GADRIACTIONS
Summer 2024
Volume 21— Number 1

Meeting of the Board of Directors of GADRI

5th Open Discussion Forum of GADRI—Contributions to the Political Declaration of the SFDRR*: An Academic and Science
Perspective, Collaborative Research Hub -3F, DPRI, Kyoto University,
1 Japan,12 March 2024 from 9:00h to 17:00h JST

Dear Members,Contents

Greetings!
This issue of the newsletter, GADRI Actions, covers mainly the 5th Open
Discussion Forum held at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute(DPRI), Kyoto University, Uji Campus, Japan on 12 March 2024. We hada very fruitful meeting with interesting deliberations and valuable
outcomes. A copy of the draft resolution compiled by the task force teamis also included in the newsletter.
Taking advantage of the in-person attendances of the members of Boardof Directors of GADRI, the 40th Meeting of the Board of Directors of
GADRI was held during the afternoon of 11 March 2024. During thismeeting, the Chair and all present appreciated the contributions to GADRI
by the five outgoing members of the Board. Although their terms of officeof the Board of Directors of GADRI expires, they will remain as staunch
supporters of GADRI through their engagement in various capacities
within the GADRI Committees. For example, Prof. John van de Lindt will
host the 7th Global Summit of GADRI in 2025 at the Colorado State
University, USA.
A warm welcome was extended to the five new members appointed by
the GADRI General Assembly to the Board of Directors of GADRI. Theirterm of office will start from 1 April 2024 for a period of four years.
We are pleased to bring to you a research report from the NATECH teamon their recently conducted survey of industry managers in Colombia. The
report discusses “making recommendations on how to improve supply
chain managers proactiveness in preparing against flood-triggered
chemical accidents. Further the research proposes a modified “revised
Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) (Rogers, 1983) conceptual model tounderstand how managers perceive flood-related Natech accidents andthe cognitive mediating processes of their intentions to adopt protective
measures.”Prof. Ortwin Renn, a valued former member of the Board of Directors of
GADRI; and a member of the GADRI Community, was on a sabbatical at
the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University. We
were quite fortunate to have him deliver a lecture to DPRI faculty andstudents. His wife, Prof. Regina Renn, who accompanied him, was kindenough to share her time to deliver a lecture to our faculty and staff too.
We hope you enjoy the GADRI Actions. If you have any information
which you would like to share with us, please do not hesitate to contactus.

With best wishes,• 5th Open Discussion Forum:
Contributions to the Political
Declaration of the SFDRR,
12 March 2024

• 40th Meeting of the Board of
Directors of GADRI, 11
March 2024

• NATECH Risk Perception
and Protection Motivation:
A Survey of Industry
Managers in Colombia• GADRI Lecture Series•

Lecture on Coping with
Polycrisis: The conceptof systemic risks and its
contribution to risk
management andcommunication by
Prof. Ortwin Renn•

Synchronicity: The
Emergence of Meaning
in the Process ofTransformation by
Prof. Regina Renn

• New Members of GADRI• IDRiM Conference 2024

Hirokazu Tatano
Secretary-General, GADRI;
Head, Social Systems for Disaster Risk GovernanceDisaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan

Photos are from the articles in the newsletter. © Copyright 2024 GADRI Secretariat.
All materials provided are subject to copyright permission. GADRI Actions is designed, formatted andedited by Hirokazu Tatano and Wilma James.

25th Open Discussion Forum of GADRI
Contributions to the Political Declaration of the SFDRR*:
An Academic and Science Perspective
Collaborative Research Hub -3F, DPRI, Kyoto University, Japan
12 March 2024 from 9:00h to 17:00h JST*

Political Declaration of the high-level meeting on the midterm review of the SFDRR
2015-2030 adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 May 2023

General Objective:•

The Political Declaration adopted by the UN General
Assembly on 18 May 2023 as the outcome of the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework implementation
meeting held in May 2023, identified many areas of
implementation for the Priority Areas of the SFDRR,
which directly align with GADRI vision and objectives.
For example, much emphasis is placed on enhancing
public awareness, investing in academic andprofessional training, and wider dissemination ofscience-based methodologies and tools. It further
proceeds, under the Follow-up and Review, toreiterate the importance of cross-cutting role ofscience, technology and innovation in strengthening
their greater application to support and accelerate theimplementation of the Sendai Framework and its fourpriorities.

Creating a platform to facilitate discussion
between GADRI members and important
stakeholders in matters related to academic andscience-based disaster-resilience building.

During the final general discussion session,
participants had an opportunity to interact with thepanellists to share various suggestions to direct
GADRI activities in achieving academic and sciencebased methodologies and tools in the most needed
research areas for disaster risk reduction andresilience.

Priority 1:(f) Enhancing efforts to promote a culture of disaster prevention,
resilience and responsible citizenship and to promote education
on disaster risk, including through the use of traditional,
Indigenous and local knowledge and practices and, inter alia,
raising public awareness and investing in academic andprofessional training, advocacy campaigns, social media andcommunity mobilization.

Discussions captured the following topics:•

Introduction to GADRI activities, and the membersof the Board of Directors of GADRI.

•

encouraging and learning from current status andpathways to improve, strengthen and disseminate
science-based knowledge, methodologies andtools for effective and efficient disaster risk
resilience building through an academic andscience perspective.

(b) Ensuring the incorporation of disaster risk management into
post-disaster recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction
processes, enhancing the development and dissemination ofscience-based and targeted methodologies and tools andfacilitating cooperation among States for the sharing ofexperiences;•

Within the purview of GADRI Committees, to draw
an outline of activities, voluntary commitments andcontributions to be submitted along the lines
highlighted in the Political Declaration of the
Sendai Framework.

41. We reiterate the instrumental and cross-cutting role ofscience, technology and innovation in strengthening theeffectiveness and efficiency of disaster resilience-building andencourage their greater application to support and accelerate theimplementation of the Sendai Framework and its four priorities.

Priority 4:

Follow-up and review:31st Session: Greetings and Introduction – Learning from Global Stakeholders
Chair: Prof. Norio MakiA
warm
welcome was
given
toeveryone
by
Prof.
Norio
Maki, Disaster
Prevention
Research
Institute(DPRI), Kyoto
University, Chair of the Opening Session.

support the SFDRR, Paris Agreement, SDGs, andother global agendas.

Prof. Hirokazu Tatano, Secretary-General, GADRI
greetedallmembers
anddelivered a briefreport on activities
of GADRI and its
current status.
Prof.
Uzuoka,Director,

Prof. Paul Kovacs, Chair of the Board of Directorsof GADRI, in his address stated that GADRI as acommunity is working together on the mostpressing issues of disaster risk and reduction thatis facing the world today.
The current
circumstances surrounding the world withdevastating disasters and hazards, are notacceptable with excessive, preventable losses
happening around the world and the scientificknowledge is available to do better. However, thechallenge remains on how to bring that knowledge
forward in a helpful way to allow decisionmakers tohave the tools and the science to make the rightdecisions. This is in part why GADRI was formed
right after Sendai Framework Agenda, to provide aforum to move forward science-based knowledge;
to promote its implementation; and be part of thesolution.

