6,173 research outputs found

    Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

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    This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

    Reflections on the current debate on how to link flood insurance and disaster risk reduction in the European Union

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    Flood insurance differs widely in scope and form across Europe. Against the backdrop of rising flood losses a debate about the role of EU policy in shaping the future of this compensation mechanism is led by policy makers and industry. In this paper we investigate if and how current EU policies influence flood insurance. While the question of supply and demand is at the core of the debate, we argue that another key dimension is often overlooked: how to use insurance as a lever for risk reduction and prevention efforts. We investigate if and how current EU policies interplay with these two dimensions and then reflect on the national policy level. We illustrate two conflicting cases of flood insurance: the United Kingdom (UK), where flood insurance provision is widely available, but subject to current reform, and the Netherlands, where efforts to introduce a broad flood insurance coverage have only recently failed. In analysing the current positions on the role of the EU in shaping flood insurance we conclude that there is wide agreement that a complete harmonisation of flood insurance offering across the EU is unlikely to be effective. We determine that there is clear scope for the EU to play a greater role in linking risk transfer and prevention, beyond existing channels, to ensure an integrated approach to flood risk management across the EU

    Legal and institutional aspects of integrated flood management

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    The anti-flood detention basin projects in northern Italy. New wine in old bottles?

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    An increased number of floods have affected the thick urban network located in Northern Italy. The towns traversed by the many rivers descending from the Alps and Apennines must address the problem of retarding water overflow. Detention basins have been envisaged as a good means to achieve more secure protection against floods for thick urban settings. In Italy, flood prevention policies have been partially decentralized to regions. In this study, the literature on political economy, policy analysis and governance is used to frame the planning and implementation of detention basins. Each approach raises questions on whether and how detention basins represent a return to hard water infrastructures. Three ongoing detention basin projects located in northern Italy have been chosen to illustrate the coalition of interests that support this policy of flood prevention. The selection of cases and their analysis are based on a comparative method considering both similarities and differences between detention basins. Although governance is highlighted in official documents regarding water policies, this approach has been followed to a very limited extent. The traditional policy community has been able to maintain leadership on projects, including a limited amount of new disciplines and expertise. Moreover, the emphasis on planning expertise creates some space for the governmentality approach. Overall, detention basins represent not a return to heavy infrastructures, but a continuation of traditional intervention methods with small greening changes. However, margins for a softer policy are possible through either recovering old containers/floodplains or developing a network of farm ponds and minor dikes

    Ecological Planning in Built Environment

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    The downgrade of natural environment in the last decades is obvious and the source of problem is located in urban centers. Respectively, the solution of the problem should be sought there. The ecological urban planning aims at the upgrade of urban space, redefining its relationship with residents. The present article methodizes the approach to the ecological urban planning and it is one of the there are too. Particularly, it essays an approach to the ecological urban planning through the management of those elements that compose the operation of a city and concerns the management and the control of green space, energy, water, transports, litter and society. In this way, a catholic consideration and management of the urban space, as well as a set of policies and actions for its upgrade, is achieved. Furthermore, specific references to examples in Greece – problems and perspectives – are made. Coinstantaneously, the study of international and European cities that have achieved a high level of quality of life is the proof that the ecological city does not constitute a utopia, but a challenge for the society, the planners, the local governments and the residents-users. Finally, the institutional frame and the policies, that support the ecological urban planning, are analyzed, as these are the base for its implementation.

    Resilience of large investments and critical infrastructures in Europe to climate change

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    This technical report describes the key findings, methodological aspects and underlying assumptions and limitations of the research activities undertaken by the JRC in the CCMFF project financed by DG CLIMA. The project provides the first comprehensive multi-hazard multi-sector risk assessment for Europe under climate change and identifies the most vulnerable and impacted regions in Europe throughout the 21st century. It significantly contributes to a better understanding and awareness of hazard impacts that is crucial for the management of future climate risks.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

    Baseline Review of the Upper Tana, Kenya

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    http://greenwatercredits.net/sites/default/files/documents/isric_gwc_report8.pd

    Legal and institutional aspects of integrated flood management

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