Arising from the earthquakes in New Zealand and Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, the use of precautionary approaches has gained momentum among risk managers responsible for demonstrating society due diligence, especially from a government regulatory perspective. There is a need to formalise this approach and the Venn diagram opposite is one conceptual result. This conceptual framework implies three primary control options for societal hazards: eliminate the threat, remove exposed persons, or reduce the vulnerability (resilience). All are viable options with different perspectives but typically fall into different 'control' domains. For example, the 'exposed persons' issue is usually a land use planning matter generally being the responsibility of local government. The issue of vulnerability is usually an engineering concern the responsibility for which mostly falls to owners of exposed facilities. The nature of the threat is a more scientific matter and typically the concern of research organisations.
展开▼