Ryosuke
DeputyDPRI,

Kyoto
University
deliveredtheOpening
Remarks. He
reiterated thatDPRI strive todeliver studies
ondisasterprevention andcutting-edge
science and technology and their commitment to
In addition to discussing the main agenda item,“Contributions to the Political Declaration of the
SFDRR: An Academic and Science Perspective”, theoccasion was used to acknowledge and thank the fiveoutgoing Members of the Board of Directors of GADRI
for their invaluable support and efforts during theirterm of office; and their continued contributions toscience and technology and DRR initiatives. The
members, through their presentations shared theirviews and expectation for GADRI moving forward.
The newly appointed Members of the Board too, were
given a chance to briefly describe their respective
institute activities, and to propose ways to improveGADRI visibility and its contributions in achieving

4

academic and science-based methodologies and tools
in the most needed research areas for disaster risk
reduction and resilience.
During the final general discussion session, theparticipants had the opportunity to review thepresentations and messages shared by each speakerin support of the Political Declaration of the SFDRR.
It was concluded to form a committee to write a final
resolution on the GADRI support and commitment to
the Political Declaration of the high-level Meeting of
the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework. It is
hoped, that the finalized resolution will be presented at
the UNDRR Global Platform of DRR in June 2025.

Earthquake and Tsunami which marked 13 years since
it happened in 2011, Dr. Matsuoka reiterated on thesignificance of education to sustain and further
enhance disaster risk reduction culture among young
children and communities.

Dr. Yuki Matsuoka, Head, UNDRR, Kobe Officedelivered a keynote on “Strengthening DRR throughScience: GADRI’s Role in Advancing Sendai
Implementation”. Having arrived from the 11 March2024 Memorial Day for the Great East JapanThe keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Lesley
Jeanne Cordero, Senior Disaster Risk Management
Specialist, The World Bank Office, Singapore focusing
on “Harnessing Digital Innovations for Disaster
Resilience”. She discussed The World Bank ASEAN
Experience, and how to bring various stakeholders to
the fold. Through examples of various projects andinitiatives, Dr. Cordero portrayed how the ASEAN, as
one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world,looks in terms of vulnerability. The World Bank report
has indicated that “Innovation resulting from thecreative new uses of data could prove to be one of themost life-changing events of this era.” Yet, thechallenge is how fast can technology adapt and adjust
and be able to support, respond, recover, and prepare
for the type of disasters the world is facing today. The
World Bank initiative “Harnessing digital innovations
for climate and disaster resilience” covered thecountries in Africa. For example, soil monitoring andthe impact of climate change effects on agricultural
crops in Tanzania; digital innovation for urban
resilience in Kinshasa looked at drainage and flooding
and the link to the transport mobility; Digital Earth for a
Resilient Caribbean was one of the interesting
initiatives which focused on skill development, trained
volunteers and governmental staff to be able tocapture using spatial data for infrastructure, AI, drones,
Street View Imagery, and develop a replicable model
for building exposure.
The Extreme Heat in Cities project was carried out in
Europe,andSoutheastAsia
toprovideevidence-based data through modelling to deliver heat
tract projections in urban areas and urban cooling.

5

She also stressed on the critical importance to renew
commitments and intensify efforts and actions toaddress the challenges identified by the Midterm
Review of the Sendai Framework and its outcome, thePolitical Declaration during the final seven years of the
Sendai Framework. She concluded the message bywelcoming participants and the GADRI community toshare their inputs of achievements, progress and plans
through Voluntary Commitments of the Sendai
Framework; and further share insights at theforthcoming Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines in October
2024; and the UNDRR Global Platform for DRR in
Geneva in June 2025.

One of the most interesting projects in the one on
Digital Innovation for Damage Assessment or the
Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE) applying
innovative and replicable solutions using droves andspatial data.
Dr. Cordero also shared her own experience with thetyphoon Haiyan in the Philippines where she wasdrafted to the Office of the President of the Philippines
to support the rehabilitation and recovery efforts. She
discussed challenges and lessons learned in detail.
As one of the main challenges, she also mentioned
communication. She stated that one of the important
points is not just getting the message to the people but
communicating the message in a language that isunderstood by the people; and the ability to describeand explain what certain types of hazards would look
like and then call to action. She stated that consistency
and credibility of the message and the messenger areimportant key factors in communication.

2nd Session: Challenges and Opportunities in disseminating disasterrisk reduction and resilience awareness: An Academic and a Science
Perspective
Chair: Prof. Yuichi Ono, and Ms. Ritsuko Yamazaki-Honda

The 2nd session was Chaired by Prof. Yuichi Ono, Member of the Board; and International
Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University; and Ms. Ritsuko
Yamazaki-Honda, Co-Chair of the GADRI Committee on Networking; and Visiting
Professor, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED),
Tsukuba, Japan.

Improving Resilience through Modelling and Community Engagement
Prof. John van de Lindt, Co-Director, Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community
Resilience Planning, Colorado State University, USA

The presentation on “Improving Resilience throughModelling and Community Engagement” by
Prof. John van de Lindt discussed merging ofacademics with science in modelling and community
engagement which would also be a theme in the 7 th
Global Summit of GADRI scheduled for June 2025.
Prof. van de Lindt continued to share information on
challenges in modelling which goes beyond physicalinfrastructure in the buildings. It also takes into
account the social institutions, hospitals, schools,
networks, households, people and then theeconomy and its interaction with everything. The key
to modelling is how to be able to change something
and improve it for better. In order to do that, theprocess requires measurements. And, it is aboutmeasurement science. He shared the five areas ofcommunity stability that need to measure; population
stability; economic stability; social services, physicalservices, and then perhaps the hardest to measureis governance stability. He shared a graph whichshowed the conceptual framework for the modelling
process.

Planning prior to an event is critical if measuring.
Modelling is done in an “what if” scenario looking at
the 4 Cs - capacity, cooperation, communication,
coordination. Then, try to explore change not only tothe design codes but mitigation to eliminate drops,
or reduce that drop, and then accelerate thetrajectory to hopefully, build back better.

