Enabling knowledge for disaster risk reduction in integration to climate change adaptation: brief project presentation

Scira Menoni

(on behalf of Polimi team: Fabrizio Amarilli, Funda

Atun, Francesco Ballio, Maria Pia Boni, Grazia

Concilio, Bruna De Marchi, Daniela Molinari, Ouejdane

Mejri, Giulia Pesaro, Pierluigi Plebani, Juergen

Weichlesgartner)

Decision making in disaster risk reduction across different levels

Bonn, 10-11 December 2014

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

INSTITUTION Country Role in the project

Politecnico di Milano ItalyCoordinator, responsible for KMS framework and the Po

and the Umbria living labs

Harokopio University Greece

Responsible for mapping knowledge in the private sector and

civil society and understanding challenges connecteed to the

financial crisis

Development Workshop France (NGO)France Responsible for mapping knowledge across all cas studies and

for the Vietnam living lab

University of Salzburg (PLUS) AustriaResponsbile for the first deliverable on barriers and bridges in

knowledge sharing and for the workshop with networks

UNU-EHS International (Germany)

Responsible for analysis of uncertainty in risk mitigation and

cca and for the workshop among stakeholders in public

administrations

Universitè de Savoie FranceResponsbile for analysing the situation in France and the final

conference

Adelphi GermanyResponsible for the legisletters and the workshop among

stakeholders in public administrations

Center of Research and Higher Studies on Social

Anthropology (CIESAS)Mexico

Responsible for a seminar to be held in Mexico and for

providing the perspective of developing countries in all areas of

the project

TiConUno ItalyResponsible for dissemination through WebTv and Radio 24

Italy

EURAC Italy

Roland Nussbaum ONRN, France

Francesco Puma Po Riverbasin Authority

Andrew Maskrey ISDR

Maria Patek Ministry of Environment, Austria

Rene Nijenhuis OCHA

SpainResponsbile for the Lorca living lab and for understanding and

mapping knowledge among scientific communities

Advisory Board

Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de investigaciones

Cientificas (CSIC)

The project consortium and the Advisory Board

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

White, G., Kates, R. & Burton, I. 2001. Environmental Hazards 3(3): 81-92

Knowing better and losing even more: the use of knowledge in

hazard management. .

Why? This the starting point of the project

Failure in land

use and urban

planning

Increase in

exposed

population

(demographic

trend), assets,

goods

Process of

urbanization, the

majority of human

population living in

urban areas

Climate

change and

related

hazards

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

What are the underlying reasons for failures and blockages?

Failure in land

use and urban

planning

Poverty, marginal

areas are

occupied in

dangerous zones

Obstacles to climate

change mitigation

and adaptation

Poor emergency

planning and

preparedness

Lack of

competence of

some decision

makers on risk

issues (urban

planners)

Economic value

of hazardous

location, private

interest in

developing Failure of

coordination

among different

agencies and

governmental

levels Knowledge

and learning

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

What can we do to enable knowledge and learning in our project?

What has been done insofar?

Create opportunities

for knoweldge

exchange and sharing

in workshops and

seminars

Knowledge

and learning

Analyse the flow of

knowledge and

information across

stakeholders in

different case studies

Constructing

opportunities for

testing and developing

knoweldge together

with stakeholders in

Living Labs

Conceptualizing a

Knowledge

Mnagement System Developing advanced

communication tools for

selected audiences

Agreeing on how

interdisciplinarity can be

implemented to construct

problem framing

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Playing games and working with stakeholders in coordination actvities.

Looking at how the work of networks in drr and cca contribute to share and create

knowledge across borders, stakeholders,

volunteers

Wokrshop in Bolzano, where the Flood

Control game was played; meeting with

networks representatives in Salzburg

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Mapping knowledge flows among different social groups and within each social group…

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Understanding the challenges of risk prevention and mitigation in times of

financial crisis..that becomes also institutional, social, and political

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Understanding the challenges of risk prevention and mitigation given

institutional and legal uncertainties. This was a crucial issue for the two

Madrid national seminars

scientific

legal

societal

institutional

Models, data, real time models

Unexpected tasks, needing

negotiation

trust

Conflict of competences

Source: De Marchi B., “Uncertainty in Environment Emergencies: A Diagnostic Tool”.

J. Contingencies and Crisis Management 3(2) : 103–112, 1995.

In a very relevant study that has been developed by one of the guests in Madrid, made for CIMA

Foundation and the Italian Civil Protection it is suggested that a much stronger knowledge

exchange should occur also with judges and lawyers to make them aware about the high levels of

uncertainty (in particular the scientific uncertainty) in order to better assess responsibilities of

public servants dealing with sometimes very hard decision making

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Real life laboratories: cases where we are actively interacting and involved in decision

making processes and can suggest to test ongoing developments and results of the

Know-4-drr project.

Living Lab

Living labs are constituted by case studies that provide a unique opportunity to

interact with stakeholders on the topics brought by the project. The do not serve

as observational arenas, but permit a much stronger involvement of project

partners in given activities to be agreed upon with institutional stakeholders.

Thanks to the special links that some of the partners have established with

stakeholders of the living labs, it will be possible to experiment some tools and

methods that will be proposed by KNOW-4-DRR.

The living labs will provide material for in depth analysis and representation of

how enhanced exchange and co-production of knowledge across some or all of

the social groups may occur or is hampered in different contexts. The cases

consist of a well balanced sample of different scales at which decisions are

made (national, interregional, and local) and where therefore different

stakeholders from all social groups considered in the knowledge management

framework are involved. Three living labs will be carried out during the

project: the Vietnam case, the Po Riverbasin case in Italy, and the Lorca

Municipality case in Spain. Learn more about these living labs in the following

boxes.

