Profiling Canadian Risk and Hazard Trailblazers: Bert Struik Lauren;an University

Transcription

1 Profiling Canadian Risk and Hazard Trailblazers: Bert Struik Lauren;an University Public Forum FiBh Regional PlaDorm for Disaster Risk Reduc;on in the Americas Montreal, Canada. 7 March 2017

2 A Conversation between Bert L.C. Struik and Shona de Jong

3 Background Job Title/Role/Organiza;on: Re#red from the Geological Survey of Canada and am an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University and an Emeritus Research Geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada Academic background: PhD in structural geology from the University of Calgary 1980 and BSc Geology from University of Bri#sh Columbia 1974 Volunteer Experince: Canadian Risk and Hazards Network as Director and lately as technical support ( ). Founder and editor of the Risky Ground NewsleSer of the Centre for Natural Hazard Research at SFU ( ). Managed workshops for the Centre for Natural Hazard Research ( ) Associa;on Affilia;ons: CRHNet, Centre for Natural Hazard Research. Was with the Geological Associa#on of Canada and Geological Society of America for a large part of my geological research career. Years in Hazard and Risk Assessment:13 years in managing and doing research into hazard assessment and risk assessment

4 To what do you ayribute your interest in disaster risk management (DRM) and when did you first become aware of your interest in this discipline. I was en#ced into hazard research policy analysis, and then managing hazard assessment research. In , I proposed that the Earth Sciences Sector of NRCan develop a geohazard-risk research program, and moved into research projects in that field in Early in that evolu#on, I developed an interest in promo#ng a Na#onal Land-use Code for hazard prone municipali#es of Canada.

5 What do you do on the job and what are your favourite aspects of your work? Since re#ring from the Geological Survey of Canada in 2014, I have supported further development of the Risk-based Land-use Guide (GSC Open File 7772), developed and supported workshops on hazard and risk related issues with SFU CNHR, ran the Risky Ground NewsleSer and supported work at CRHNet.

6 What are some vital lessons your role has taught you? It is all about human (basic animal) dynamics. Risk reduc#on's biggest influences are the shock of disasters, quickly tempered by poli#cs and socio-economics. Understanding how to reduce risk is mainly about understanding people and how they think about the future. Risk is about the future. Since we have trouble perceiving the future, we have big trouble understanding and doing something about risk. What I learned recently is that risk is non-sta#onary. Every poten#al change for a hazard event to occur, and in the number and vulnerability of assets exposed to that hazard, changes the risk. Mostly risk increases with #me, and oaen exponen#ally. And thirdly, amazing people are figuring out how to measure and reduce disaster risk. In places and #me, their ideas are being incorporated into policy. Keeping track of it all is difficult, and it is oaen easier to think nothing is being done than realize the beneficial changes being made. Oh, and trailer court (mobile home park) land-use laws are discrimina#on against the poor and a burden on society.

7 Which prac;ce area is beyond the scope of your current work that you would most like to become involved in or what would your ideal DRM related job or project be? I want to spend more #me doing things for my family and friends. If I had a second life, I would create visualiza#ons of future disasters using ar#ficial reality.

8 Looking ahead 10 years into the future, how will your current job descrip;on roles and responsibili;es change as a result of radical changes in technology, the environment, or the economy? The economy is about to dras#cally decline around the world, so the #me to accomplish anything substan#ve is now. We are about to leave the "Hydrocarbon Age". The ideal is to isolate the most cri#cal understandings, technologies and regulatory environments needed and to make them happen quickly, while resources are s#ll available. Research in risk needs to evolve to understand and use non-sta#onary risk. It needs to work hand in hand with those who create the future as a trusted ar#ficial reality. That will capitalize on the influence of the shock of disaster. It will need to work hand in hand with risk mi#ga#on research to provide alternate reali#es of low disaster-risk and high disasterrisk reali#es. It will need to figure out how to negate the influence of the movie industry, in such a way that decision makers viewing a risk-based alternate reality will understand that the reality is not fic#on: It is a reality and therefore is very likely to happen. These will not be my work. They would be the work of those s#ll in the risk research and risk reduc#on business.

9 Contact Details

10 Youtube hsps:// Publica;ons. Struik, L.C. and Pearce, L.L Land-use risk reduc#on: Achieving acceptable risk from hazards; (4.1MB) Struik, L.C. and Has#ngs, N Risk management scheme for land-use decision support; (2.8MB) Struik, L.C. 2015: Living with slopes; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6880, poster. Struik, L.C. 2015: Living with creeks; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6881, poster. Struik, L.C., Pearce, L.D., Dercole, F., Shoubridge, J., van Zijll de Jong, S., Allan, J.D., Has#ngs, N., and Clague, J.J. 2015: Risk-based land-use guide: Safe use of land based on risk assessment; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 7772, 2 volumes and a poster. Risky Ground NewsleYer of the Centre for Natural Hazard Research hsp://

11 CRHNet Web Site l l Current + Past Symposia l Library l Resources l Ongoing research l Na;onal PlaDorm for DRR Social Media networks much more