6

7

Integration of our efforts on research, educational innovation, and international
collaboration
Prof. Gretchen Kalonji, Dean, Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction(IDMR), Sichuan University, China

Prof. Gretchen Kalonji stated that the main point she
wants to stress is that though everyone thinks about themultiple functions of research universities, but the
research missions and education missions are not wellarticulated.
In her presentation on “Integration of our efforts on
research, educational innovation, and international
collaboration”, Prof. Kalonji shared how we could better
integrate our efforts on research and educationalinnovations to be more effective in serving ourcommunities. A few slides from Prof. Kalonji’spresentation are given below:

Challenges for Higher Education to Promote
Research and Education in Disaster Risk Reduction
and Response• Our universities and university systems areprofoundly important players in the quest forsustainable development, perhaps the mostimportant.
• However, among all the players, they are perhaps
the most resistant to change• A central challenge is the bifurcation between our“research” agenda and our “education” agenda.
• We are far stronger in international collaboration in

8

research than in education• We also need to be far more effective in service tosociety
Our core strategic approach? Move to multinational,
multidisciplinary, multisectoral research project-based
approaches to integrate our contributions in research,education and service to society. Build on existing
multinational, multi-institutional networks.
Students, professors and other partners work in
multinational teams on research projects of mutualinterest and of practical importance to participating
regions.

Institutional and higher education policy variations••

Huge variations on the opportunities andconstraints that our disaster research institutes
face.

•

Highly centralized national level policies can makeinnovation very difficult•

Resource imbalance amongst institutions also
often places constraints on multinational
collaboration•

Geopolitical tensions can also pose problems•

Faculty reward structures often discourage rather
than encourage innovation

 Variations in nature of faculty appointments,
e.g. within the disaster institute, within otherdepartments and schools, or ”mixed-mode"
appointments
 Major distinction between those institutions
which have the ability to design and offer theirown degree programs and those that do not•

Example of the Institute for Disaster Management
and Reconstruction (IDMR)•

In terms of faculty appointments, we have a flavor of“mixed mode”••

We offer our own masters and PhD degrees, under
the title of “Safety Science and Disaster Reduction”,
an MOE-approved “secondary discipline”. Withinthat umbrella, we have had considerable flexibility incurricular design
IDMR also accepts masters and PhD students from

9

GADRI offers a powerful platform for sharing
pragmatic details of our strategies for strengthening
our disaster research institutes, given our various
institutional opportunities and constraints.

multiple other departments/schools, e.g. civilengineering, environmental sciences, public health,emergency medicine, law, etc.
•

We do not have an undergraduate degree yet, butoffer a three-year, research-based undergraduate“innovation
class”,
entitled““International
Collaborations
on
Disaster
Sciences
andEmergency Management”.

•

Our research and educational efforts build on ourroles in various collaborative international networks,
most notably in the High-Level Experts and Leaders
Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP), and its“Alliance of Alliances”, and ANSO-DRR.

•

In our curriculum development efforts in disasters
sciences, we have been deeply influenced bylessons learned from the evolution of materials
science as a discipline About 30 with full-time IDMR appointments,
and a limited degree of institutional flexibility inmanagement
 About 40 with appointments in otherdepartments/schools who have the right toserve as doctoral supervisors

Major distinctions amongst our disaster institutes
embedded with research universities include:Lessons from the evolution of materials science asa discipline••“Materials Science” as an academic discipline did
not exist formally anywhere until the firstdepartment was formed at Northwestern University
in 1960.
As a field of human activity, however, its history isvery long:•“It is the first example of a new academic discipline
emerging by fusion rather than fission” (Rustum
Roy, Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education, Penn
State Press 1979).

•

Formalization of the new field faced considerable
opposition from component disciplines.

•

Materials science is now a top priority for all
national funding agencies, and programs at
undergraduate, Masters and Phd levels exist atalmost all universities. Component disciplines havebeen strengthened by the creation of this newinterdisciplinary field.

•

How and why did this happen? Combination ofneeds, and emerging tools, and VISION•

Community gelled aroundconceptual framework(See: “The Search for Structure”, Cyril Stanley Smith,
MIT Press. 1981)•“Materials science” now incorporates contributions
from the basic sciences (physics, chemistry, more
recently life sciences), essentially all of theengineering disciplines, computational sciences,economics, etc.

acomprehensive

Prof. Kalonji concluded her presentation with the •following slide:

Share information on the challenges of catalyzing
and maintaining multi-institutional networks?

Suggestions
GADRI?

Build on some of our existing networks of youth
and young professionals to get advice and help increative ways to strengthen our collective efforts?

forpotential

futureactivities

of •

•

Design mechanisms for sharing information about
the pragmatics of overcoming various institutionalorganizational
challenges,e.g.
infacultyappointments and reward structures•

Disseminate information on curricular innovation,with a focus on project-based approaches

10Establish cross-sectoral frameworks to link cutting-edge science with on-site decision-making and action

Prof. Toshio Koike, Executive Director, International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management(ICHARM), Japan

Prof Toshio Koike’s presentation on “Establish crosssectoral frameworks to link cutting-edge science
with on-site decision-making and action” was ademonstration with evidence how science canintegrate from cross-sectoral frameworks and linkthem to global and local levels.
Focusing on water related disasters in the context of
GADRI strategy, Prof. Koike stated that the number ofwater-related disasters, especially, floods, storms,
have been increasing dramatically.
IPCCC,
mentioned, that the extreme daily precipitation event
projected to intensify by 7% for each 1 degree
centigrade of global warming.
Climate change will continue to exacerbate water
related disasters in the future. How can we address to
reduce water related disaster risks now? He shared amodel with which to accomplish by using climate
projection models, after downscaling and bias
correction, quantifying uncertainty that can be inputtedto hydrological models. It provides extreme events
information in advance of the event. The model canalso provide climate change induced regime shifts of
the water cycle.

He stated that this information should be interpreted toenvironmental issues, socio economics counters,
culture and historical aspects of the society. It canthen be implemented to provide a holistic impact
assessment of the climate change. Based on thatassessment, it is possible to select the mitigating
adaptation options from early warning, innovativetechnology, institutional and community approach andmanagement to contingency planning. Once a
decision is made, the policy is implemented. The
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation
should be reflected to the next stage of decision
making.
needed to fill the gap in the form of a facilitator.
Fostering facilitators are also very important torealize cutting-edge science in the society.

Moving on the next slide, Prof. Koike referred to theframework developed by them, he stated thatquantifying of the uncertainty should be reflected tothe decision makers as it is necessary to categorize
science to climatology and hydrology to local action.
To establish end-to-end framework, there is a need tointegrate data and information knowledge to promote
the knowledge integration. That is called consilience.
It is also necessary to identify the gap between thescience community and society; and a person is
11

He then proceeded to show how the framework canbe realized from hydrological science, and connect
with other sciences. Climate projections, weather
forecasting model and snow model, they are closely
related to energy and water flux balance component.
Agriculture production - crop and rice production,
they are closely related to the surface energy andwater flux, and vertical soil moisture component.
Sediment disaster is basically connected with verticalsoil moisture, surface flow and river flow. Dam
operation is mainly connected with the river flow.
This way the hydrological model can be identified
and connected with other science fields and establish
the interface. That is the task of the science
community.
Prof. Koike stated that the framework on water cycle
integrator was proposed at the UN Conference inMarch 2023; and it was adopted as an action agendaof the conference.

