Hazard and risk are two fundamental concepts in disaster management that are often unclearly differentiated from one another. The focus is often on the analysis of hazards, while the analysis of risks and their perception are neglected in disaster management.

In order to promote a change of perspective and correct possible imbalances, the Disaster Competence Network Austria hosted a panel discussion with experts in disaster risk management as part of the Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Week in Geneva (May 6 to 10, 2024).

The discussion was moderated by Christian Resch, Managing Director of DCNA. The keynote speech was given by Dilanthi Amaratunga from the University of Huddersfield, UK. The panelists included Georgios Boustras from the European University of Cyprus, Joerg Szarzynski from the United Nations University, Michaela Teich from the Austrian Federal Forest Research Center, and Jasmina Schmidt, a young scientist at DCNA.

The most important findings of the discussion were:

• There is still a lack of clear and universal definitions when distinguishing between hazard and risk.
• A shift from a hazard-centric to a risk-based approach can be successful if there is a common understanding of these approaches.
• Risks are often complex and cascading. Not only individual risks but also systemic risks must be considered.
• A risk-based approach requires reliable data sources and analyzes (keyword big data) in order to make well-founded decisions.

Around 180 people had registered in advance to take part in the face-to-face as well as online session, which led to a lively discussion after the keynote “Changing Nature of Risks: Tackling the Complexities and Cascading Impacts” and the statements from the panelists.

In total, almost 8,000 people from all over the world were registered for the HNPW, who took part in the different sessions. The event brought together the humanitarian, development and resilience community – a great initiative!