A multi-risk and multidisciplinary approach
The presentation highlighted the historical evolution of risk assessment in France, from the first submersible surface plans in 1935 to the current Natural Risk Prevention Plans (PPRN). Today, faced with the acceleration of climate change, the Risks program advocates moving from a compartmentalized analysis to an integrated approach.
The core of this strategy is based on understanding complex telluric and climatic phenomena. Gilles Grandjean particularly emphasized:
- Complex risks: The analysis of concomitance phenomena and cascade effects (i.e., the Fukushima NaTech disaster).
- Multi-risk treatments: The joint study of earthquakes, floods, ground movements and droughts, particularly in vulnerable areas.
The forest: a key actor in territories
The dialogue with the X-RISK project made it possible to highlight the ambivalent but crucial role of forests. While they act as mitigation factors (slope stabilization, carbon sinks), they are also subject to specific risks such as fires and post-fire erosion.
Uniting for integrated management
This meeting illustrates the desire of the Risks program - IRiMa to build a robust multidisciplinary network. To succeed in integrated risk management, the program is banking on four major challenges:
- The contribution of geosciences to understand the Earth system.
- The expertise of engineering sciences to model hazards.
- The analysis of multi-vulnerabilities (human, economic, heritage).
- The direct involvement of territorial actors in the co-construction of scenarios.
By joining forces, the Risks (IRiMa) and FORESTT programs demonstrate that cross-cutting collaboration between research programs is the key to adapting our societies to the risks of tomorrow.