Aims
This course aims to:
- increase knowledge and awareness of the key concepts within the field of disaster risk management and climate adaptation from the perspective of both the public and private sectors
- equip participants with the tools to deduce the challenges and opportunities for DRM and climate adaptation in their current or future roles
The course will benefit professionals in academia, Governments departments, disaster management agencies, the construction sector, re/insurance sector, UN agencies, INGOs, international development organisations, university students and other stakeholders.
Content
This course will be a mixture of presentations, group and individual exercises, and serious games, that will cover the following topics:
1. Disaster risk management and climate adaptation.
2. Risk identification.
3. Disaster risk reduction, including nature-based solutions.
4. Disaster risk financing.
5. Emergency preparedness and response.
6. Resilience recovery and reconstruction.
Presentation of the course
The course will be delivered through a series of ten sessions. During these sessions you will be encouraged to participate actively in the teaching through small group discussion for mutual benefits through peer learning, individual activities, and question and answer sessions.
Course material (presentations, session recording, homework assignments, and supplementary material) will be accessible to students for reading and follow up at their own pace outside of sessions to clarify various concepts or missed information.
Course sessions
- Session 1. Introduction to key themes
Course introduction, introduce the individual project (to be presented in session 10), followed by an overview session on climate and disaster risk management, including:
Importance of SDGs, and the Sendai Framework for DRM, and implications heading towards 2030.
Introduction to climate resilience, including introduction to adaptation and mitigation, and key global climate trends and their impacts on disaster risk, and how the world is trying to respond, including Loss and Damage.
The public and private sectors’ role in climate and disaster resilience. What are the key opportunities and challenges?
High-level overview of disaster risk management, including risk identification, risk reduction measures, disaster risk financing, disaster preparedness, disaster response (including damage assessments), recovery and reconstruction.
Examples of DRM in practice, with real life examples of projects for risk identification, developing DRM strategies, disaster risk finance, and disaster risk reduction.
- Session 2. Risk Identification
High level overview of disaster risk assessment processes, scales, elements, uncertainties. Discussion on interpreting risk assessment results. Discussion on challenges and limitations with risk assessments. Discussion on how to design/scope a risk assessment.
- Session 3. Disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation
Introduce range of ways to reduce disaster risk or adapt to a changing climate.
Discuss current barriers to reducing risk or climate adaptation.
Case study: planning for flood resilience in the UK. Introduction to current strategies for flood management, including nature-based solutions (NBS) case studies.
- Session 4. Design exercise using nature-based solutions with the Environment Agency
Exercise: Design a NBS scheme for an existing community in the Fens.
- Session 5. Disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and financing
Introduction to disaster risk and climate adaption financing, including:
Discussion on how DRF works and what key instruments exist;
Case studies showing impact, opportunities but also challenges;
Discussion of recent innovations and future trends.
- Session 6. How do we make DRF decisions? Hurricane Hurry Game Simulation
In this interactive, ‘serious gaming’ session, participants will experience an DRF simulation of the decisions governments are faced with when preparing for a disaster, and when disaster strikes.
- Session 7. Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R)
This session focuses on introducing disaster preparedness and response, including:
Introduction to disaster preparedness and why it is so important;
Discussion on the key actions that can be taken to improve disaster preparedness;
Case studies showing impact, opportunities but also challenges;
Introduction to the topic of disaster response, including the humanitarian system, damage assessments, social and gender aspects, and recovery and reconstruction planning.
- Session 8. Resilient recovery and reconstruction
An introduction to the topic of resilient recovery and reconstruction, including how public sector organisations and governments use the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) method to make evidence-based decisions after disasters. Attendees will participate in an interactive exercise of rapid post-disaster damage assessments, gaining experience of the tools and experiences that practitioners use.
- Session 9. Future of DRM
Deepen the discussion on the challenges faced in DRM (eg complexity, multiple stakeholders, etc), and the opportunities (communications, capacity building, etc). Focus on ongoing and potential future innovations in DRM, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Discuss the importance of good communication of disaster risks. Give examples of better and worse communications and the results. Offer some basic tools and guidance.
- Session 10. Student presentations
Students present (5 mins) their mini projects.
Individual project instructions: You are either a community leader in a very disaster-prone area, the Prime Minister of a high disaster risk and climate vulnerable country, or you are the CEO of a large company with many assets (eg warehouses, offices, industrial plants) in a disaster-prone and climate-vulnerable area. In your role, you are tasked with improving disaster risk management and climate adaptation. Develop a strategy with a clear plan to address this. You will have 5 minutes to present.
Learning outcomes
You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- an enhanced understanding of the role of disaster risk assessment and climate adaptation and management in delivering resilience to natural disasters and climate change
- developed capabilities and experience applying some key tools and methodologies in relation to DRM and climate adaptation
- to have developed a network of individuals with a shared interest in climate and disaster risk and resilience
Furthermore, at the end of the course participants will be able to:
i. Identify and evaluate fit for purpose disaster risk assessments, including through freely available resources.
ii. Apply knowledge of disaster risk analytics to better understand their impacts for different sectors, both public and private.
iii. Identify options for disaster risk reduction or climate adaptation, including nature-based solution options.
iv. Identify key disaster risk finance tools and strategies to manage disaster risk.
v. Understand key concepts in disaster preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction.
Required reading
There is no required reading for this course, but please familiarise yourself with as much of the supplementary material as possible. Understanding of key concepts of DRM as highlighted in section 2 of the following document is also encouraged: https://www.preventionweb.net/files/26081_kp1concepdisasterrisk1.pdf
