workshop on

RISK MANAGEMENT: WHICH STRATEGIES IN A WORLD OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY ?

4 November 2011, Geneva, Switzerland

Human and economic losses from recent disasters such as hurricane Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, the Haïti earthquake in 2010, the Pakistan floods in 2010, the Russian heat wave in 2010, landslides in Brazil and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, underscore the need to improve methodologies to asses and manage natural risks. The CERG-C workshop intends to bring together scientists (including researchers, graduate students and other experts) from various disciplines (e.g., geology, volcanology, seismology, hydrology, climatology, economics, sociology) and members of national and international disaster response and mitigation organizations to share their experience, discuss potential lines of collaborations and identify new strategies for training and research in the field of risk reduction.

Main objectives of the workshop

• exploring the needs and benefits of specialized training for professionals and scientists in the field of risk reduction;

• identifying common key objectives for training and research in the field of risk reduction;

• reinforcing networking within and outside of the CERG-C and coordinating disaster risk reduction efforts in the natural hazard community;

• establishing stronger links between scientists and practitioners, such as decision-makers, disaster managers, insurers, donors and training organizations

Executive summary