To support his presentation, Prof. Koike shared thefollowing two examples:

This case of the application of the system to Solo Riverin corporation with the Government of Indonesia. By
applying dynamic downscaling, they were able toidentify monthly rainfall increases in the rainy season,and decreases in the dry season. It is predicted that theheavy precipitation events will increase by 1.4 times infuture; and the inundation areas and the depths will
increase too. However, on the other hand, root zone
soil water content which is a very important parameter
for agricultural productions, will decrease by half in thedry season. At the end, a change of the variation ofrice wins and they were able to keep the same level ofthe production. The framework can be connected fromthe global climate model, to the local action level which
turned out to be a good driver of the society.
The case study of the online synthesis system forsustainability and resilience in Davao, Philippines wasunder the supervision of the minister. It was to develop
a flood early warning systems; a climate change impact
assessment system; and a support system for fostering

facilitators by inviting various stakeholders from thegovernment
and
local
government,
national
government, local academia and even the media. Oncethe facilitators were identified, there was a facilitator
training program as all of them will be working together
with the community by using the above-mentioned
system.
In conclusion Prof. Koike mention that at the UN Water
Conference held March 2023, Prof. Sewilam and
Ms. Kamikawa who was from the envoy of the Prime
Minister of Japan (currently she is the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Japan), co-chaired the session on
Interactive Dialogue: Water for climate Resilience andEnvironment. They concluded the discussion by stating“the key for breakthrough among other things, is OpenScience Policy, facilitation between sciences anddecision making, end-to-end approach, and water cycle
integration”. The action agenda presented by Prof.
Koike was the concept and the tool for the direction
identified by the UN Water Conference.

Status Report of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Occurred on 1 January 2024
Prof. Hiroyuki Goto, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan

Prof. Hiroyuki Goto presented a brief status report of
the Noto Peninsula earthquake which occurred on 1
January 2024. The earthquake occurred in a
depopulated area with about 150,000 people. Therewas very large motion ground shaking with amaximum seismic intensity of M7 which wasobserved by Japan Meteorological Agency. The
recorded fatality of this earthquake was 241 people
and nearly 1,299 persons injured.
Prof. Goto stated that while it is not possible toexplain or give all details of the earthquake due to its
ongoing disaster stage; he briefly summarized four
points which are affecting the rescue/recovery efforts:• Impact of multiple disasters - ground motion,
tsunami, fire and landslides

southern coasts of the peninsula were inundated bytsunami; and inland landslides.

The ground motion shaking was observed in an areawith a width of about 100km and a length of 150km
source fault. Almost the entire region of the northern
Noto Peninsula is located above the source fault. The
ground motion shaking which was observed in theareas of Wajima, Susu, and Anamizu was almost
comparable to the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. In
addition, there were observations of tsunami, fire andlandslides. The fire, though small, caught a large area
due to ground motion shaking. The eastern and• Vulnerability in depopulated areas - Key factor of
difficulties
Vulnerability of the depopulated areas possessed asignificant problem. It is populated with a higher
ageing population and around 27.8 per cent of the
population exceeded the age of 75 years. Meaning 1
in 3 persons is over 75 years. Noto Peninsula had avery large number of elderly people residing in thearea.
That was one of the major issues anddifficulties related to this earthquake.

12

In addition, there were very few buildings that met theearthquake building standards established in 1982 forearthquake resilience in Japan. In the Noto Peninsula,most buildings did not meet these standards andtherefore, they were quite vulnerable to the earthquake
situation. Buildings that did not meet the standards weredamaged due to lack of progress in replacement andreinforcement.
• Availability of major roads – a key damage factor ofthis earthquake
This area is a peninsula and the accessibility isimportant. There were many main roads in thepeninsular. Unfortunately, these roads which weredamaged due to the earthquake, could not be usedeven at this moment - nearly after two and a halfmonths after the earthquake. On 1 January, main
points of the city were accessed by going throughsidewalks and small alleys, and it took two hours to getto the main points. Access to other the main bases took
3 days which caused obstruction to the rescue teams.
Major roads are not yet fully available as significant timeis required for restoration. The first 72-hour window after

an earthquake is very important for rescue
efforts. However, due to unavailability of the main
roads, everything was hampered. That posed a major
hindrance and caused delays and obstacles in the
rescue and restoration efforts of the earthquake.
• Low recovery rate of lifeline systems
Recovery rate of the lifeline systems such as water, andelectricity, took a longer time than in past major
earthquakes compared to the 1995 Kobe and 2011
Tohoku earthquakes. Even after two months after theearthquake, the water recovery rate was quite low
compared to previous earthquakes due to several
factors. Few reasons that come to mind are theaccessibility of major roads which hindered reaching theaffected areas. Other factors involved in the situation
are such as the system itself. Water pipelines are
deeply embedded in the affected areas and could not
be excavated easily. Only 60 percent of the watersupply was recovered. Some cities in the area received
water resources from 120 km away. Therefore, once it
was cut out, they had no water supply.

Launch of the Latin American and the Caribbean Alliance of Disaster Research Institutions (LACADRI)
Dr. Mauricio Romero on behalf of the Deputy Director, Regional Affairs, UNGRD, Colombia

Dr.
Mauricio
Romerobriefly
sharedinformationoftherecently established Latin American and the Caribbean
Alliance of Disaster Research Institutions (LACARDI)
which is expected to increase the visibility of the Latin
Americas Regional representation at GADRI.
As a first step, Mr. Romero stated, they connected withthe members in the region who are already membersof GADRI. The first meeting of the Alliance was heldon 30 January 2024. The main objective of themeeting was to work on a roadmap. The roadmap
discussion covered the following points:• the name of the alliance; proposal of the allianceobjectives; how to create a charter, the Secretariat,
and functioning; and actions to follow
In addition to UNGRD, ten other members of GADRI
from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, andMexico participated with members of their institutes orwith their delegates.
Discussion for the choice of the name of the alliance13

followed the structure used by other regional alliancessuch as the African, North America, and the United
Kingdom. The proposed name was Latin American
and the Caribbean Alliance of Disaster ResearchInstitutions (LACADRI) for GADRI. It was agreed tochange the word Institutes to institutions due to thecharacteristics of the Latin American organizations.
The second topic discussed during the meeting was
the objectives of the alliance which also adhered to themain objectives of GADRI. These objectives will be
adjusted to reflect regional needs.
With regard to a charter, it was decided to walk thepath that others have already walked, and proposedthat the North American Alliance Charter will befollowed to guide the construction of the LACADRI
charter. The charter will also correspond to the local
context of all members.
It was agreed to share the draft copy of the Charter
among all members prior to the next meeting.
UNGRD, Colombia has taken the lead to create theagenda and call for the meetings.
The next meeting agenda will include the approval of
the Charter; build an activity plan for 2024-2025;
and start to participate and plan joint activities such asworkshops, seminars, and search for funding at
regional level.

