Date:July 14, 2008 (Mon.) 16：00-18：00PM
Venue:E207, 2nd floor of East Building, CSEAS
Presentation:
Norio Okada (Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute)
Commentator:
Kazuo Ando (Professor, CSEAS)
Yoden Shideo (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University)
Risks in the 21st century have grown increasingly complicated, demanding the development of countermeasures in a context where knowledge is lacking about the risks brought on by nanotechnology and the spread of new diseases. Given this situation, various management techniques for risks and disasters were presented, based on planning system theory as developed in infrastructure planning. Disasters are phenomena that exceed fixed thresholds, phenomena of low frequency and high impact that, as in the case of major earthquakes, occur at intervals which surpass the life cycles of human beings. From the perspective of achieving sustained management in a setting with diverse high-uncertainty risks, urban areas need to be considered from both the aspects of disaster prevention and development. With the high frequency of disasters in Southeast Asia, for example, it can be said that we should aim not only at maintaining survival, but also work on integrated disaster risk management which perceives disaster as an opportunity.
The multilayer systems which make up society have a complex structure, from space-time structures that cannot be seen (consciousness, customs) to those that can be seen (architectural structures, legislation). For example, in order to realize high-quality infrastructure, it is essential to understand engineering which is closely related to infrastructure and legal systems. In particular, while disasters in the past occurred and were managed only at a local level, society has nowadays expanded in various ways and continuously increases its complexity. In aiming at a more stable society, it is necessary to recognize the importance of what is the local, of communities and of agents, and to place diverse human resources on an equal footing. Finally, in order to verify and draw predictions in an actual social context, Implementation science is important in testing and evaluating conditions, while over the course of application, Adaptive management is important in realizing solutions at a social level.
(Osamu Kozan)