Ensure Project

1. ENSURE E-LEARNING TOOL
F01_ENSURE presentation
ENSURE
Enhancing resilience of communities and territories
facing t l d
f i natural and na-tech h
t h hazards d
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”.

2. Scientific partners
> The project involves
10 partners from
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Israel,
Italy,
The Netherlands,
Switzerland,
and the United
Kingdom:
>2

3. 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
economic sector social
at macro- system
strategies can be improved in the future
level population
future,
economic
> in small social
vulnerability order to reduce human losses, economic
vulnerability
organisational
time
damage and social discomfort due to extreme reconstruction
businesses
events striking communities exposed to a emergency
functions
interdependency
institutional
variety
of natural hazards as well as to the potential
systemic functions
vulnerability
consequences transferability
q of Climate Change impact g
functions
redundancy buildings
public
physical facilities
territory
y vulnerability
y
plants
infrastructures
pre-disaster
>3

4. 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);
> A l th relationship b t
Analyze the l ti hi between th concept of
the t f
vulnerability and other concepts such as “risk”, “damage”,
“exposure”, “resilience” and “adaptation”;
exposure resilience 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
g p p y
relations between different types of vulnerability and
different types of damage, and to use these as a basic
assumption f future scenarios;
ti for f t i
>4

5. 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;
> D l a method th t integrates the assessmentt off
Develop th d that i t t th
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
p
vulnerability assessment.
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6. General workplan
>6

7. Need for integration and bridging gaps
> Strong need to integrate social vulnerability with
other types of vulnerability into a single unified
yp y g
framework
> How to bridge the g between quantitative methods
g gap
and qualitative approach
> Almost impossible to find examples that derive
expected damage from the actual combination of
hazards and vulnerability of exposed systems
How t correlate:
H to l t
HAZARD x all types of VULNERABILITY x not only physical DAMAGES
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8. Expected impacts
> 1 Provide support for policy decisions with key
stakeholders at various scales, relating to
, g
prevention measures and plans;
> 2 Present, through the Integrated Multi-Scale
Vulnerability Assessment, a feasible tool to
Assessment
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;
d t di f i l d lt lf t
> 3 Understand adaptation and resilience factors,
and system responses which help to minimize
responses,
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
q
consequences
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