3rd Session: Introduction of the New Members of the GADRI Boardof Directors – Current Status and contributions to promote a cultureof disaster resilience
Chair: Prof. Paul Kovacs and Prof. Gretchen Kalonji

The session was chaired by Prof. Gretchen Kalonji, Dean,
IDMR, Sichuan University, China; and Prof. Paul Kovacs, Chairof the Board of Directors of GADRI; and Executive Director,
ICLR, Western University, Canada.

Bridging science, policy, and practice: Towards implementation science
Dr. Guoyi Han, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden
The Stockholm Environment Institute, Dr. Guoyi Han
stated, was established after the 1972 Stockholm
Environment Summit which started the global
sustainable development journey. Although theinstitute is named Stockholm, most of its work is
carried around the world. The key impact areas of
the institute take seriously to map to the 17 goals of
SDGs. Dr. Han continued to present on syndromes ordilemmas – knowing more, losing more - pace ofvulnerability reduction seems always behind its
creation. Sendai Framework is very much managing
disaster to managing disaster risk which is to avoid
creation of disasters. Short-term vulnerability
reduction often undermines long-term resilience totransformative
development
pathwaysandtransforming between development anddisaster risks. He continued to discuss on
implementation
gaps
describing
thedifferences between and what was expected
and what occurred. He referred to the“Implementation Task Force” under theleadership of Prof. Norio Okada by the IDRiM
Society.
As for GADRI, he stated that GADRI may incooperation with the existing task force,develop a framework to guide the structure tohighlight implementation gaps. For example,
the GADRI Annual Report could be on athemed annual report – ask members toreport on what they say as a typical
implementation gap case.
14

Implications of co-evolved DRR learning for disaster resilience
Prof. Andrew Collins, Disaster and Development Network (DDN), Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK

On behalf of Disaster and Development Network (DDN),
Dept of Geography and Environmental Sciences,
Northumbria University, UK, Prof. Andrew Collins, who
was the first Chair of the Board of Directors of GADRI;
and currently appointed as a members of the Board,delivered a talk on the “Implications of co-evolved
disaster risk reduction learning for disaster resilience”. It
is about intersecting disaster and development issues
which is programmed in the UK and possibly in theworld. It focuses entirely on intersecting disaster anddevelopment issues and vice versa. There are about
500 alumni from the programme disbursed around theworld. The programme whichstarted in 2000 as a research
programme has currently evolved
to a research network withpartners around the world.
He spoke about the learning
cycles and associated processes;
responding to disaster risk
reduction learning implications
through co-evolved actions; andCo-evolved disaster risk reduction
learning into action.

Advancing disaster resilience through academic and research activities at CoEDMM IIT Roorkee with a
special focus on Himalayan region
Prof. Sumit Sen, Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Roorkee, India

From the Centre for Disaster Mitigation andManagement, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Roorkee, India, Prof. Sumit Sen, Head of the Centre,
talked about “Advancing Disaster Resilience throughAcademic and Research Activities at CoEDMM IIT

15

Roorkee with a special focus on the Indian Himalayan
Region” especially on the “early warning system in the
Himalayas”. The Centre was established in 1847 as anautonomous public institute for higher education with avision “To emerge as a Premier Centre for Disaster
Mitigation and Risk Management for sustainable
habitat”; and a mission to “Human resource
development for disaster mitigation and management
to protect the people, environment and economy andensure a disaster resilient society through education,
research and development.”

Copies of slides from Prof. Summit Sen presentation.

Disaster in Context – An inter-disciplinary approach to disaster resilience and environmental sustainability
Dr. Roger Cloud Baars, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

Dr. Roger Cloud Baars, Graduate School of Global
Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
Dr. Roger Baars presented a brief outline of the Graduate
School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES), Kyoto
University, Japan on behalf of the Dean of the Graduate
School, Prof. Chihiro Tanaka.
He presented an overview of the institute (GSGES); what
they do – inter-disciplinary approach to disaster work; andthe GSGES agenda for GADRI.

16

Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience: A Contribution from Geography
Prof. Irasema Alcántara Ayala, Institute of Geography, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM),
MexicoThere are three departments: Economic Geography,
Physical Geography and Social Geography.
• Geospatial Analysis Laboratory• Academic Unit of Territorial Studies in Oaxaca• Academic Unit of Territorial Studies in Yucatán;
Editorial Section
In addition, there are three support units: theInformation Technology Unit, the Map Library and theScience Communication Unit.

Prof.
Irasema Alcántara Ayala presented the Institute ofGeography, UNAM, Mexico. The Institute has 96 fulltime researchers engaged in:

The Institute is not limited to the above.

• Manifestations of the interaction between humans
and nature throughout space,• Links between the physical or natural sciences andthe social sciences,• Addressing and solving problems of a global,
regional, and local nature from a spatial perspective.

Draft Structure of the Collection of World Disaster Research Databases – Global Disaster Researcher DirectoryProf. Hiroyuki Goto, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan
Prof. Hiroyuki Goto once again took the podium togive a brief status report for the project on Collectionof World Disaster Research Databases (CWDRD);
and the Global Disaster Researcher Directory, which
is a proposed activity by the GADRI Committee on
Networking under GADRI objective – to promoteexchange and sharing of data and information for
scientific research across the globe.
The concept is to build a database in cooperation with
the GADRI Committee on Data and Information
Sharing, that will contribute to the research activities
among the members of the GADRI community. The
database project is funded by DPRI, Kyoto University

throughtheCollaborative
Research
Planned andProposed by
GADRI. The
structureofthe Databaseis almost at its
completion. ”
The
GlobalDisaster Researcher Directory which is part of thedatabase, allows individual researchers to connect
through the ORCID ID.
According to the current schedule, the system design
was completed in 2022; implementation of disastercollection databases started in 2023 and is an
ongoing process; and in the year 2024, it is expected
to start to network. Implementation of case studies
will commence in the future too.

17

Final Session: Panel Discussion Session – Towards a Collective
Contribution by GADRI to the goals stipulated in the Political
Declaration of the SFDRR

The final discussion session was chaired by Prof.
Charles Scawthorn, Chair, GADRI Committee on
Networking; and Visiting Professor, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, USA; Prof. Paul Kovacs; andProf. Hirokazu Tatano.

review of the SFDRR 2015-2030. GADRI member
activities are closely interlinked with the objectives oftheglobalpolitical
agendas—SFDRR,
Paris
Agreement, SDGs. It was agreed to form a task force
to prepare a draft resolution collating various
recommendations by each presenter and thecomments received by the audience.

The session focused on the deliberations of theprevious discussion session; and recommendations
shared by the members of the Board and audience.
Particular focus was directed to share the ongoingsupport for the overall context of the Political
Declaration of the high-level meeting on the midterm

It is expected to present the document at the next
UNDRR Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction to
be held in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2025.

