Anna Serra Llobet
dates de séjour
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projet de recherche
Flood risk perception and communication through mapping: Experience in the EU and internationally
Floods are the most important natural hazard in the Mediterranean region in terms of economic and human losses. Maps are critical tools for flood risk management, especially maps through which experts communicate risk to the public. Good maps can engage stakeholders, clearly communicate hazards and risk to end-users, while bad maps can create misperception of the actual risk. The EU Floods Directive (2007) required member states to submit flood risk maps and management plans by 2015, with wide latitude in how they were done, to reflect differences in hydrology and land use among member states. These maps constitute a remarkable dataset. I propose to systematically analyse these submitted maps, conducting detailed studies on a subset of maps, including some within the Mediterranean region, and comparing with flood maps in the the US and Japan to identify elements of style that make some maps more effective than others for flood risk management.
biographie
Dr. Serra-Llobet specializes in flood risk management policies. After receiving her PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2011), she worked at the Water Unit of the Directorate General for the Environment at the European Commission (EU) in Brussels, analysing EU funded research on hydro-meteorological risks (floods and droughts) and vulnerability assessment in Europe. Then as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Urban & Regional Development, University of California Berkeley, she conducted comparative studies of flood management governance in the US and EU. In 2014 she was awarded a Prometeo visiting professorship to the University of Cuenca, Ecuador, where she taught and conducted research on the potential to implement green infrastructure for stormwater management in Latin American. She is now project director at the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley, working on sustainable flood management strategies in the US and the EU.
