THE FLOOD RISK INFORMATION USED IN SPATIAL POLICY-BASED DESIGN FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF THE MOST VULNERABLE PERSONS FROM RURAL AGGLOMERATIONS. STUDY CASE ROMANIA

• Published in: Current politics and economics of Russia, Eastern and Central Europe Eastern and Central Europe, 2020-01, Vol.35 (1), p.127-152
• Main Authors: Lincaru, Cristina Ghe, Pîrciog, Speranţa T, St Grigorescu, Adriana, St Stroe, Cristina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beneficiaries; Climate change; Clustering; Coastal erosion; Disaster management; Disaster risk; Disasters; Earthquakes; Economic activity; Economic integration; Emergency preparedness; Environmental risk; Flood hazards; Floods; Forest & brush fires; Historic floods; Income; Income distribution; Landslides; Locality; Minimum wage; Population; Poverty; Public administration; Public policy; Risk assessment; Risk management; Risk reduction; Rural areas; Rural communities; Sea level rise; Seismic activity; Social cohesion; Social exclusion; Social protection; Socioeconomic factors; Spatial analysis; Tsunamis; Unemployment; Vulnerability; Wildfires
• ISSN: 1524-1688

In the context of looking for spatial integrated complex solutions (OECD 2006) regarding the poverty alleviation and social cohesion needs increasing in rural areas, we suggest a conceptual and analytical framework based on risk identification. The risk identification is in line with Domokos et al., (2015), concerning the research question: "Which are the factors that need to be present and appropriately applied for the process to be adequately managed?" The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030, was adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in 2015. Safaie et al., (2017) in support to SFDRR, states that using risk information in policy design is still a challenge. SFDRR put disaster risk on the priority for action: "understanding disaster risk in all its dimensions of vulnerability, capacity, exposure of persons and assets, hazard characteristics and the environment." Bhatta (2008) describes the demanded "holistic framework for risk management in public policy" as a composite between empirical /factual and public context requirements. In our case study, the floods are the measurable parameters of the problem, and the public context is the focus toward large scale activation of the most vulnerable persons. We apply Spatial Analysis in Arc Gis Pro 2.3 to map the historic flood risk assessment and the rural agglomerations of the vulnerable persons. Floods are one of the highly relevant hazards for Romania. We use the historic flood risk assessment illustrated in the flood hazard map for Europe, 500-year return period, based on European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), but not an official one. In Romania, some of the most vulnerable persons are minimum income beneficiaries from rural areas. The result of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (Anselin, 2005) is the map of the minimum income benefit beneficiaries at the locality level (LAU former NUTS 5). Agglomerations correspond to the clusters locations with High - High (HH) income beneficiaries densities applying Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). The discussion concerns the rural areas social protection policies an additional dimension given by the Environment Security needs with "Adaptive Social Protection" (ASP) accordingly solutions (Devereux, 2016). Floods are next to climate change phenomenons and hazard disaster (Earthquakes, WildFire, Tsunami, Coastal Erosion, Landslide, Sea Level Rise, Natech, Biologica - according to Safaie et al., 2017), as a sou