The risk from natural hazards is projected to further increase in many regions due to a growing exposure of human activities often combined with increased vulnerability and the projected increase in frequency and intensity of hazards due to effects of global warming. For the development and implementation of (more) effective risk reduction policies, a close collaboration and knowledge exchange between decision makers, the scientific community, the private sector and civil society is needed.

In practice, however, knowledge on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is often fragmented within, and among the different stakeholders, and thus not adequately incorporated in decisions on disaster risk reduction and the implementation of risk mitigation and adaptation measures. This has been identified as an important reason, why the significant increase in available knowledge on natural disasters and their causes and drivers is not as effective as expected in minimising disaster losses.

Networks will likely take on an increasingly significant role for DRR and CCA because of their capacity to bring stakeholders together to share experiences, increase the knowledge base and thus facilitate improved decision-making by stakeholders in policy and practice.

This workshop aims to bring together representatives of various networks from the DRR and CCA community – as well as any complementary fields - in order to identify synergies, develop common understanding of the challenges being addressed by the networks and the approaches being used, and find new ways of working together.

KNOW-4-DRR

The overall aim of the FP7-funded KNOW-4-DRR project is to contribute to an improved use of knowledge and co-operation among the different actors in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption by:

• exploring the factors that currently hamper the uptake of knowledge developed by the various stakeholders and its integration into decision-making and implementation;

 

• developing a Knowledge Management Framework (KMF) that provides a coherent structure and set of tools to facilitate the exchange and use of knowledge among the relevant stakeholders in policy and practice, as well as its maintenance over time;

 

• contributing to a direct exchange among the various actors in the field of disaster risk reduction through a series of interactive events;

 

• providing information about current policy development in the field of disaster risk reduction on the European level and internationally;

 

• providing specific recommendation for policy makers on how to improve the integration of knowledge in the field of disaster risk reduction.

As a partner of the KNOW-4-DRR project, the Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS (www.zgis.at) is an interdisciplinary department established at Paris-Lodron University Salzburg. It is dedicated to fundamental and applied research, integrated spatial analysis, outreach activities and networking, professional education and training. Z_GIS is strongly involved in EU-funded RTD activities, development cooperation and educational projects and is actively supporting and promoting the GMES initiative. In co-operation with partners in many national and international research and consulting projects, Z_GIS has gained considerable experience in the provision of spatial information products for disaster and crisis management as well as climate change adaptation.

KNOW-4-DRR
Stefan Kienberger | Senior Scientist
University of Salzburg | Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS
Schillerstr. 30 | 5020 Salzburg
Tel 0662 8044 7567 | Fax 0662 8044 7560
E-Mail stefan.kienberger [at] sbg.ac.at
Web www.uni-salzburg.at/zgis/kienberger