Training Workshop – Assam/India
From 26th October until 2nd November 2009 a training workshop on “Participatory Flood Hazard Mapping and Socioeconomic Vulnerability analysis” was held in Guwahati, India (Assam). The workshop was jointly organised through the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), GeoData Institute (University of Southampton) and the Centre for Geoinformatics (University of Salzburg) with the strong support of Aaranyak and the National Institute of Disaster Management.
In total 23 participants attented the training coming from a variety of different institutions and backgrounds dealing with disaster risk reduction in Assam (Governmental authorities, universities, local NGOs…). The major aim of the training workshop was to present methodologies which allow the assessment of vulnerability at state/provincial and the community level in a spatial manner. Next to statistical and GIS modelling approaches, a two day field exercise was held in two rural communities affected by river bank erosion and floods which included participatory mapping and brainstorming/weighting exercises.
The work presented arises from work conducted in the EU FP6 research project BRAHMATWINN and results developed in the context of my PhD research in Búzi, Mozambique. The manual developed in Mozambique has been extended and distributed among the participants. The manual will now be published in 2010 as an official ICIMOD publication.
Media Coverage
- The Pioneer: Decoding and managing Brahmaputra’s flood fury [04 Nov 09]
- Assam Tribune: Erosion threatening Guimara’s existence [01 Nov 09] File1 File2
- Assam Tribune: Of rivers and mountains (Editorial) [29 Oct 09]
- The Telegraph: Brainstorming on flood & erosion damage – Local, global experts to evolve a manual to help disaster risk management groups [27 Oct 09] File
- Assam Tribune: Multi–pronged move must to tackle floods [27 Oct 09]
- The Times of India: Hazard mapping of the Upper Brahmaputra basin soon [26 Oct 2009] File
