Assessing and mitigating risk in the Nordic Bioeconomy

Transcription

1 Assessing and mitigating risk in the Nordic Bioeconomy Dr. Gudmundur Halldórsson, Research Coordinator, Soil Conservation Service of Iceland 1

2 Bio-resources & natural disasters Ø Bio-resources are of major importance in all Nordic communities Ø All bio-resources are threatened by natural diasters Iceland's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2014

3 Bio-resources & ecosystem resilience Ø Threats to bio-resources can mitigated through enhancing ecosystem resilience Ecosystem resilience is the ability of a system to absorb, accommodate and recover from the effects of a hazardous event Ø The international community places increased emphasis on enhancing ecosystem resilience in order to mitigate natural disasters Ø Management of bio-resources has significant effect on ecosystem resilience Iceland's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2014

4 Management of bio-resources Unsustainable management of bio-resources can cause reduction in ecosystem resilience and increased danger from natural disaster Floods are an increasing problem This is largely due to unsustainable land management Deforestation Drainage Intensive agriculture Urbanization 4

5 Management of bio-resources Land degradation is one of the most serious problems facing mankind. This is largely due to unsustainable management of bio-resources Deforestation Overgrazing Intensive agriculture 5

6 Pressure on bio-resources Iceland's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2014

7 Management of bio-resources By strategic management, bio-resources and ecosystem resilience can be built up simultaneously Many rivers in Scandinavia have been channelized to facilitate floating of timber Rivers in North Sweden have been restored to enhance fish populations This has greatly reduced the severity of floods 7

8 Management of bio-resources Bird watching is a very popular hobby and a significant part of tourism Wetlands in South Iceland have been protected and restored to improve conditions for birds This reduces also the risk of floods 8

9 Management of bio-resources Stormfall is a serious problem in Nordic forestry In some years storm fall in Danish spruce plantations amounts to 1-2 years cuttings This is negative for the economy in forestry Therefore, spruce is being replaced with species more resilient to storm, such as beech Iceland's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2014

10 The ERMOND project Ø The ERMOND project has the aim to enhance ecosystem resilience in the Nordic Countries. This will benefit: Ø Public safety and health Ø Nordic bio-economy Ø Important ecosystem services, such as biodiversity carbon storage hydrology 10

11 Case studies Case studies will be: Ø aimed at mitigation of important natural disasters Ø conducted in different participating countries Ø linked to other NordBio activites Case studies: a. Resilience of forests towards storms b. Resilience of catchment areas towards erosion and nutrient loss c. Resilience towards floods d. Resilience towards volcanic ash deposition 11

12 Other Nordic benefits The project has the potential to strengthen: Ø Nordic cooperation in the field of natural hazard risk management Ø Activity plan for Nordic Aichi restoration Ø Nordic influence on natural hazard risk reduction policy in EU and international context Ø Nordic role in developmental aid through potental incorporation of build up of ecosystem resilience into the developmental aid programs 12

13 Project outputs Ø Overview of natural disasters in the Nordic region and how ecological restoration actions can be used to mitigate such hazards, Ø Feasibility case studies of strategic expansion of ecosystem resilience and Ø Recommendations of actions to enhance build-up of ecosystem resilience in the Nordic region 13

14 Project group Country Institute Contact Field of expertise Iceland Soil Conservation Service Gudmundur Halldórsson Forest entomology Iceland Agricultural University Ólafur Arnalds Natural hazards Iceland Icelandic Met Office Sigrún Karlsdóttir Natural hazards Iceland Civil Protection in Iceland Ágúst Gunnar Gylfason Civil protection Norway NINA Dagmar Hagen Ecosystem restoration Norway NVE Aart Verhage Natural hazards Denmark University of Copenhagen Karsten Raulund-Rasmussen Forest ecology Denmark Naturstyrelsen? To be identified Natural hazards Finland METLA Anne Tolvanen Forest ecology Finland Finnish Met. Institute Karoliina Pilli-Shivola Natural hazards Sweden Umea University Christer Nilsson River restoration Sweden To be identified To be identified Natural hazards 14

15 Thank you for your attention