We aim to build the human resources needed to respond to the increasing threat of natural hazards on our cities and communities. Our core mission is to focus on knowledge dissemination exploring all possible and effective human and technological means of communication.
Gender and DRR
Natural Disaster Risk Management
GIS for Urban Resilience
Gender and DRR
Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction (GDRR) is a four-week facilitated online learning course that contributes to improving knowledge of relevant policies, regulations, and tools for gender-responsive climate and disaster resilient organizations.
The course aims at improving your understanding of:
- The differences in disaster recovery experiences of men and women as a group in the context of various regional, administrative, cultural, and developmental settings;
- The socio-economic factors that mediate these differences;
- The gender needs in pre-and post-disaster phases with focus on preparedness, recovery, and reconstruction;
- The gender mainstreaming strategies, policies, and tools suitable for disaster management; and
- The role of various administrative levels in gender
Learn by doing
Week 1 - Assess
Understand the need for incorporating gender considerations in disaster management, then assess your own organization using the Inclusive Resilience Scorecard.
Week 2 - Understand
Analyze key gender concerns in individual phases of disasters with a focus on recovery and reconstruction.
Week 3 - Process
Learn the process of mainstreaming gender concerns for equitable disaster recovery using gender analytical tools.
Week 4 - Plan
Craft a gender action plan that will guide your organization to become inclusive and resilient.
Natural Disaster Risk Management
The Natural Disaster Risk Management Training Course offers an educational model for practitioners who are looking at building their career and/or improving their skills in disaster risk management (DRM). It consists of an introductory course plus a selection of nine (9) specialized online courses.
The training delivery methodology was formulated by educational experts and offers the flexibility for the participants to study at their own pace without compromising the quality of learning. Participants can accomplish assignments, check their progress, gain access to subject matter experts, and share experiences with their co-participants all under close support from the course support team (CST).
Why enroll?
- Build the competence of your institution and open opportunities in one of the fastest-growing professional fields
- Acquire “real world“ knowledge and skills for sound professional advancement
- Be part of an active global network of motivated disaster risk management (DRM) professionals
- Be inspired by renowned experts and educators
- Benefit from personalized, expertly facilitated, and customized learning not found in most massive open online courses (MOOCs)
- Access over the internet from wherever you are and whenever you want
- Obtain an EMI Certificate and Earned Continuous Education Units (CEUs)
Training Courses Offered
a. Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Framework (CDRMF)
This course addresses basic questions such as “why are disasters a development issue?” and “what are the components of comprehensive disaster risk management?” The course reviews the institutional arrangements and financing mechanisms of disaster management systems, and identifies the role of national and local actors in the processes related to risk assessment, mitigation and financing. This course targets general development practitioners to raise their awareness and sensitivity in prevention of natural disasters.
b. Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)
A course, for community leaders and NGOs, focusing on prevention, mitigation, and the need for the participation of local actors in designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring activities related to disaster risk reduction.
c. Climate Change and Disaster Risk (CCDR)
An introduction to the science of climate change, including its effect on natural hazards. This course reviews the trends in magnitude and frequency of climatic extremes, and the changes in average climatic conditions. It likewise explores the linkage between disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, and outlines strategies, methods, and tools for integrated climate risk management.
Damage and Reconstruction Needs Assessment (DRNA)
This course enhances the participants' understanding of the social, economic and environmental effects of natural disasters, and enables them to assess these effects. The course is based on the UN ECLAC methodology and presents instruments for quantifying direct damages, indirect losses, and the overall macroeconomic effects of catastrophic events. The target audience includes the staff of government agencies, both central and local, and representatives of international aid agencies.
d. Earthquake Risk Reduction (ERR)
This course links the science and engineering of earthquakes to structural and non-structural risk reduction practices. The course introduces the basic approaches to earthquake risk reduction, discussing the effectiveness of each in various regions of the world. The course targets government officials, particularly from public works agencies and planning organizations, as well as design professionals and utility operators, in order to improve the planning and development of build environment and infrastructure.
e. Financial Strategies for Managing the Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters (FINSTRAT)
The course offers financing strategies for risk management. The course focuses on financial, economic and development impacts of disasters, and trade-offs (costs and benefits) involved in disaster risk financing. The course provides policy makers and disaster managers with tools and institutional designs for improved planning and budgeting processes, and national macroeconomic projections. This specialization course targets officials from finance ministries, planning organizations, and public works agencies.
