The Concept of Risk and Natural Hazards

Abstract

Risks have always shaped the way society has grown and evolved. Consequently, the risk concept has been studied and applied by different disciplines such as natural sciences as well as by economic, engineering, health, and insurance sectors. However, its definition and application are heterogenous and often vary among research communities. This chapter introduces the concept of risk and provides an overview of definitions and interpretations by key policy actors, including associated terms such as hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Its use and the general importance of “risk” in the Alpine Space are emphasized, especially in the light of the increasing impacts of socioeconomic, environmental, and climatic changes on natural hazard risk by discussing resulting consequences and challenges. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the main policy actors, organizations and networks that address integrated natural hazard risk management in the Alpine Space.

How to Use Scientific Information: Road Map for Tailoring Your Own Natural Hazard Risk Management Solution

“…The GR4A project aimed to provide scientific information supporting an ecosystem-based integrated risk management of natural hazards in the Alpine Space, and the acknowledgment of the key role forests have as an Ecosystem-based solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) in mountain areas (for risk and other definitions see chapters [1,2] of this book). Within the project, an international collaboration of researchers and practitioners from 12 institutions developed various products for decision support (e.g., see chapters [6][7][8] of this book) by applying scientific principles, methods and standards.…”

“…Managing natural hazard risks is highly relevant to everyone visiting or living in the Alpine Region (see chapter [1] of this book). Professional risk management is a tool that has been keeping people in the Alpine Region safe for more than 100 years where forests play a key role as risk prevention measure (see chapters [2,3] of this book).…”

“…Professional risk management is a tool that has been keeping people in the Alpine Region safe for more than 100 years where forests play a key role as risk prevention measure (see chapters [2,3] of this book). However, natural hazards such as rockfall, landslides and snow avalanches are still causing severe damages every year [1]. Hence, there is an urgent need to continuously improve Alpine risk management strategies to ensure people's safety in the future [4].…”

Geodata Requirements for Mapping Protective Functions and Effects of Forests

“…The preselection of objects may be supported by considering the susceptibility of assets to damage and the consequences of potential loss due to the probability of the presence of people, the economic and cultural value, the physical fragility, interruptions of access, or other criteria of vulnerability such as the possibility to evacuate. Note that vulnerability is a very complex risk-related characteristic of assets including physical, social, economic, and environmental properties [13,22,23] (see also chapter [2] of this book). Vulnerability summarizes "the conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards" [21].…”

“…The term "hazard potential" refers to the onset and propagation probabilities (frequency and magnitude) of natural hazards as well as to their intensity without considering the effects of the current forest cover (and other mitigation measures) on the hazard component of risk. The "damage potential" describes the probability and the relevance of damages to assets like infrastructures due to their exposure and vulnerability -the other two components of risk (see chapter [2] of this book). However, approaches of forest function mapping (e.g., [3][4][5][6][7][8] and see also book chapters [9][10][11]) often simplify the hazard intensity as well as the damage potential since they are difficult to assess reliably on a regional scale [5].…”