18

Resolution of the 5th Open Discussion Forum of GADRI
12th March 2024

As part of its ongoing series of discussion forums
attended by incoming and outgoing board members,committee chairs and the DPRI secretariate, GADRI
considered its commitments and contributions to the2023 Political Declaration of the Sendai Frameworkfor Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR).
The forum included 15 academic and scientificpresentations and accompanying discussions
spanning perspectives drawn from its wide-ranging
fields of expertise in disasters related researchacross 208 member institutions worldwide.
The Forum resolved to:Emphasise the critical ongoing global challenges thatprovide the context and imperative for the UN
General Assembly to assess the progress of SFDRR
on “integrating disaster risk reduction into policies,
programmes and investments”;
Promote the implementation of the SFDRR throughscientific knowledge and technologies in support ofdecision making, recognising the need to accelerate
the path to achieving the outcome and goal of the
SFDRR across all its seven targets, guiding
principles and four priorities for action.
In line with the GADRI mission to share evidencebased research and to find implementable solutions
to existing and emerging disaster risks, the Forumfurther resolves that:i)As stipulated in SFDRR and the Resolution of
the General Assembly on 18 May 2023, global
policy on disaster risk reduction must be

19

evidence-based and development risk-informed.
ii)

Althoughthescienceandknowledge
environment has significantly expanded torecognise the multi-causality and consequent
general complexity of disaster risk, that
accelerated action is needed to effect disasterrisk reduction.

iii) Science should be greater emphasized
throughout the whole process or cycle of disasterrisk reduction, from understanding risk to thepost-disaster Build Back Better phase, and belinked to implementation.
iv) Failure of nation states and their internationalalignments to invest in disaster risk reduction
and to prevent the process of disaster riskcreation in the context of much needed progress
across all SGDs is a threat to global health andwell-being.
Further, the Forum reaffirms GADRI’s commitment toserve as a collaborative platform for engaging
discussion, sharing knowledge and promoting
research on disaster risk reduction and resilience. It
maintains a purpose to deepen the understanding ofdisasterrisks,
promoteevidence-based
implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies,
and transfer and disseminate scientific knowledge
and technologies in close collaboration withorganizations around the world.

40th Meeting of the Board of Directors of GADRI

Room S-519D, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University
Uji Campus, Kyoto, Japan
11 March 2024

20

40th Meeting of the Board of Directors of GADRI

Room S-519D, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University
Uji Campus, Kyoto, Japan
11 March 2024

The 40th Meeting of the Board of Directors of GADRI
was held at the DPRI, Kyoto University on 11 March2024 from 17:00h. The Chair of the Board, Prof. Paul
Kovacs was supported by Prof. Hirokazu Tatano,
Secretary-General of GADRI. Most of the current
members of the Board attended the meeting in person.
The newly appointed members of the Board wereinvited to attend the 40th Meeting of the Board as well.

The Chair commenced the meeting by asking all
members to briefly introduce themselves.
The occasion was also used to thank the outgoingmembers of the Board for their invaluable
contributions to the activities of GADRI and tirelessefforts to the Board of Directors of GADRI throughout
their 4-year tenure at the Board. Further, they were
given a chance to share their viewpoints as to the
future directions and pathways for GADRI.
Our special thanks to the outgoing members of theBoard:• Prof. Peter Sammonds, Director, IRDR, University
College London, UK

Planning, Colorado State University, USA
Although the above-mentioned members’ current termof office with the Board of Directors of GADRI come toan end, they will be engaged in various other roles
with the GADRI Committees.
Prof. John van de Lindt’s institute will host the 7th
Global Summit of GADRI in 2025.

The new members of the Board were welcomed by the
Chair and all members of the Board. They were givena chance to introduce themselves; and share theircontributions to GADRI and expectations. The newmembers will start their term of office from 1 April 2024
for a period of four years.
The New Members appointed to the Board of Directors
as of 1 April 2024 are as follows:• Prof. Guoyi Han, Senior Research Fellow,
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden• Prof. Andrew Collins, Leader, Disaster andDevelopment Network, Northumbria University,
Newcastle, UK• Prof. Sumit Sen, Head, Centre for Disaster
Mitigation and Management, Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Roorkee, India• Prof. David Alexander, IRDR, University College
London, UK• Dr. Zita Sebasvari, UNU-EHS, Germany• Prof. Takeshi Katsumi/Prof. Chihiro Tanaka, Dean,
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies,
Kyoto University, Japan• Prof. Gretchen Kalonji, Dean, IMDR, Sichuan
University, China• Prof. Toshio Koike, Executive Director, ICHARM,
Japan• Prof. Irasema Alcántara Ayala, Director, Institute ofGeography, Universidad Nacional Autónoma deMéxico (UNAM), Mexico• Prof. John van de Lindt, Co-Director, Center of
Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience21Natech Risk Perception and Protection Motivation: A Survey ofIndustry Managers in Colombia
Namulun Borjigin, Lina Maria Parra1, Ana Maria Cruz1*

Introduction

Flooding is one of the most problematic natural
hazards threatening industrial areas in many
countries. Supply chain disruptions caused by flooding
can be further exacerbated in the chemical industry
when they trigger chemical accidents (known as
Natech). The accidents and the disrupted supply
chains can have detrimental effects on enterprises,
which could further significantly impact the economy
and daily life.
To make recommendations on how to improve supply
chain managers proactiveness in preparing against
flood-triggered chemical accidents, this research
proposes a modified “revised Protection Motivation
Theory (PMT) (Rogers, 1983) conceptual model tounderstand how managers perceive flood-related
Natech accidents and the cognitive mediatingprocesses of their’ intentions to adopt protective
measures. To test the conceptual model, thisinternational collaborative research, together with
Colombian partners at the Colombian Safety Council(CSC) carried out an online questionnaire survey
targeting supply chain managers in the chemicalindustry in Colombia. The questionnaire survey wasfollowed by industrial visits to 9 companies, and aworkshop with safety managers from 15 chemicalcompanies.

supply chains are often underestimated [2]. However,
little research has touched upon this issue. Thus, more
research is needed to better understand supply chain
managers' protection motivation and risk perception
regarding these external threats.
Based on a literature review, we propose an extended
protection motivation theory (PMT) model for the
purpose of understanding the influential mechanism of
supply chain managers' risk perceptions on protective
intentions under the threat of flood-triggered chemical
accidents. The proposed revised PMT, shown in
Figure 1, consists of a threat appraisal and a coping
appraisal. Threat appraisal is also known as risk
perception, which measures the perceived probability
and severity of a risk. Distinguishing from the originalmodel, the proposed model considers three types ofrisk perceptions, namely deliberative, affective, andexperiential (Ferrer et al., 2016), which integrates
rational analysis, negative emotions, and heuristic
intuition into the measures of risk perception. The
proposed model also includes resource deficiency as
a fourth element in coping appraisal, which provides aresource-related attribute in the PMT model.
Furthermore, this study analyzes five cognitive biases
that could reduce risk perception and protective
intention in the context of Natech risk management
and supply chain risk management: normalcy bias,
belief in the law of small numbers, the illusion ofcontrol, optimistic bias, and loss aversion.

