PEARL presented during workshop of LIFE+IMAGINE project in Genoa, 30th January 2015

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LIFE+IMAGINE is a life project coordinated by GISIG, aiming at enforcing the knowledge base on European environmental data policies and at creating an information system for coastal management and planning. The project, through methodologies of environmental analysis, integrates and harmonize multi-sources data in order to create new and hands-on information for planning and decision making, with reference to two environmental scenarios of coastal areas, that are the soil consumption and the landslides.  The information are processed and provided to the client by a web services infrastructure, that integrates in its architecture the specification of the INSPIRE Directive (for a European Spatial Data Infrastructure), the SEIS initiative (the Shared Environmental Information System) and the Copernicus programme for global monitoring.  Output of the project are indicators and thematic maps, to be used for better assessing the impacts by soil consumption and landslides in coastal areas and improve the planning and interventions.

The workshop was related to the “use of interoperable data and services for coastal management”, with a focus on the Ligurian pilot sites, that are in the Tigullio and Cinque Terre areas. It was attended by more than 30 people, coming from ISPRA (the Italian Environmenal Agency), Regional Authorities (Liguria and Toscana), the Municipality of Genova, the National Research Council, the University of Genova (architecture, earth science and hydraulic engineer), the Cinque Terre National Park, the regional association of geologist, and some SMEs.

During the workshop, PEARL was represented by Alessandra Marchese from GISIG. A poster was displayed and a presentation was given on the project and the Genoa case study.

Take a look at our gallery for photos of this and other events. You can also visit their website with a description of the event (in italian).

 

PEARL

3rd PEARL Project Committee meeting will be held on 21-23 January in Hørsholm, Denmark.

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RethymoThe 3rd Project Committee meeting will take place on 21-23 January in Hørsholm, Denmark.

Each Work Package and Case Study will share with the other partners in the Consortium progress made to date and will work in parallel groups to improve the implementation of its tasks. Moreover, a Young Researchers Session will be held on the evening of the first day of the meeting.

A field visit related to the case study Greve is expected on the second day of the meeting.

The meeting was mentioned in the spanish website IAgua, you can check the article in spanish here.

PEARL presented during the 3rd International Lund Regional‐Scale Climate Modelling Workshop, 16‐19 June 2014

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Part of the work on climate modeling within PEARL was presented at the 3rd International Lund Regional‐Scale Climate Modelling Workshop “21st Century Challenges in Regional Climate Modelling” on the 16‐19 June 2014 in Lund, Sweden.

Alberto Elizalde from the Max Planck Institute presented  a poster on his work “A new regional climate system model setup for the EuroCORDEX domain”, which is part of the activities within PEARL’s Work Package 2.

Find further information of this past event on its website.

PEARL

2nd PEARL Project Committee meeting will be held on 2-4 July in Rethymno (Crete), Greece.

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RethymoThe 2nd Project Committee meeting will take place on 2-4 July in Rethymno (Crete), Greece.

Each Work Package and Case Study will share with the other partners in the Consortium progress made to date and will work in parallel groups to improve the implementation of its tasks. A specific session is dedicated to Young Researchers.

Participants will also have the possibility to visit the location of one of the Case Studies: the port, the marina and the old Venetian harbour of Rethymo.

Read also about the 1st and 3rd meetings.

PEARL presented at the Polytechnic University José Antonio Echeverría (CUJAE) in Havana, Cuba. April, 2014

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In the framework of the EU funded project “EU-Cuba Environment” the PEARL coordinator was invited to present the project at the Polytechnic University José Antonio Echeverría (CUJAE) in Havana, Cuba.
The presentation was attended by scholars from the CUJAE University in the fields of hydraulics, coastal engineering, flood protection, etc. Undergraduate and MSc students were present as well as other PhD researchers and staff from INSMET (Meteorological Institute of Cuba). Zoran Vojinovic and Arlex Sanchez from UNESCO-IHE presented the aim, structure and main activities of PEARL. During the discussion with key stakeholders in Havana, a great potential for collaboration between PEARL and the institutions dealing with early warning and disaster management in Cuba has been identified.

