International Research Center of Disaster Science and Sustainable Development

Disaster risk management requires an analysis of the causal factors of disasters as well as of the vulnerability of the environment. In the particular context of developing countries, vulnerabilities are multidimensional and very much impacted by choices made in the socio-economic and political spheres.

Based on their recognized expertise in the study of volcanic hazards and economic vulnerability, CAP 20-25 protagonists will apply the Multimodal Innovation concept and develop an integrative and original approach to disaster risk reduction. It will bring together various actors and skills from Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences to tackle issues related to the quantitative assessment of natural hazards, the characterization of socio-economic vulnerabilities and the elaboration of risk-mitigation and resilience-building strategies for stakeholders.

Two programs are involved with the research work conducted by Challenge 4, thus illustrating the Multimodal Innovation method specific to CAP 20-25 :

• ClerVolc', in the frontier fields of Physical Volcanology, volcanic hazards, vulnerability of cities and infrastructures;
• IDGM+, on the design of innovative development policies from economic research outcomes.

The overall ambition is to place at the forefront of research on disaster risk reduction (especially volcanic hazards) that hinder sustainable development, especially in developing countries.

A world class centre for disaster risk reduction research and capacity development the "International Research Center of Disaster science and sustainable Development" (IRC2D), is created in Clermont-Ferrand. This innovative centre will develop and coordinate research and outreach activities with the objectives of

1. producing and disseminating multidisciplinary research on disaster risk reduction,
2. contributing to disaster risk reduction capacity development,
3. and facilitating knowledge exchange among academic researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders.

With time, the IRC2D will be recognized as the leading European centre for volcanic risk reduction research and capacity development and more broadly as a key player for disaster risk reduction.

---