The project is financed by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, Area “Environment”, Activity 6.1 “Climate Change, Pollution and Risks”.

ENSURE E-LEARNING TOOL F01_ENSURE presentation

ENSURE Enhancing resilience of communities and territories

facing natural and na-tech hazards

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Scientific partners

> The project involves 10 partners from France,Germany,Greece,Israel,Italy,The Netherlands, Switzerland,and the United Kingdom:

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Overall Objectives> to develop a new methodological framework for

an Integrated Multi-Scale Vulnerability Assessment,

> based on a comprehensive, integrated and inter-disciplinary understanding of how mitigation strategies can be improved in the future,

> in order to reduce human losses, economic damage and social discomfort due to extreme events striking communities exposed to a variety of natural hazards as well as to the potential consequences of Climate Change

territoryphysicalvulnerability

buildings

public facilities

plants

infrastructures

economicvulnerability

economic sector social system

socialvulnerability

organisational

population

institutional

systemicvulnerability

functions interdependency

functions transferability

functions redundancy

at macro-level

small businesses

time

pre-disaster

impact

emergency

reconstruction

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8 main objectives (1/2)> Improve the understanding of the articulated nature of the

concept of vulnerability (i.e. physical, economic, cultural, social and systemic), at different spatial scales (regional and local);

> Analyze the relationship between the concept of vulnerability and other concepts such as “risk”, “damage”, “exposure”, “resilience” and “adaptation”;

> Develop the integration and connection of different types of vulnerability, at the same time identifying the key issues involved;

> Investigate the temporal and spatial variability of the relations between different types of vulnerability and different types of damage, and to use these as a basic assumption for future scenarios;

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8 main objectives (2/2)> Propose new and improve existing vulnerability

assessment models and parameters, while specifying procedures to make them operable within a given territorial or cultural context;

> Develop a method that integrates the assessment of different types of vulnerabilities and to test it in three specific case studies at local scales and within regional contexts;

> Establish improved risk scenarios;> Develop an on-line course for students, young

researchers and public administration staff in the field of vulnerability assessment.

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General workplan

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Need for integration and bridging gaps

> Strong need to integrate social vulnerability with other types of vulnerability into a single unified framework

> How to bridge the gap between quantitative methods and qualitative approach

> Almost impossible to find examples that derive expected damage from the actual combination of hazards and vulnerability of exposed systems

How to correlate:HAZARD x all types of VULNERABILITY x not only physical DAMAGES

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Expected impacts

> 1 Provide support for policy decisions with key stakeholders at various scales, relating to prevention measures and plans;

> 2 Present, through the Integrated Multi-Scale Vulnerability Assessment, a feasible tool to improve communication with local communities in the process of raising risk awareness, on technological expertise, and for a better understanding of social and cultural factors;

> 3 Understand adaptation and resilience factors, and system responses, which help to minimize risks from natural and human-triggered technological disasters;

> 4 Improve our understanding of environmental vulnerability to some natural disasters, and particularly to some of the secondary consequences