Advanced training course

Spatial Planning as a Strategy for Mitigation and Adaptation to Natural Hazards

scope

Strategies for the reduction of the impact of disasters on population, resources, commodities or functions have been primarily based on response and recover, and less attention is paid to the strategy of mitigation. However, it has been observed how the more we intervene in the phase of mitigation the less is necessary to intervene in the phase of response, and the weight of recovery and reconstruction is lowered.
Mitigation is based on structural and non structural measures, responding to the exposure conditions. Where exposure is high and irreversible, structural measures are applied, and where vulnerability may eventually increase non structural measures are optimal. Commonly, structural measures are preferred for their visible results and the social confidence generated. However, non-structural measures save public and private funds, are more long-term effective and optimally integrate land use development and hazardous areas into coexistence.
One of the dimensions of natural hazards, their areal extent, associates the other dimensions with population, resources and functions, which implicitly have a spatial location. Some hazards have a probable location, and this character facilitates the incorporation of the risk component in the mitigation process. This particularly happens with more catastrophic events, floods, tsunamis, volcanism, landslides, or snow avalanches.
Spatial planning is a very efficient mitigation strategy because it allows to avoid or reduce exposure and vulnerability by zonation and relocation. As a process, it follows a series of phases where risk analysis and assessment can be easily integrated, because it is a decision making process. Zoning plans designate the location of the land uses in the urban and rural environments, while the functioning works mostly as the result of allocation. Risk management involves many allocation operations which work as the result of the location of basic infrastructures and services. Spatial planning facilitates the integration of risk management plans and social participation in the risk management process.

Objectives

This course addresses the perspective of strengthening the role of mitigation in risk management through spatial planning. As an active and preventive strategy it reduces the weight of the other phases, decreasing the potential impact of an event. Innovative approaches will be brought on how to translate the concepts of sustainability and vulnerability assessment into effective measures in an integrative program which assembles risk analysis and management, and spatial planning, bringing a new rationality. Prevention and reduction of exposure to natural hazards are reviewed as key mitigation strategies. The review of participatory spatial planning completes the scheme by incorporating public participation in the decision making process to increase risk awareness and as an instrument to regulate both land use and the conflicts between hazard location and social and economic development.

This Advanced Training Course is designed to enable some of the outstanding specialists to share their expertise, and provide opportunities to both young scientists and decision-makers to learn more about these problem areas and the new scientific insights in the matter.

key TOPICS

ATC Information

With the collaboration of

CHN

Metropolis