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International Conference on Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction

ITDRR 2021: Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction pp 121–138Cite as

Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Systemic Risk Assessment and Management

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Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 638))

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has activated hundreds of interdependent long-lasting risks across all sectors of society. Zoonotic diseases are on the rise, fuelled by climatic change, by encroachment and destruction of habitats, and by unsustainable practices. Risk assessment and management must be greatly improved to prevent even worse consequences than COVID-19 if the next pandemic is caused by an agent with higher infectiousness and lethality. Insights from a project on systemic pandemic risk management reveal that the interdependency of risks creates cascading effects mediated by millions of vicious cycles which must be addressed to gain control over a pandemic. We propose a method for systemic, cross-sectoral risk assessment that detects the myriad of causal influences resulting from the risks, allowing to identify and mitigate the most potent risks, i.e., those participating in the highest numbers of vicious loops.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Research Council of Norway for funding the innovation project “Systemic Pandemic Risk Management”, grant #315444.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Integrated Emergency, Management (CIEM), University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Jose J. Gonzalez

  2. Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, UK

    Colin Eden

  3. Stepchange AS, Kristiansand, Norway

    Jose J. Gonzalez & Colin Eden

Authors
  1. Jose J. Gonzalez
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  2. Colin Eden
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Correspondence to Jose J. Gonzalez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Iwate Prefectural University, Takizawa, Iwate, Japan

    Jun Sasaki

  2. Tsuda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuko Murayama

  3. University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Grad Sofiya, Bulgaria

    Dimiter Velev

  4. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Plamena Zlateva

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Gonzalez, J.J., Eden, C. (2022). Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Systemic Risk Assessment and Management. In: Sasaki, J., Murayama, Y., Velev, D., Zlateva, P. (eds) Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction. ITDRR 2021. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 638. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04170-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04170-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-04169-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-04170-9

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