Keynote speech on Exploring Resilience
Tue, 07 Jun 2016 09:31:00 BST
The Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment (NRN-LCEE), in partnership with the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) organised a workshop on Exploring Resilience in its widest sense on the 18 May 2016, SSE Swalec, Cardiff.
The aim of the workshop was to bring together leading scientists from the UK and the rest of Europe and to provide a platform for interdisciplinary and collaborative thinking on resilience topics for researchers in Wales.
The aim of the workshop wad also to provide a platform for interdisciplinary and collaborative thinking on resilience. The concept was explored inspired by contributions from speakers from a diverse range of disciplines: Ecology, urban and economic resilience, environmental change, disease and antimicrobial resistance, as well as social and psychological views on resilience.
This workshop is aimed at a general audience including students, researchers, policy makers and industry.
Photo: Prof. David N Thomas, Director of Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment opening the day
Event attracted a broad range of speakers covering resilience from a variety of angles (ecological, urban and economic resilience to environmental change/ resilient societies, energy and food production systems), for a target audience of academics, policy makers and interested parties from industry.
GDRC’s Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga delivered a key note speech entitled: “Developing a resilient built environment”.
The vital role of the built environment in serving human endeavours means that when elements of it are damaged or destroyed, the ability of society to function – economically and socially – is severely disrupted. The protective characteristics of the built environment offer an important means by which humanity can reduce the risk posed by hazards, thereby preventing a disaster. Conversely, post-disaster, the loss of critical buildings and infrastructure can greatly increase a community’s vulnerability to hazards in the future. Finally, the individual and local nature of the built environment, shaped by context, restricts our ability to apply generic solutions. The consequences outlined above serve to underline and support the growing recognition that those responsible for the built environment have a vital role to play in developing societal resilience to disasters. This provided the basis for this speech entitled “Developing a resilient built environment”
About the Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment (NRN-LCEE)
The NRN-LCEE is a major, £7 million pan-Wales research initiative funded by the Welsh Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, with the challenge to set a new agenda for excellent research in Wales into the interactions between land, water, the provision of food and energy production.
More information about the Network can be found on its website: www.nrn-lcee.ac.uk.
