Hazards and Risks in Mountains – HARIMO

Hazards originating in high mountain regions pose a risk to lives and livelihoods in downstream regions, often inhabited by highly vulnerable people. With climate change, mountain regions undergo rapid and irreversible changes, leading to situations beyond historical precedence, and making the evaluation of hazardous, potentially cascading processes particularly challenging.

In our work, we deal with comprehensive assessments and integrated management of current and future hazards and risks in various high mountain regions of Europe, South America, the Himalayas and Central Asia. This comprises numerical modeling of interlinked processes, mapping of hazards and risks, designing and implementing disaster mitigation strategies and climate change adaptation measures. Our interdisciplinary research often has an applied component, involving close collaborations with scientists, governmental and non-governmental institutions, the private sector, and local communities. Last but not least, capacity building and knowledge exchange are key elements of our work.