Identifying Emerging Issues in Disaster Risk Reduction, Migration, Climate Change and Sustainable Development : Shaping Debates and Policies

Dr. Michel Jaboyedoff is a geologist and has a degree in physics and a PhD degree in clay mineralogy. Since 2005, he is a full professor at the University of Lausanne, focusing his research on natural hazards and related risks. He is working on integrated risk analysis in Switzerland and developing countries, looking at the impact of hazards on society. Ms. Manuela Fernandez has a degree in political science from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). She is currently completing a PhD at the University of Lausanne. Prof. J. C. Gaillard is Associate Professor at The University of Auckland in New Zealand. His present work focuses on developing participatory tools for disaster risk reduction and in involving marginalized groups in disaster-related activities with an emphasis on ethnicity, gender, prisoners and homeless people. JC Gaillard also collaborates in participatory mapping and community-based DRR trainings with NGOs, local governments and community-based organizations in Asia and the Pacific. Dr. Ivanna M. Penna is a researcher at the University of Lausanne, Centre for Research on Terrestrial Environments of the University of Lausanne. She completed her PhD at the Department of Geological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), on large landslide occurrence in the Southern Central Andes of Argentina, with a specialization on assessment and management of geological and climate related risk, at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). Dr. Karen Sudmeier-Rieux is a senior researcher at the University of Lausanne, Centre for Research on Terrestrial Environment where she manages two research projects on landslide risk, bio-engineering, migration, resilience and vulnerability of mountain communities in Western Nepal.