PEARL Knowledge Base Platform illustrated at the Amsterdam International Water Week

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AIWW_presentation_ChristosOn 3 November 2015, the International Water Association (IWA) and Deltares organised a workshop on “Tools for Urban Resilience & Climate Adaptation” in the framework of the Amsterdam International Water Week (2-6 November, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The special event showcased several tools to assist urban planners, municipalities and other stakeholders in the identification of risks, selection and design of solutions, and investment decision-making to address flooding due to local and upstream precipitation or storm surges.
Among the speakers was Christos Makropoulos from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), who presented the Knowledge Base Platform for Resilience Measures and Strategies developed within WP5 of the PEARL project. In front of a crowded room, he illustrated the operation of the tool through few practical examples and highlighted the connections with PEARL Web Learning & Planning platform. By exchanging views with developers of similar complementary instruments and receiving the opinion of the public, various possible improvements were identified for the further development of the platforms. The great attendance made the workshop very successful not only in promoting the tools and project PEARL, but also in collecting content contributions to the platform.

PEARL at the Stockholm World Water Week 2015

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Zoran_SWW2015In the packed programme of the World Water Week (Stockholm, Sweden, 23-28 August 2015), PEARL carved out a space for itself in the seminar “Eye on Asia: Water for Cities”. The event proposed different solutions to the risks posed to the Asian water security by the combination of rapid urbanization, demographic growth, water-related disasters, and climate change. On 25 August, Dr. Zoran Vojinovic from UNESCO-IHE presented the case study of Ayutthaya, Thailand, aiming to implement a community-based risk management approach for urban flooding. The primary focus of this presentation was to highlight stakeholder involvement and communication aspects of the work. Thanks to the exchange of views with other panelists and the public, the seminar provided a good occasion not only to promote PEARL case study, but also to gain a broader insight into local initiatives aiming to improve water resources management in urban contexts.

Download the presentation on the Thailand case study here.

Positive feedback from local stakeholders in Rethymno, Greece

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Working Groups 2 Oct-5The first Stakeholders’ Workshop organised by the National Technical University of Athens on 1-2 October 2015 in Rethymno, Greece was well received by local authorities and organizations. Not only it benefitted from the presence of all interested parties, from municipal institutions (including the city Mayor) to public services, regional units, civil protection, NGOS, and development agencies. It also enjoyed a great resonance in the local media, which publicised the event before and after its occurrence.

Read more about the Stakeholder’s Workshop and the Case Study of Rethymno at this page.

A photo gallery of the event is available here.

First Stakeholders Workshop, 1-2 October, Rethymno, Greece

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Rethymno_workshop_invitation_enThe National Technical University of Athens is organising a stakeholders workshop entitled “Preparing coastal regions for extreme and rare events” in the case study area of Rethymno in Crete, Greece.

The workshop is supported by the Municipality of Rethymno and will be held at the Centre of Social Welfare of Rethymno. Members from all identified groups of stakeholders will participate and interact during the two-day event. Aim of the workshop is to promote participatory procedures in decision-making related to flood risk management and the establishment of the local Learning and Action Alliance (LAA).  Representatives from local and regional authorities, NGOs and private groups will have the chance to interact among each other and with PEARL research team through learning games and activities. These are inspired by the future workshop scenario and targeted to the:

  • Establishment of facts in terms of stakeholders’ perception of flood risk and identification of problems
  • Development of  renewed images and setting up of a common vision
  • Establishment of the local Learning and Action Alliance (LAA).

Download the agenda of the workshop (in Greek).

Call for contributions to the Knowledge Base of Resilience Strategies

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PEARL seeks help!

What are we looking for?
As part of their tasks in WP5, PEARL’s partners are developing a Knowledge Base of resilience measures in flood management. To do this, they are collecting examples of applications of engineering, environmental and operational strategies and solutions for adaptation and mitigation. This information will then populate an online database that will allow end-users to find suitable measures for their observed problem (pluvial, fluvial, coastal floods and combinations thereof).

If you are a professional in the field of flood management and are aware of case studies of applications of resilience measures, then you are a perfect candidate to contribute to PEARL’s Knowledge Base!

What inputs are needed from your side?
1. Descriptions of real case studies, modelled/simulated case studies or prototypes/lab physical models of applied resilience measures and their impacts
2. Illustrations of the examples provided
3. References/sources (papers, books, websites, and so forth) concerning the cases described

What is the first step?
Contact George Karavokiros (gkaravo@itia.ntua.gr) and Archontia Lykou (alykou@central.ntua.gr) from the National Technical University of Athens by 31 August 2015. They will provide you clear instructions on how to proceed and answer any further question you might have.

Good job in Genoa for PEARL Project Committee!

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Field visit to the study area of Genoa, Italy

Field visit to the study area of Genoa, Italy

Intensive, but productive meeting in Genoa!

The 4th PEARL Project Committee Meeting closed up last Friday after three days of discussions and exchange of views among partners.
In addition to the usual updates on Case Studies and Work Packages, an interesting session with demos of prototype platforms and tools allowed participants to foretaste some of the products that will be released at the end of the project.
The meeting was also a good occasion for PEARL’s Young Researchers to illustrate their work and reinforce linkages in the network of young scientists.

Some pictures of the event are available in our Gallery.

PEARL

4th PEARL Project Committee Meeting, 17-19 June, Genoa, Italy

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PEARL’s 4th Committee Meeting is just round the corner!

All partners will meet from 17th to 19th June in Genoa, Italy, the site of one of the project’s case studies. They will update each other about progress made since last meeting in January and discuss together the way forward for the next six months. A field visit to the areas affected by floods in the municipality of Genoa is also planned.

More information are available in the event agenda.

PEARL presentation at the SUMO User Conference 2015

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SUMO2015 163The SUMO User Conference 2015 took place on 7-8 May in Berlin-Adlershof, Germany. Thanks to the broad participation from all over Europe and America, the two days of presentations and discussions turned out to be a great success in terms of exchange of ideas and networking.

Among the many valuable speakers, Ms Katya Pyatkova from the University of Exeter, one of PEARL’s young researchers, presented the investigations conducted by her institute in the framework of the project. A paper illustrating the main outcomes of the research titled “Flood Impacts on Road Transportation Using Microscopic Traffic Modelling Technique” was accepted for post proceedings, demonstrating the worth of PEARL partner’s work.

PEARL poster presentation at the EGU General Assembly 2015

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Dr Alberto Elizalde from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology presented a poster showing the results of research in WP2 at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2015, taking place on 12-17 April in Vienna, Austria.

The title of the poster is:

Elizalde A, G Jordà, M Mathis and U Mikolajewicz, 2015: “Characterization of Extreme Sea Level at the European Coast”. Poster presentation at the EGU General Assembly, 12-17 April, 2015, Vienna.