Previous studies and background

The proposed revised PMT model examines for the
first time the interacting relationships among risk
perception, cognitive biases, and protection motivationin the context of Natech disaster risk management.

Though the chemical industry is relatively highly
regulated, there is evidence that managers respond atdifferent proactive levels when facing potential Natech
hazards (OECD 2015). In particular, the impacts ofnatural hazards and potential Natech accidents on theSecond, none of the previously proposed PMT models
have considered the recent advances in risk
perception formation processes. This study applies thethree types of risk perceptions in understanding risk
perceptions and responses to Natech disaster risk.

22

Third, the results of this study will be analyzed to identify the significant factors that predict protective motivation, as well as the main barriers that defer supply chain
managers from adopting protective measures against
Natech risk. This can be applied to help improve
Natech risk perception and consequently protection
motivation for these types of hazards, representing animportant first step towards improving supply chain risk
management, contributing to societal resilience.

Methodology

A questionnaire survey was designed to measure all thefactors in the revised PMT model. In addition, two pilot
tests were carried out with faculty and students to get
feedback. The questionnaire length was about 25 to 30
minutes and it was applied to the chemical industry in
Colombia after translation into Spanish. 42 out of 161
valid responses were received and were analyzed byapplying PLS-SEM to validate the theoretical model.

23

Concurrently, semi-structured interviews were conducted in companies located in multiple municipalities, encompassing Bucaramanga, Bogota, Barranquilla, andCartagena, from March 18th to March 28th, 2023. Ninelarge-sized companies, one medium-sized company,
and one industrial expert

agreed to participate in the interviews, sharing insights
into their historical encounters with flooding, present risk
management strategies, and particular protective
measures they've implemented. Each interview spanned
approximately 1 to 2 hours and was recorded after theinterviewees explicitly gave their consent.

Furthermore, a workshop was held on 22nd March in
Bogota, with the participation of 15 Health Safety andEnvironment (HSE) managers from the hydrocarbon
industry in Colombia. Managers were divided into twogroups depending on their mode of participation: inperson and online. The discussions focused on the challenges and difficulties in implementing risk management
practices.

Results

The findings from the model validation indicated thatexperiential risk perception, resource deficiency,
response efficacy, and self-efficacy serve as
noteworthy predictors of protection motivation.
Additionally, normalcy bias diminishes deliberative risk
perception,subsequently
reducing
protection
motivation indirectly. Short-termism exacerbates
perceived
resource
deficiency,
consequently
decreasingprotection
motivation
indirectly.
Furthermore, optimistic bias decreases affective risk
perception, albeit without a direct impact on protection
motivation. However, the conclusive significance ofdeliberative risk perception, affective risk perception,
response costs, illusion of control, and loss aversion
remains uncertain, given the sample size limitation.
The interviews delved into 15 events, primarily
focusing on floods, rain-induced flooding, andhurricanes. Of these events, 14% experienced a lossof containment (LOC). Notably, approximately 40% of
the events discussed during the interviews occurred
within their supply chain network, involving bothcustomers and suppliers. Additionally, over 70 floodrisk
management
practiceswereoutlined,encompassing
physicalmeasures,procedural
protocols, equipment design and retrofitting, safetybarriers and auxiliary systems, emergency planningand response, and risk communication activities.
Despite certain companies' efforts to mitigate flooding,the importance of community collaboration inmaintaining functional infrastructure within the local
vicinity remains evident.

24

Finally, the workshop discussions highlighted somesignificant challenges in managing flood and floodrelated Natech risks, primarily stemming frominadequate cooperation and communication among
stakeholders. This deficiency extends across various
domains, including the business network, thecoordination with governmental entities, and theengagement of the communities in the vicinity.
Additionally, managers emphasized that factors suchas the social context, political dynamics, cultural
influences, the inherent uncertainty nature, and thescale of events, pose formidable obstacles inenhancing protection against future occurrences.

Reference•

Ferrer, R. A., Klein, W. M., Persoskie, A., AvishaiYitshak, A., & Sheeran, P. (2016). The tripartite
model of risk perception (TRIRISK): distinguishingdeliberative,
affective,
andexperiential
components of perceived risk. Annals of
Behavioral Medicine, 50(5), 653-663•

OECD. (2015). Addendum Number 2 to the OECD
Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident
Prevention for Chemical Accident Prevention ,Preparedness and Response (2nd Edition) To
Adress Natural Hazards Triggering TechnologicalAccidents (NaTech).

•

Rogers, R. W. (1983). Cognitive and psychologicalprocesses in fear appeals and attitude change: A
revised theory of protection motivation. Social
psychophysiology: A sourcebook, 153-176.

GADRI Lecture Series
Coping with Polycrisis: The concept of systemic risks and its contribution to risk
management and communication
Lecture by Prof. Ortwin Renn, retired Scientific Director, International Institute forAdvanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany—15 May 2024
[Abstract]
In recent years, the entire globe has been exposed toa number of serious crises. Risk researchers callthem polycrises (Homer-Dixon et al. 2021; HomerDixon and Rockström 2022). First came Corona, thencame the further manifestations of climate change,for example floods, draughts and forest fires, the war
in Ukraine, food crises in the world, inflation,
galloping energy prices, more serious and intensive
natural disasters, and there are more every day. The
hallmark of polycrises is the mutual amplification ofnested, interconnected risks.
Each and every crisis – whether political,
epidemiological, military, economic or environmental- forces society to redefine and reshape its everyday
understanding of what is normal and what can be
expected in the near future. This juxtaposition ofcrises shows that we are dealing with a complex webof superficially different but in reality deeplyinterwoven crises (Lawrence et al. 2022). And it isprecisely because these crises are so causally andfunctionally interwoven that they cause damage
worldwide that is far greater than the sum of theirindividual damages.
These insidious risks that threaten people's welfare
worldwide can be evidenced by the term systemicrisks (Renn et al. 2020; 2019 Renn 2021). The cause-and-effect models that have been common up to
now are less and less effective in a world that ischaracterized by systemic interactions between
allegedly independent risk sources. For this reason,
everyday phenomena in nature, technology andsociety can only be understood if they are viewed as
dynamic processes in complex systems. Most ofthese systemic risks have become more severe,
disruptive, and dangerous than in previous decades.
Risk research has referred to this as risk
amplification. (Kasperson et al. 1988) And in mostcases, the likelihood and magnitude of these risks
are also increasing more rapidly now than in the past.
Their analysis
requiresinterdisciplinary
scholarship,
systemic
concepts
andmethodologies

