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  3. Master in Territorial Management
  4. area of specialisation in Environment and Natural Resources
  5. Environmental Catastrophes and Society

Environmental Catastrophes and Society

Objectives

It pretendes to demonstrate the importance of diagnosis and assessment of risk and vulnerability to extreme naturaland technological disasters at different scales, for effective planning. Particular attention will be given to the use of indices and models that can contribute to a risk and vulnerability analysis in order to be able to implement strategies of adaptation and mitigation.
This course aims to provide the necessary skills:
• To discuss and understand concepts such as risk, vulnerability, etc.
• To identify and understand the phenomena that can cause risk and disaster being its nature, natural and/oranthropogenic activities
• To assess the factors that may contribute to the vulnerability degree of a certain territory to extreme events
• To implement methods of diagnosis, with the elaboration of risk and/or susceptibility cartography
• To Integrate accurate planning and management measures to prevent and minimize the catastrophic effects

General characterization

Code

722041077

Credits

10.0

Responsible teacher

Carlos Alberto Russo Machado

Hours

Weekly - 3

Total - 280

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

  • ANPC (2009). Guia para a Caracterização de Risco no mbito da Elaboração de Planos de Emergência de ProtecçãoCivil. Cadernos Técnicos PROCIV #9. Amadora: Autoridade Nacional de Protecção Civil
  • ANPC (2014). Avaliação Nacional de Risco. Carnaxide: Autoridade Nacional de Protecção Civil
  • Beck, U. (2005). Risk society: towards a new modernity: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage Publications
  • GFDRR. (2014). Understanding Risk. The Evolution of Disaster Risk Assessment. Washington: The World Bank / GlobalFacility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
  • Keller, E.; DeVecchio, D. E. (2016). Natural hazards: earth's processes as hazards, disasters, and catastrophes /London: Routledge
  • Stoltman, J. P.; Lidstone, J.; Dechano, L. M. (2007). International perspectives on natural disasters: occurrence,mitigation, and consequences, Dordrecht: Springer
  • UNISDR (2009). UNISDR terminology on disaster risk reduction. Genebra: United Nations International Strategy forDisaster Reduction.

Teaching method

Lectures, which can count on the participation of guests for the presentation of specific cases on the themes of the program.
Monitoring the development of tutorial work, individually or in groups.

Evaluation method

Continuous assessment - Oral presentation of a topic related to disasters and social communication(40%), Preparation of an essay, whose theme will be chosen by the students, based on autonomous research, with presentation and oral discussion of the results(60%)

Subject matter

1. Introduction
1.1 Natural phenomena vs. Catastrophes
1.2 Some numbers and sources of information
2. Environmental catastrophes: concepts
2.1 The frequency increase and the unequal distribution
2.2. Risk factors and complexity
2.3 The notion of acceptable risk
3. Risk Classification: Natural
3.1 Climatic and hydrological
3.2 Geophysical, geomorphological and biological
4. Classification of Risks: Anthropogenic
4.1 Social and technological
5. Urbanization and environmental disasters
5.1 Megacities and coastal cities
5.2 Environmental risks in an urban context in Portugal
6. Integrated Risk Management and Civil Protection