Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage in Urban Areas

In the previous module the fundamentals of risk assessment of cultural heritage at different scales were explained to the participants. The next stage of the disaster risk management process, and within the course, is to address these risks and minimise them through a series of strategic actions. The link between this module and the previous one needs to be emphasised strongly to the participants through a cohesive pedagogical strategy that correlates risk assessment with prioritisation for risk mitigation strategies. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that the disaster risk management process is a sequential and cyclic series of steps. In this particular module, as in the previous module on disaster risk assessment, the overall theme of the course becomes especially significant, as it determines not only the specific kind of hazard(s) being addressed, but also the scale and nature of cultural heritage for which mitigation strategies need to be identified.

This module should cover the following aspects of reducing disaster risks to cultural heritage:

• Various approaches for risk prevention and mitigation
• Measures and techniques for risk prevention and mitigation
• Preventing/Mitigating disaster risks from specific hazards (Dependent on the hazards relevant to theme of the course)
• An overview of various natural and human induced hazards and the different strategies applicable to various situations depending on the characteristics of the region in which the site is located. This content would need to respond to a thematic focus or give a broad overview of the kinds of approaches applicable to a wide range of hazards such as earthquakes, floods, tornados etc.
• Risk reduction strategies for different kinds of cultural heritage. Depending on the typology, scale and physical condition of cultural heritage and resulting vulnerabilities to various hazards, risk prevention/mitigation strategies would differ widely. This needs to be taken into consideration while planning the course.

In the International Training Course organised by R-DMUCH series, which lasts for two weeks, this module generally takes 2-3 days and is often combined in the form of lectures and workshops with the module on Risk Assessment as well as the module on Emergency Preparedness and Response.