25

and in particular inclusive forms of risk governance(IRGC 2018).
The lecture on “Coping with Polycrisis: The conceptof systemic risks and its contribution to risk
management and communication” addressed themultiple parallel crises that influence and reinforce
each other and emphasise the need for acomprehensive systemic understanding of theinteractions between social, natural, technologicaland cultural hazards and domains. It explored thepotential merits of a systemic risk approach andexplain the new methods that are associated with its
concept. It also addressed the need for unvarnishedcomprehensible communication that addresses theconflicting goals and described pathways of how to
involve stakeholders and affected population inweighing
conflicting goals and to search for common solutions
without wasting precious time.
[Short bio]Prof. Ortwin Renn is a social scientist focusing on risk
governance. He retired as scientific Director at theInternational Institute for Advanced Sustainability
Studies (IASS) in Potsdam (Germany) in December
2022 and serves as a professor emeritus forenvironmental sociology and technology assessment
at the University of Stuttgart. He directs the non-profit
company DIALOGIK, a research institute for theinvestigation of communication and participation
processes. Renn is Adjunct Professor for “Integrated
Risk Analysis” at Stavanger University (Norway),
Honorary Professor at the Technical University
Munich and Affiliate Professor for “Risk Governance”
at Beijing Normal University. His research interests
include risk governance (analysis, perception,communication), stakeholder and public involvement
in environmental decision making, transformation
processes in economics, poli cs and society andsustainable development.

Synchronicity: The Emergence of Meaning in The Process of Transformation

Lecture by Prof. Regina Renn, Practitioner, and a licensed Psychological Psychotherapist,
Stuttgart Regional Council, Germany
22 May 2024
The lecture addressed some theoretical backgroundsuch as different types of Synchronicity, non-causal
predispositions for it, and observations of asynchronistic field. It included the idea of theTranspersonal in the Individual and Collective
Unconscious and illustrated the phenomena by
various case examples, pointing to positive as well as
negative impacts on the client's further psychologicaldevelopment.

Short Bio: Regina Renn is a practitioner, a licensed
Psychological Psychotherapist (Stuttgart Regional
Council, Germany), conducting private practice since1995. She holds a diploma in Biology from the
University of Cologne, and a degree in Analytical
Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich. She
collaborates with Refugio Stuttgart (Center for

26

Victims of Violence), and she is an accredited
Psychotherapist for Corrente AG (Mental Health atWork).
In the past she was a lecturer in "Environmental
Studies" at Clark University in Massachusetts, USA,and worked as a high school Biology teacher. She
was a member of the Executive Committee of theInternational Association of Analytical Psychology,
serving also on several other committees. She wasVice-President of the German Association of
Analytical Psychology (DGAP), and a member of its
extended Board. She was visiting Japan with her
husband, Prof. Ortwin Renn.

New Members of GADRI
Croatian Center for Earthquake Engineering (CCEE), Faculty of Civil
Engineering University of Zagreb, Croatia
Contact Person:

In Croatia, there is a long tradition of research in thefield of earthquake engineering, but for decades werelied mainly on other regional centers (for example,
IZIIS). After becoming an independent country (1991),
most issues related to earthquake engineering wereignored (considering many other major problems), i.e.
experts worked individually/scattered at universities allover Croatia, including in Zagreb. Experts and scientists
from the Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCE), University ofZagreb, have participated for many years in various
regional and international scientific projects, conferences
and workshops on earthquake-related topics and are
authors of numerous scientific papers published inregional and international journals. They have acquired
their knowledge through participation in projects,
training courses and workshops on disaster risk
reduction, post-earthquake damage assessment andrescue team collaboration. They have expanded theirfield experience by participating in damage assessments
after past devastating regional earthquakes and floods.

Prof Josip Atalić
Associate Professor and Head/Chairfinancial support and a strong global network within thescientific and professional community in the fields ofearthquake engineering, seismic risk assessment,
seismology and the design and retrofitting of existing
structures. As a branch of the Faculty of Civil
Engineering, University of Zagreb, CCEE as a research
center has the administrative support and available
laboratory equipment of the Structural Testing
Laboratory of the Department of Engineering Mechanics.
After the 2020 earthquakes, establishment of a newlaboratory started, more specialized for research in thefield of earthquake engineering, and most key steps havealready been taken.

For further details, please visit the website—

Although the CCEE research center was only founded in
2021, the research group's infrastructure has sufficient

https://www.hcpi.hr/

IDRiM CONFERENCE 2024—14th Annual Conference of
the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk
Management: Disaster Resilient Communities for Life
Cartagena, Colombia from 28 to 30 August 2024
The IDRiM Society is pleased
to announce its 14th International Conference titled"Disaster Resilient Communities for Life," which will
be held in Cartagena, Colombia. Organized incollaboration with IDRiM, the 2024 conference ishosted by the National Unit for Disaster Risk
Management (UNGRD) in partnership with various
national and international organizations. The
conference theme, Disaster Resilient Communities
for Life, mirrors the government's overarching vision,"Colombia, the world power of life." This vision aims
to establish the foundations for Colombia to emerge
as a global leader in the collective pursuit of life,
humanity, and nature.
The conference has abroader focus on integrated disaster prevention andmitigation, emergency response, and disasterrecovery. It encourages the scientific community toconsider new perspectives beyond traditional risk
management concepts, which seem insufficient toaddress emerging risks and uncertainties. As thenature of risk becomes increasingly systemic andcomplex, how we think and act must also become
more systemic to maintain our health and well-being
and to protect our lives against climate-related
hazards and technological accidents. IDRiM2024 in
Cartagena is a unique space for fostering dialogue
and sharing experiences within the field. Under
IDRiM's motto, "I dream, you dream, we all dreamfor a safer world," 2024 will be the year when
Colombia envisions a safer and more integrated
country and region.
Conference link: https://idrim2024.com/

27

GADRI Members
Established in March 2015, the Global Alliance ofDisaster
Research
Institutes
supporttheimplementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) and the work of
the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group of theUnited Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction(UNDRR).

survivability and well-being, by integrating knowledge
and technologies from around the world. Over 200
institutions have joined GADRI.GADRI membershipis free; and completely voluntary and non-binding.
GADRI Secretariat is currently headquartered andhosted by the Disaster Prevention Research Institute(DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan.

In line with its vision, GADRI strives to deepen theunderstanding of disasters and find implementable
solutions to achieve disaster resilience; i.e. human,
technical system and infrastructure resilience,

To join GADRI, please contact the GADRISecretariat: secretariat-gadri@dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Geographical Distribution of GADRI as of 30 June 2024

Area

Members

Economies

Africa12

7

Americas

34

8

Asia
(Excluding Japan)

84

24

Europe

38

14

Japan

31

1

Oceania112

Total Institutes

210

56

56 economies

Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI)
Secretariat

Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI)
Kyoto University, Uji Campus, Gokasho, Uji-shi
Kyoto 611-0011, JAPAN
Tel: +81-774-38-4651
Fax: +81-774-38-4654
E-mail: secretariat-gadri@dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Web: https://www.gadri.net

All rights reserved. GADRI ACTIONS is the property of GADRI and protected by the international copyright laws. GADRIACTIONS contents may not be reprinted, copied, and distributed without the copyright holder's prior written permission.

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