NATO ARW : Risk Management Tools For Port Environmental Security

RISK MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR PORT SECURITY,

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SUSTAINABILITY

16 - 19 March 2006, Venice, Italy

OBJECTIVES

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

TENTATIVE AGENDA

KEY SPEAKERS

PRESENTATIONS

EVALUATION

TRAVEL

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

SPONSORS

Effective risk assessment and management at industrial ports and harbors require consideration of port security, which includes the protection and maintenance of critical infrastructure, emergency response planning, and the adoption of sustainable practices. The risk assessment process can provide port and government authorities with the appropriate tools to prioritize security needs and to develop a foundation for evaluating scenarios likely to adversely impact the environment, cause injuries or fatalities to port workers and residents in surrounding communities, and result in short or long-term economic impacts. To be effective, risk assessment and management must continue to evolve from purely regulatory and scientific applications to techniques that capture and incorporate non-scientific, values-laden information in a quantitative manner. It is also increasingly evident that available risk frameworks developed in the U.S. and elsewhere have been applied to regional problems inappropriately and without adjustment for unique environmental, social, political, and economic conditions. Moreover, most of these frameworks are driven by country-specific regulatory/political situations and are not designed to be flexible. While risk assessors have an enormous library of methods and guidance documents from which to select, risk managers do not have an equivalent toolbox from which to obtain needed decision-making methods that directly and effectively address environmental security and sustainability.