Environmental Risks and Landscape Diversity Management

Environmental Risks and Their Prevention

For the prevention of environmental risks, steps are taken based on the specific risks determined by the vulnerability zoning of the territory in planning actions, aiming to minimize the possible effects of damage and risks. Examples include INUNCAT, NEUCAT, seismic, InfoCat, and PLASEQTA. Types of preventive measures include:

• Prediction measures
• Immediate intervention
• Recovery
• Subsequent awareness

The Environmental Hazards and Their Prevention

Risks are uncertain dangers to which a person or group of people may be exposed. Environmental risks are those that can affect the environment and the health of the inhabitants. Risk factors characterizing these hazards include:

• Scale: Size and intensity
• Frequency: Number of times in a period
• Hazard
• Vulnerability: Percentage of potential damage

Natural Hazards

These are related to meteorological or geological conditions:

• Meteorological Conditions:
  • Torrential rainfall and floods
  • Snowfall (leading to road accidents)
  • Hail (loss of crops)
  • Strong winds (uprooting trees)
• Geological Conditions:
  • Landslides (risk in the Pyrenees and Mediterranean Sierra system)
  • Avalanches (mass snow slides, destroying vegetation in the western Pyrenees)
  • Earthquakes

Man-Made Hazards

These originate from human society's activities. Types include:

• Technological: (e.g., industrial accidents, TDG)
• Partnership with Natural Phenomena: (e.g., natural fires, flooding)
• Diverse Sources: (e.g., traffic accidents)

The Landscape and Its Diversity

The landscape is the result of the interaction between elements of the physical environment and human action; therefore, it is dynamic, transforming as human activities evolve. Agents that have altered the landscape include land use, development processes, and industrial activity. Current trends reveal landscapes dominated by urban growth, roads, infrastructure, elements of the tertiary sector, and themed centers.

To stop the process of landscape diversity loss in Europe, the European Landscape Convention was created in 2000. Landscape catalogs are documents that characterize the landscape of Catalonia and indicate its value.