Presentation of the ENSURE research project "Enhancing resilience of communities and territories facing natural and na-tech hazards". The basic assumption of the ENSURE project, developed under the 7th Research Program of the European Commission, is that our ability to better understand and evaluate different types of vulnerabilities constitutes a crucial tool to strengthen communities in the face of disasters due to extreme events and climate change. Improving the understanding of the factors that make a community more vulnerable is crucial. This will involve addressing the various physical, psychological, cultural, systemic, social and economic components that shape the relationship between societies and the “natural” environment, and will permit more tailored and articulated mitigation measures.

1. ENSURE E-LEARNING TOOL
F01_ENSURE presentation
ENSURE
Enhancing resilience of communities and territories
facing natural and na-tech hazards
The project is financed by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development, Area “Environment”, Activity 6.1 “Climate Change, Pollution and Risks”.

2. Scientific partners
> The project involves
10 partners from
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Israel,
Italy,
The Netherlands,
Switzerland,
and the United
Kingdom:
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3. Overall Objectives
> to develop a new methodological framework for
an Integrated Multi-Scale Vulnerability
Assessment,
> based on a comprehensive, integrated and inter-
disciplinary understanding of how mitigation
economic sector social
at macro- system
strategies can be improved in the future,
level population
economic
> in small social
vulnerability order to reduce human losses, economic
vulnerability
organisational
time
damage and social discomfort due to extreme reconstruction
businesses
events striking communities exposed to a emergency
functions
interdependency
institutional
variety
of natural hazards as well as to the potential
systemic functions
vulnerability
consequences transferability of Climate Change impact
functions
redundancy buildings
public
physical
facilities
territory vulnerability
plants
infrastructures
pre-disaster
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4. 8 main objectives (1/2)
> Improve the understanding of the articulated nature of the
concept of vulnerability (i.e.
physical, economic, cultural, social and systemic), at
different spatial scales (regional and local);
> Analyze the relationship between the concept of
vulnerability and other concepts such as
“risk”, “damage”, “exposure”, “resilience” and “adaptation”;
> Develop the integration and connection of different types
of vulnerability, at the same time identifying the key issues
involved;
> Investigate the temporal and spatial variability of the
relations between different types of vulnerability and
different types of damage, and to use these as a basic
assumption for future scenarios;
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5. 8 main objectives (2/2)
> Propose new and improve existing vulnerability
assessment models and parameters, while specifying
procedures to make them operable within a given
territorial or cultural context;
> Develop a method that integrates the assessment of
different types of vulnerabilities and to test it in three
specific case studies at local scales and within regional
contexts;
> Establish improved risk scenarios;
> Develop an on-line course for students, young
researchers and public administration staff in the field of
vulnerability assessment.
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6. General workplan
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7. Need for integration and bridging gaps
> Strong need to integrate social vulnerability with
other types of vulnerability into a single unified
framework
> How to bridge the gap between quantitative methods
and qualitative approach
> Almost impossible to find examples that derive
expected damage from the actual combination of
hazards and vulnerability of exposed systems
 How to correlate:
HAZARD x all types of VULNERABILITY x not only physical DAMAGES
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8. Expected impacts
> 1 Provide support for policy decisions with key
stakeholders at various scales, relating to
prevention measures and plans;
> 2 Present, through the Integrated Multi-Scale
Vulnerability Assessment, a feasible tool to
improve communication with local communities
in the process of raising risk awareness, on
technological expertise, and for a better
understanding of social and cultural factors;
> 3 Understand adaptation and resilience factors,
and system responses, which help to minimize
risks from natural and human-triggered
technological disasters;
> 4 Improve our understanding of environmental
vulnerability to some natural disasters, and
particularly to some of the secondary
consequences
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