The influence of natural catastrophic events, as tragically evidenced by the Sumatra earthquakes of December 2004 and March 2005, has the potential capability to destabilize the social and economic status, not only of the people directly hit by the events, but, due to the present globalized scenario, of the whole world.
Events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, which are not caused by human activities, are usually underestimated by politicians and local administrators all over the world, as testified by the consequences of the above mentioned catastrophes (in terms of damages to properties and loss of life) in areas where no preventive actions had been taken to reduce the vulnerability of the populations exposed to a high seismic and tsunamigenic hazard.
In view of the above, in order to pursue an adequate degree of sustainability, the society needs to make a major effort aimed at the prevision, prevention and mitigation of the effects of natural catastrophic events, especially those capable to trigger profound social, economic and even cultural transformations.
By investigating the effects that rapid natural changes have had on the civilisations that preceded us, we might be able to contribute to a new perspective, based on a more careful recognition of the role played by nature in bringing rapid and radical changes to the Earth’s surface.
The key issues of the project are:
- The need to clearly separate natural causes of environmental catastrophes, from man-induced ones;
- The elaboration of a new meaning/model of sustainability, that takes into account the influence of sudden natural changes on society;
- The necessity to integrate such changes into the general strategy of sustainable development, both at the global and at the local level.