Review article: Risk management framework of environmental hazards and extremes in Mediterranean ecosystems

摘要

Risk assessment constitutes the first part within the risk managementframework and involves evaluating the importance of a risk, either quantitatively or qualitatively. Risk assessment consists of three steps,namely risk identification, risk estimation and risk evaluation.Nevertheless, the risk management framework also includes a fourth step,i.e.,?the need for feedback on all the risk assessment undertakings.However, there is a lack of such feedback, which constitutes a seriousdeficiency in the reduction of environmental hazards at the present time.Risk identification of local or regional hazards involves hazard quantification, event monitoring including early warning systems andstatistical inference. Risk identification also involves the development ofa database where historical hazard information and hazard effects areincluded. Similarly, risk estimation involves magnitude–frequency relationships and hazard economic costs. Furthermore, risk evaluation consists of the social consequences of the derived risk and involvescost-benefit analysis and community policy. The objective of this reviewpaper is twofold. On the one hand, it is to address meteorological hazards andextremes within the risk management framework. Analysis results and casestudies over Mediterranean ecosystems with emphasis on the wider area ofGreece, in the eastern Mediterranean, are presented for each of the threesteps of risk assessment for several environmental hazards. The resultsindicate that the risk management framework constitutes an integratedapproach for environmental planning and decision-making. On the other hand,it sheds light on advances and current trends in the considered meteorological and environmental hazards and extreme events, such astornadoes, waterspouts, hailstorms, heat waves, droughts, floods, heavyconvective precipitation, landslides and wildfires, using recorded datasets,model simulations and innovative methodologies.