Preface

Environmental risks are a multi- and interdisciplinary topic with a great interest in current society. This book examines issues of natural hazards (e.g., typhoons, landslides, wildfires), anthropogenic activities (construction of artificial dams, the operation of nuclear power plants), and their potential risks to the environment and/or quality of life at various scales, from local to regional and even at a global level.

The book contains five chapters from worldwide contributors, and discusses concepts related to environmental risks as evidenced by the literature in the field towards relevant case studies.

The first chapter (introductory chapter) performs a critical overview of risk concepts, re‐ search methodology, and local, regional, and global environmental threats for natural and socioeconomic systems.

The second chapter examines the impact of typhoon Morakot, which occurred in August 2009, on hillslope stability in Taiwan (catastrophic landslides, floods, changes in topographic and morphometric features), with significant repercussions on human settlements within the Cishan watershed, with a focus on the compound-disaster perspective and its domino effect.

The third chapter reveals the state of the art in wildfire suppression planning and illustrates the application of advanced planning tools on a fire-prone landscape in Colorado (USA) supported by relevant geospatial tools.

The fourth chapter assesses the impacts of five dams in Limpopo Province (South Africa) on downstream river ecosystems, using data from aerial photographs and orthophotos, supple‐ mented by fieldwork.

The fifth chapter analyzes the nuclear accident of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors in 2011 (Japan) with significant impacts on the environment. The chapter performs a review of pos‐ sible solutions concerning the radioactive cloud, soil and water contamination, rubble, and nuclear waste issues.

The book intends to discuss concepts, methods, and techniques to address environmental risks and vulnerabilities, revealing the complex interactions between nature and human communities and activities. Policies and practices for disaster risk management should be based on the best state-of-the-art methods and techniques, integration between natural and/or social approaches, interdisciplinary research, and multilevel cooperation.

**Dr. Florin-Constantin Mihai and Prof. Dr. Adrian Grozavu**

Faculty of Geography and Geology "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University Iași, Romania

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Environmental Risks between**

**Introductory Chapter: Environmental Risks between** 

Changes in the contemporary world materialized in particular through population growth and mobility, urbanization, and economic expansion also result in an increased exposure of people and assets to extreme events and impose, implicitly, adequate management of induced

The occurrence of natural and anthropogenic risk phenomena, known as hazards, puts a heavy tribute on disaster-sensitive human communities regardless of their level of development. The magnitude of the disasters and their increasing frequency and severity imply the need for their approach by the entire world community and for global action. It is, therefore, necessary to find answers to questions: Is the world really a more dangerous place? If so, what are the causes? Why is the dimension of disasters much higher in poor countries? What are

In this context, knowledge of risks becomes a sine qua condition in carrying out impact studies, risk prevention plans, spatial planning plans, and, in general, a condition for effective management of natural resources or sustainable development projects. This explains a large number of specialized studies, the extent of research in the field, and the sustained efforts to

A multidisciplinary scientific field has emerged over the past decades, in which there is a specialized terminology that wants to be as precise as possible, eliminating the semantic ambiguities and the difficulties of communication between the theoreticians and practitioners. Within this multidisciplinary research field, the methodology, taken from different fundamental domains, gradually improved, new methods and models of integrated analysis

the best ways to reduce the impact of hazards and disasters in the future?

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81072

**Conceptualization and Action**

**Conceptualization and Action**

Adrian Grozavu and Florin-Constantin Mihai

Adrian Grozavu and Florin-Constantin Mihai

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81072

achieve the transfer from theory to practice.

**1. Risk-related concepts**

risks.

#### **Introductory Chapter: Environmental Risks between Conceptualization and Action Introductory Chapter: Environmental Risks between Conceptualization and Action**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81072

Adrian Grozavu and Florin-Constantin Mihai

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Adrian Grozavu and Florin-Constantin MihaiAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81072
