprehensive assessment of the effects of policies and programs in force-particularly the National Flood Insurance Program-on both quantity and quality of floodplain occupance throughout the United States. Are our efforts reducing overall vulnerability to floods? To shape a more productive future, we need to have in hand a full and true understanding of the effectiveness of the loss reduction programs and activities undertaken to date, To move too far without such knowledge and understanding could well exacerbate rather than improve our situation. . The National Flood Insurance Program must be thorougWy evaluated, An assessment of its effects on resource use, economics, and occupance of the floodplain should be done before reforms are undertaken. . The Principles and Guidelines and the National Economic Development standard need to be reviewed and refined, to make them consistent with the elements of sustainability. . The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program should be evaluated, to determine whether the measures they fund are reducing losses and protecting floodplain resources when both the entire watershed, and the long term, are considered, Association of State Floodplain Managers -vii- National Flood Programs in Review 2000