f. Gender Aspects of Disaster Recovery and Rehabilitation (GENDER)
This course aims to contribute to improving knowledge of relevant policies, regulations and tools for implementing gender sensitive disaster management practices focusing on disaster recovery and reconstruction.
g. Risk Analysis (RA)
This course demonstrates how risk analysis is applied to formulate disaster risk reduction policies. It introduces tools and models used to assess disaster impact, both direct and indirect, and methods to quantify it for earthquakes and floods.
h. Risk Sensitive Land Use Planning (RSLUP)
The Land Use Planning course is a specialization course developed for professionals involved in design and maintenance of public infrastructure, critical facilities, and lifelines. The main target audience for the course is land use planners, zoning officers, building and housing officials, and housing officers.
i. Safe Cities (SC)
A course for urban managers and planners reviews the processes, regulations, enforcement issues, and methods of reducing exposure to hazards and limiting the physical vulnerability of high-density settlements.
GIS for Urban Resilience
The GIS for Urban Resilience Bootcamp will provide the participants with the practical skills to prepare, manipulate and create GIS-RS visual displays of data and information that are most relevant to urban resilience and disaster risk management, using free open source software and tools. Using GIS-RS examples and exercises, participants will build risk management and emergency planning applications through display and analysis of spatial data, satellite data, open-source data and publicly available GIS tools. Participants will build an understanding of hazard, vulnerability, and risk in the spatial framework of cities.
Upon completion of the course, the participants will learn:
- Basic concepts of Urban Resilience
- How GIS and RS can be useful in building urban resilience
- The power of open-source data and tools for building urban resilience
- Installing, setting up and navigating through QGIS software
- Components of GIS, common GIS data formats & types
- Data conversion, topological correction and geoprocessing tools of QGIS
- Map projection systems and different elements of a map
- Various Remote Sensing Image repositories and its use in Disaster Risk Management
- Geospatial Exposure Database creation and management techniques using open source tools (PostGIS & PgAdmin)
- Evaluating spatial data requirements in disaster risk management
- Utilizing GIS and RS capabilities for improving disaster informed decision making and planning.
Training Contents
Module 1: Introduction to GIS and Urban Resilience
- What is Urban Resilience?
- How are GIS and Remote sensing useful in building Urban Resilience?
- Open Source Spatial tools to build Urban Resilience
Module 2: Handling spatial information (Introduction to QGIS)
- Components of GIS
- Common GIS data formats
- Different types of GIS data (points, lines, polygons)
- Topological rectification for improving the accuracy of outputs
- Open data repositories and its usage
- Basic geoprocessing tools
- Map projection systems, datum, and their relevance
- Different elements of a map and creating a map layout
Module 3: Role of remote sensing in building urban resilience
- Open source satellite images Repositories
- Post hazard disaster damage assessment using Remote Sensing
Module 4: Database Management
- Metadata: application and purpose
- Data management techniques
- Creating an exposure database and its relevance using open source tools (PostGIS, pgAdmin)
Module 5: Use of GIS and RS to improve disaster informed decision making and planning (mini-projects)
- Identifying potentially isolated areas given specific scenarios
- Proposing methods to optimize the existing transport network to facilitate evacuation
- Identifying challenges in collecting, processing, integrating, and management of spatial data into disaster risk management cycle
The Bootcamp is a face-to-face training method. It takes place in a single place where a number of 25 to 35 participants remain together.
The Bootcamp is structured into:
- Lectures to teach the basic fundamentals but also to teach a methodology for specific topics, with an attempt to make the lectures as interactive as possible.
- Examples and case studies to illustrate the lectures.
- Hands-on exercises and workshops, preferably on small groups
- Table-top discussions in small groups to work on the mini-projects, creating virtual real-world scenarios.
- Q&A sessions and informal discussions are facilitated to encourage a collegial learning environment.
- Opportunities for peer-to-peer sharing (e.g., asking participants to bring their own examples or problems; or ask questions prior to the Bootcamp)
- The training will provide practical, hands-on GIS problem solving, by making use of Free Open Source GIS software such as Quantum GIS, Google Earth, and PostGIS.
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