Enhancing risk management partnerships for catastrophic natural hazards in Europe

Interreg FP7 programme (Dec 2012 - Nov 2016) (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/308438)
Enhance project 2014-2016

Enhance project 2014-2016 logoENHANCE aims at developing and analysing new ways to enhance society’s resilience to catastrophic natural hazard impacts. For this, the project developed new multisector partnerships (MSPs) between public and private sectors, with an important role for the financial sector (e.g. insurers). The hazards were related to heat waves, forest fires, flood, drought, storm surge, and volcanic eruptions. Through close engagement of stake holders and policy organisations, ENHANCE developed MSPs in 10 case studies for managing risk from natural hazards.

North Sea / Wadden Sea storm surges – risk culture, perception and management

The Challenge:
Risks from natural hazards are increasing through climate change and socio-economic developments. However, these trends are highly dynamic, with varying impacts at different times and places. Especially extreme – low probability - events are difficult to predict. The ENHANCE project will develop new risk scenarios with a focus on extremes. These will be evaluated in close collaboration with partners in the public and private sectors, and will contribute to the development of new multi-sector partnerships throughout Europe to reduce or redistribute risks. The role of the financial sector is critical in this process.

The project delivers:
• New risk based scenarios of hazards and socio-economic trends in collaboration with stakeholders in 10 case studies.
• Concepts for new multi-sector partnerships that reduce or redistribute risks.
• Policy Recommendations, with support from our key partner UNISDR.

All cases include a high level of stake holder engagement and policy relevance and are mutually beneficial for the transfer of knowledge between the science and policy participants. The project is co-financed by the European Commission via the Seventh Framework Programme of the EU.

The Wadden Sea Forum participated in this ENHANCE case study and had delivered the following 4 reports in cooperation with the Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), which were taken up into the final report.