Multi-hazard risk assessment using GIS in urban areas: a case study for the city of Turrialba, Costa Rica

In the framework of the UNESCO sponsored project on “Capacity Building for Natural Disaster Reduction” a case study was carried out on multi-hazard risk assessment of the city of Turrialba, located in the central part of Costa Rica. The city with a population of 33,000 people is located in an area, which is regularly affected by flooding, landslides and earthquakes. In order to assist the local emergency commission and the municipality, a pilot study was carried out in the development of a GIS –based system for risk assessment and management. The work was made using an orthophoto as basis, on which all buildings, land parcels and roads, within the city and its direct surroundings were digitized, resulting in a digital parcel map, for which a number of hazard and vulnerability attributes were collected in the field. Based on historical information a GIS database was generated, which was used to generate flood depth maps for different return periods. For determining the seismic hazard a modified version of the Radius approach was used and the landslide hazard was determined based on the historical landslide inventory and a number of factor maps, using a statistical approach. The cadastral database of the city was used, in combination with the various hazard maps for different return periods to generate vulnerability maps for the city. In order to determine cost of the elements at risk, differentiation was made between the costs of the constructions and the costs of the contents of the buildings. The cost maps were combined with the vulnerability maps and the hazard maps per hazard type for the different return periods, in order to obtain graphs of probability versus potential damage. The resulting database can be a tool for local authorities to determine the effect of certain mitigation measures, for which a cost-benefit analysis can be carried out. The database also serves as an important tool in the disaster preparedness phase of disaster management at the municipal level

Promoting knowledge cities agenda through institutionalization of spatial planning and decision support system in Malaysia

The introduction of innovative systems like Spatial Planning and Decision Support System (SPDSS) can only be effective and efficient if they are integrated as part of the existing structures and working processes within the organisation. SPDSS is an approach that uses an interactive computer-based system designed to support users like town planners, government officials, councillors and mayors in achieving a higher effectiveness of decision making in planning while solving a semi-structured spatial decision problem. Despite its widespread application in planning and decision making process in many other countries, it is relatively new in Malaysia. Nevertheless, following recent efforts by academicians and government planning officials in terms of researches, experiments and promotions, SPDSS has been gaining grounds in planning and decision making process in Malaysia. This paper will describe efforts that have taken place in Malaysia towards institutionalising SPDSS in planning and decision making process. It will also comment on the progress thus far, drawing comparison between the current and previous level of SPDSS awareness and knowledge among town planners in Malaysia

Spatial multi-criteria evaluation to enhance governance:changes in Malaysian planning

Spatial planning and decision support methods are to make the process of planning and decision making more transparent. In this paper we would like to present an ongoing change process observed in Malaysia, where multi-criteria decision-making is currently being introduced in a strategic public transport study in two different forms. The study is about the selection of one of three light network expansions around the city of Kuala Lumpur. The options are a grid, a radial and a concentric system. This study follows one of two pathways of spatial multicriteria analysis. The other study is about the identification of possible transit zones in this network. This study takes the other of the two pathways. To discuss these experiences we first define governance and good governance or ‘democratic’ governance. Then we propose a model of the planning and decision making process and define in detail what spatial multicriteria analysis means to this process. Only over the last few years software and methodology has become available to spatially perform multi-criteria analysis. We discuss the newly released ILWIS-SMCE as an example of such software. The main advantage of having such software and methodology is to structure the evaluation problem, which we will demonstrate with the transit zone study. Then we will look at the procedural changes in the planning process and the consequences for governance. Interestingly this change process is based on several key-individuals in academia, government and private sector. We believe that many lessons are still to be learned from the changes ongoing in Malaysia

Changing spatial concentration of sectoral employment in China’s Pearl River Delta 1990 - 2005

Using county-level employment data, we analyse how the spatial concentration of jobs has changed in China's Pearl River Delta (PRD) between 1990 and 2005. Despite unique Chinese policies that exhibit strong influence on the economic landscape, we detect key parallels with the patterns found in classic theories and empirical studies in Western contexts. Total employment has become increasingly concentrated. This aggregate picture hides important sectoral variations though: manufacturing employment has spread out to suburban areas; producer service jobs have increasingly concentrated in metropolitan centres; and consumer and public services have clustered in areas with high aggregate population. We argue that the major forces that are shaping the economic landscape in PRD are the market institutions and development path-dependency. Under the circumstances of an increasingly liberalised market and decentralised government, policy now may function as a dynamic tool to magnify local spatial-economic and historical advantages and to balance uneven regional development

