Overview
The seminar on “Forest management as Nature-based Solution (NbS): Towards disaster risk reduction by forests (F-DRR)” was held in Tokyo, Japan on 5 February 2025. Our director, Dr. Manzul Kumar Hazarika was invited as one of the keynote speakers for the seminar. He presented “Risk Changes: A Cloud-based Open-Source Platform for Multi-hazard Risk Assessment” for the seminar.
The seminar aimed to communicate the importance of utilizing forests’ multifaceted functions in regional development, considering the trend toward mainstreaming NbS. The importance of forest and land management considering F-DRR and the issues involving local communities in such initiatives were shared. Based on these discussions, contributions were made for formation of projects for disaster prevention and mitigation through forests and increase the number of participants to the projects.
What is RiskChanges?
Multi-hazard risk assessment (MHRA) facilitates evaluating the risks posed by more than one natural hazard, taking into account their interactions and cascading effects. As the frequency and intensity of natural hazards increase due to climate change, the importance of MHRA is growing in understanding the risks and designing risk mitigation measures. RiskChanges, a cloud-based open-source platform, is expected to effectively support risk assessment and management at the local level by providing suitable risk mitigation alternatives.
RiskChanges evaluates risks from multiple natural hazards and their impacts on elements-at-risk, such as buildings and infrastructures. It also enables cost-benefit analysis for different risk mitigation alternatives. It allows data to be shared among users. This platform is designed as a decision support tool that utilizes geospatial data. Specific case studies were presented, such as floods, debris flows, and landslides, and in each case, the extent and impacts of the disaster were visualized using hazard, exposure and risk maps. Based on the risks, engineering solutions, nature-based solutions, and relocation were compared and examined.
It was concluded that “RiskChanges” could be an effective tool for understanding risks and taking appropriate mitigation measures at the local level. It was stated that this platform has the potential to greatly improve the decision-making process in disaster risk management and contribute to the creation of resilient communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
