Author:
Ph.D. Candidate. Varsami (Ersi) ZAFEIRIOU1
Prof. Dr. Besnik ALIAJ2
Prof. Dr. Pantoleon SKAYANNIS3
Affiliation:
1Leibniz Institute for Ecological Urban and Regional Planning (IOER)
2POLIS University, Albania
3Professor, POLIS, Emeritus Professor, UTH
Abstract
Climate change has (according to many) intensified natural hazards, and exacerbated natural disasters and their human and economic consequences. International organizations (United Na- tions Office for Disaster Risk Reduction- UNDRR, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC, etc.) have established frameworks for disaster prevention, mitigation, reaction, and re- covery. At the same time, the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 recognizes the need for Dis- aster Risk Reduction for sustainable transformation, with cities being the focal point for achieving safety, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability on a global level (United Nations, 2015, p. 24). Governments, planners, and academics have also been concerned about the issue of resilience and especially in cities for which there have been projects, such as the exemplary one for the 100 Resilient Cities (2022). Nonetheless, the complex interrelationships between resilient and sus- tainability goals raise the question of whether the two are complementary or contrasting qualities for planning agendas (Ahern, 2011; Saunders & Becker, 2015; Grum & Grum, 2023). Scientific knowledge on disaster risk management and supporting policy discourse are therefore growing, however, losses from natural disasters worldwide increase (CRED, 2022). Different policies are implemented by different governments, but in most cases, they have a common element, an ex- post approach, since they focus on the restoration of disaster damages and rarely include planning for the future (Skayannis & Zafeiriou, 2021). This paper attempts to see the phenomenon from the perspective of two countries (Albania & Greece), to discuss the basic policies for risk management and planning applied in the cases of disasters (except earthquakes), of the two countries and to find the pros and cons of the policies applied, based on a set of criteria.
These criteria are focused on:
•The institutional capacities for socio-ecological and spatial resilience planning in the two coun- tries.
•The level of knowledge (including the transfer of both scientific and indigenous/local knowledge transfer) of stakeholders on hazards, exposure and disaster risk.
•The spatial planning practices for sustainable development and management of uncertainties for disaster risk prevention, and mitigation of future impacts.
The ultimate aim of this paper will be to outline:
•how do the two neighbouring countries shape their disaster risk management visions (where is the focus? on sustainability or resilience? links between them?) • the role of spatial planning in the process of “fabricating” the visions (based on the former criteria).
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