The CapHaz-Net Project

CapHaz-Net is organised in three phases.

In its first phase CapHaz-Net departs from a thematic structure covering established concepts in social scientific research on natural hazards. Aim of this thematic phase is to develop an overview about the current state-of-art of research with regard to the social dimension of ‘natural’ hazards and disasters. By doing this we want to overcome the present fragmentation of different research topics and to also identify gaps in research. The work is organised around six central topics which are deal with in three Thematic Meetings.

• Thematic Meeting 1 – Social Capacity Building and Risk Governance (9-11 November 2009; Lancaster/UK)

• Thematic Meeting 2 – Risk Perception and Social Vulnerability (10-12 March 2010; Haigerloch near Stuttgart/Germany)

• Thematic Meeting 3 – Risk Communication and Risk Education (7-9 June 2010; Ljubljana/Slovenia)

If you are interested in these meetings or if you want to participate – contact us!

Mulde near Grimma, Germany
photo: André Künzelmann, UFZ

In a second phase we will ‘down-scale’ the previously acquired knowledge to the local/regional scale. Aims of this phase is to contextualise the findings by focusing on regional and local practices of hazard mitigation and adaptation as well as on different policy approaches for social capacity building across Europe. By means of three Regional Hazard Workshops CapHaz-Net wants to match the scientific debate with regional problems related to natural hazards and to learn lessons for other European areas endangered by the same types of natural hazards. The single Regional Hazard Workshops will address the following issues:

• Regional Hazard Workshop 1: Droughts and Heat-Related Hazards in Southern Europe (Barcelona/Spain, October 2010)

• Regional Hazard Workshop 2: Alpine hazards (Gorizia/Italy, March 2011)

• Regional Hazard Workshop 3: Riverine Floods in Central Europe (Mulde catchment/Germany, July 2011)

Although the Regional Hazard Workshops are planned to be one-day events, they will be thoroughly prepared by an intensive pre- and post-phase. Aim is to better understand the respective regional 'risk cultures' and to initiate social capacity building as a long-term regional task (i.e. ideally: to allow for continuous activities in the future).

Aim of the third and final phase is to integrate the various findings of the different Thematic Meetings as well as the Regional Hazard Workshops and to come to suggestions and recommendations on how to make societies more resilient.

• Thematic Meeting 4 – Synthesis Workshop (Birmensdorf/Switzerland, December 2011)