Promoting knowledge cities agenda through institutionalization of spatial planning and decision support system in Malaysia

The introduction of innovative systems like Spatial Planning and Decision Support System (SPDSS) can only be effective and efficient if they are integrated as part of the existing structures and working processes within the organisation. SPDSS is an approach that uses an interactive computer-based system designed to support users like town planners, government officials, councillors and mayors in achieving a higher effectiveness of decision making in planning while solving a semi-structured spatial decision problem. Despite its widespread application in planning and decision making process in many other countries, it is relatively new in Malaysia. Nevertheless, following recent efforts by academicians and government planning officials in terms of researches, experiments and promotions, SPDSS has been gaining grounds in planning and decision making process in Malaysia. This paper will describe efforts that have taken place in Malaysia towards institutionalising SPDSS in planning and decision making process. It will also comment on the progress thus far, drawing comparison between the current and previous level of SPDSS awareness and knowledge among town planners in Malaysia

Drought risk assessment as changes in the potential stand yield classes and potential forest production for Sitka spruce, Scots pine, and pedunculate oak over the next 80 years in the Great Britain

Probabilistic climate data have become available for the first time through the UK Climate Projections 2009, so that the risk of tree growth change can be quantified. We assess the drought risk spatially and temporally using drought probabilities and tree species vulnerabilities across Britain. We assessed the drought impact on the potential yield class of three major tree species (Picea sitchensis, Pinus sylvestris, and Quercus robur) which presently cover around 59% (400,700 ha) of state-managed forests, across lowland and upland sites. Here we show that drought impacts result mostly in reduced tree growth over the next 80 years when using b1, a1b and a1fi IPCC emissions scenarios. We found a maximum reduction of 94% but also a maximum increase of 56% in potential stand yield class in the 2080s from the baseline climate (1961-1990). Furthermore, potential production over the national forest estate for all three species in the 2080s may decrease due to drought by 42% in the lowlands and 32% in the uplands in comparison to the baseline climate. Our results reveal that potential tree growth and forest production on the national forest estate in Britain is likely to reduce, and indicate where and when adaptation measures are required. Moreover, this paper demonstrates the value of probabilistic climate projections for an important economic and environmental sector

Mountain ecosystem services affected by land use changes and hydrological control works in Mediterranean catchments

The use of check-dams in mountain environments to regulate fluxes of water and sediments is widely applied across Mediterranean mountains. Besides the use of “grey infrastructures” such as check-dams, other restoration and hydrological control measures rely more on the use of “green infrastructures” or “nature-based solutions” (e.g. reforestation, buffer lines) or a combination of both types of measures. It is widely accepted that both are complementary, and that prioritization should be based on economic, ecological and cultural criteria. This paper brings together all the knowledge generated during more than one decade concerning the impact of land use changes, reforestation, and hydrological control works on several ecosystem services in a representative Mediterranean catchment. The work evaluates different management scenarios aiming to optimize provision of ecosystem services in the area. The study area is a medium-sized catchment (∼300 km2) in Southeast Spain, representative of Mediterranean mountains that experienced agricultural land abandonment, greening up, and restoration works in the second half of the twentieth century. The methods combined: (i) previous research results for the area that were organized in an ecosystem services framework, providing data for three representative scenarios of catchment management; (ii) the use of value content analysis of the existing management plans for the area to understand the view of the managers; and (iii) a multicriteria analysis of the management scenarios to determine the most sustainable scenario to optimize different ecosystem services. The results of the evaluation were later validated with the stakeholders (technicians and managers involved in the management plans) through interviews. Our results show that solutions that respect landscape and ecological dynamics are more sustainable and cheaper in the medium and long term than scenarios based on “grey infrastructures”, although the latter could have more desirable short-term impacts. The value analysis reflects how there are some concepts, such as ecosystem services, that could easily be further incorporated into several management plans. When choosing a management scenario, this needs to be adapted to the local environmental conditions and to the specific objectives of the restoration works. Tailor-made management scenarios taking into account two factors (local conditions and specific management objectives) can optimize resources and achieve medium to long-term sustainability

Eye on Earth Summit - White Paper on Recommendations for the technical design of a global interoperable information network

Many different information infrastructures and systems exist that have their own political, economic, social, technical, and legal contexts and boundaries. These infrastructures carry precious resources that could help answering important questions about our environment, and could contribute to making informed decisions.JRC.H.6-Spatial data infrastructure