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

The Lorca living lab, Spain, working together with the local Municipality and highschools

to enhance understaing of risks and mitigation in an area that has been hit consequently by

and earthquake and then by a flood.

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

The surveys, community meetings and workshops held since august 2013 until October

2014 in the provinces of Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh track and discuss the evolution

of communication, communication channels and the efficiency /inefficiency of

information transfer and the development of knowledge for disaster risk reduction and

in recent years, for a better understanding of the ways one can interact/act on climate change

and adaptation to climate change. What? How? DIKW Pyramid

Legislation changes

New laws & revised codes reflect changing risk environment & the recognition of the need to adapt to coastal risks, realities and vulnerability

Better information > new knowledge; Lessons being learned > wisdom feeds back to improve information

Information delivery

Increased use of TV provides hazard warning information + films on safer houses; Mobile phone messages also used; But, locally, loudspeakers & visits still important

More varied delivery: Information delivery precision improves > helps build knowledge Traditional knowledge > wisdom in doubt!

Capacity building

Various forms of training and information provision, addressing :

Technical skills (national/provincial);

Financial services (new safe house loans package);

Flood & storm control committees : test internet & real time weather data;

Local builders & leaders: fast 1 day safer house theory + practice training;

Publications national & provincial: (“Atlas of house vulnerability & strengthening”) + handbooks

Information provided > generates knowledge through seeing & doing:

In formal training

In collaborative work experience

Awareness raising campaigns

Simple messages (e.g. prevent typhoon damage);

Engage local/non local artists + actors & children;

Use/develop a variety of local, traditional, theatre & concert based communication to deliver messages (ex. Film by child actors: “the stubborn builder” http://www.dwf.org/en/media-gallery/detail/1326/1996

Cartoon strips; mobile street displays

Crowd pulling events (sport etc.)

Clearer Information delivered; impact studies indicate this leads to knowledge followed by action Uncertain impact Large audiences/some generate memorable knowledge

Awareness & application

Provinces/Commune know that preventive strengthening is viable

Poor families see, experience & believe that safer houses are possible

Knowledge; Knowledge > some wisdom

Families borrow to strengthen (targeted loans); but lack of budget a brake

Convinced families strengthen house spontaneously

Knowledge, leads to action & some wisdom (experience)

Commune/Province & GOVT acceptance - shift from ridicule to conviction.

Knowledge

Early warning

Alerts achieve improved precision and delivery; but message not always understood; but door to door visits still important

Better information, at local level not always producing knowledge

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

The Po Riverbasin Authority is organising a series of meeting called «public

participation forum», the last one being open to all universities wishing to

collaborate in idenitifying key issues for the Flood Risk Management Plan. We are

working with them to improve the risk assessment

methodologies that have been used for the deadline

of 2013.

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

In the Umbria living lab we are working together with the Regional Civil

Protection to develop tools for post-flood damage assessment, integrating

compensation and risk assessment needs, with the aim of advancing in

accountability and prioritirization of recovery and reconstruction

EVENTO

2-3 g

20 g

90 g

Acquisizione ecografico-Mappa edifici-Vulnerabilità edifici

Identificazione edifici alluvionati tramite scheda anagrafica-Identificazione edifici alluvionati

Rilievo dei danni tramite scheda completa-Danni diretti-Danno indiretti

Autocertificazione - Perizia-Valore economico danno

Comune

Cittadino (tramite comune)

Protezione Civile Regionale

Rilievo opzionale -Danni diretti-Danni indiretti

Valutazione valore economico danni indiretti-Valore economico danno indiretto

6 m

12 m

Valutazione valore economico edifici esposti-Valore economico edificiCentro di Competenza

Verifica rimborsi-Danni diretti

Sectors Scale Aspects Type of damage Tool/data

Event local/regional hazard

regional/CNR/Tevere

River Basin/other

People (victims, evacuated) local loss direct and indirect

Regional Authority and

interviews

Lifelines regional

loss and

functionality direct and indirect

Regional Authority,

lifelines provideers

Public facilities

provincial/

regional

loss and

functionality direct and indirect

Regional, provincial

and local authorities

Agricolture

regional/large

scale loss direct

Regional/associations/

others

Industrial plants local

vulnerability

and loss direct and indirect

Local authorities,

Regional authorities,

direct surveys

Residential buildings local

vulnerability

and loss direct and indirect

Local authorities,

direct surveys

Natural environment local/regional loss

direct (?) and

indirect

Regional authorities,

Parks, others

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

With the Knowledge Management framework we wish to understand how some of

the knowledge that is developed in the living labs can be made shared, and open

to further developments by other stakeholders perhaps in other fields..

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

Conceptual level Implementation level Knowledge sharing

E-R diagrams, Tagging Information and

Ontologies to be defined through

experts and stakeholders

consultation but also to be enriched

Labelling documents, maps, making

explicit their semantic level

Knolwedge that is available in different

forms, pdf, maps, word, any type of

document, writen, visual, different

Experts in the domain, not just

scientists

Stakeholders, all actors relevant in

the case study at stake, in the living

lab

Final users (also those who are not

familiar with the case studies who

wishes to share the information and

the knowledge

Moving from questions to ideas and suggestions regarding how such KMF should look like and

to what extent we can demonstrate its utility in living labs…

Prof.

xyz

Know-4-drr

I would like to thank Yvonne Walz, Joerg Szarzynski from

UNU and Philip Bubeck from Adelphi for having organised

this workshop and made it possible.