Further steps between PEARL and Cuba

Special interest has been expressed by Cuban stakeholders towards the improvement of forecast capabilities for nearly real-time warning as well as a combination of hazards resulting from coastal and pluvial floods within the urban areas. For more information, please contact PEARL project leader Dr. Z. Vojinovic.
There was also an interest to share the knowledge and experience in community-based disaster risk management, where the Cuban authorities have been at the forefront in the Caribbean region and wider.

Currently there are discussions to bring Havana as an associated case study area in PEARL.

Old Havana under threat for high winds and waves

Cuba at risk to coastal flooding

Being the major island in the Caribbean, Cuba is often in the path of major tropical storms and hurricanes. The high frequency of exposure to extreme hydro meteorological events of Cuba has produced a strong institutional and educational arrangement to increase resilience in the community and reduce social vulnerabilities to avoid loss of human life and reduce economic damages.
In 2001, nearly 6 million people were affected by extreme hydro-meteorological events in the Caribbean. Particularly, Hurricane Michelle hit the island of Cuba on the 4th of November 2001 and caused enormous material damage and loss of human life (CubaHurricanes.org).

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PEARL at the International workshop “Resilience: Just do it?!- Governing for resilience in vulnerable places” organised by the Coastal Resilience Research Group, Groningen, the Netherlands October 9–10, 2014

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This international workshop aims at exploring ways of ‘doing’ resilience, considering its ethical, social and political issues at stake. The further aim is to bring researchers and practitioners with different (levels of) expertise together to discuss the ways they conceptualize and use resilience.

Natasa Manojlovic from TUHH, as a keynote speaker, will introduce the activities of the PEARL project related to coastal resilience, risk governance and participatory planning.

Find further information on the workshop and its keynote speakers on the workshop website.

PEARL presented at the seminar “Flood Damage survey and assessment: new insights from research and practice”, 11-12 April 2014 in Bastia Umbra, Italy

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The activities of PEARL related to flood damage assessment and operational flood management are presented at the seminar on damage assessment. The seminar is organised by the Monitoring and Warning Centre of the Umbria Region (i.e. Centro Funzionale Decentrato, CFD) and by Politecnico di Milano. It is held on 11-12 April 2014 during and thanks to the sponsorship of EXPO Emergenze, the Italian exhibition for emergency and security.

The first objective of the seminar is to analyse which is the state of art one year after EXPO’s first meeting, and to understand whether or not things are improved if priorities and needs have changed. The second objective is to extend the network of people created in the first meeting, increasing the sharing of experience and knowledge among both practitioners and scientists in Italy and worldwide.

  • Seminar flyer “Flood Damage survey and assessment: new insights from research and practice”, Expo Emergenze, 11-12 April 2014 in Bastia Umbra, Italy

PEARL at the European Maritime Day in Bremen, 20 May 2014

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Together with RISC-KIT and ASTARTE, PEARL will organize a workshop titled “Coasts and Ports at Threat” at the European Maritime Day to be held on 20 May 2014 in Bremen, Germany.

This workshop will discuss the objectives and early research results of three projects. The workshop will illustrate the importance of a trans-disciplinary research approach in understanding the differences and similarities of risk assessment and measures at European coasts by combining the expertise of natural, social sciences and the humanities in coastal and maritime research. The workshop will be introduced by the responsible EC Programme Officer, Ms Eleni Manoli and the representatives of the three projects.

PEARL presented at the webinar on Extreme Weather Preparedness: “Flood Risks: Urgent Action Needed – But What?”

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PEARL has been presented at a webinar on extreme weather preparedness that has been attended by more than 100 people from all over the world. The severity of the recent extreme events indicates the need for reconsidering the current practice in disaster risk management.

Natasa Manojlovic from TUHH presented the PEARL holistic approach to risk management that regards the socio-technical system as a whole and aims at understanding of the interactions and interrelatedness of its elements (society, built environment, policy). This approach has been discussed with the panel participants and attendees via a web forum.

Join the webinar on Flood Risks: Urgent Action Needed – But What?, organized by Sustainable Cities Collective and helt on Monday, 10th of February at 12 PM (EST). The recorded webcast is given here.

  • Presentation on “Extreme Weather Preparedness”, Natasa Manojlovic