4.1 Know hazards and risks comprehensively

• Generation of basic scientific knowledge for hazard processes like e.g. lateral erosion of watercourses, hillslope debris flows, rockfall, snow gliding avalanches, and impulse waves in Swiss lakes triggered by mass movements or earthquakes (tsunamis on lake shores) and of the influence of climate change on such processes

• Development of methods to record natural hazard processes, e.g. sediment and driftwood transport, to register indirect damages due to natural hazard events and development of methods to assess future hazards and extreme events due to climate change. A good example for this topic is the recently completed WoodFlow research project (https://woodflow.wsl.ch/en/index.html, last access: 21 February 2022), which improves the understanding of the processes governing large wood dynamics in watercourses and provides practitioners with suitable tools to help assess and manage large wood-related hazards.

• Development of a methodology for risk overviews at different spatial scales

• Investigation of the impact of climate change on the risk landscape in Switzerland and analysis of combinations and concatenations of different processes

• Elaboration of fundamentals to quantify the vulnerability and the risk for infrastructural systems in the event of earthquakes and gravitational natural hazards

4.2 Identify events at an early stage

• Investigation of precipitation thresholds and analysis of the disposition to slope processes in depth. The FOEN is currently developing a warning system for landslides and hillslope debris flows. These disposition warnings provide indications at various warning levels as to the areas and probability of slopes becoming unstable due to the current water saturation. The monitoring of landslide areas is also being intensified. With the InSAR (satellite-based radar interferometry) method, it is possible to monitor mass movements in the Alpine region and to detect new movements.

• Improvement of extreme value statistics

• Improvement of the forecasting and early detection of natural hazards

4.3 Plan measures integrated and to be robust

• Development of methods for evaluating options for action within the integrated risk management

• Development of new instruments for risk-based land use and their practical implementation in spatial planning

• Analysis of ecological aspects in the implementation of protective measures and addressing of the dichotomy of the protective function of the forest vs. the forest as a habitat for game animals. The new research program River Engineering and Ecology (https://www.rivermanagement.ch/en/, last access: 21 February 2022) is a good example for this topic. It aims to develop scientific foundations for answering current practical questions in river management (flood protection and renaturation of water bodies) and for preparing outreach products for knowledge transfer.

• Development of methods to assess existing protective structures and to assess robust protective systems; development of models for dynamic loads on structures

4.4 Search the risk dialogue and observe the impact on society

• Investigation of the social science component in risk perception and communication; conduction of research into the acceptance of measures

• Further development of cost–benefit analysis in integrated risk management; development of methods for quantifying the indirect economic damage after earthquakes and gravitational natural hazards

• Integration of organisational and human factors in risk identification and assessment

4.5 Mitigate the seismic risks

• Development of methods for assessing and retrofitting cultural–historical buildings

• Development of methods for the consideration of seismically triggered secondary hazards in hazard and risk analyses

• Optimisation of earthquake safety requirements in building codes

• Development of new technologies for damage and residual load-bearing capacity assessments of buildings after earthquakes

Established cooperation between Swiss research institutions and foreign partners exists. The FOEN maintains a continuous exchange of knowledge with administrations in other countries, e.g. in the INTERPRAEVENT and in the context of the Platform on Natural Hazards of the Alpine Convention (PLANALP) and with the EU in the framework of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). Switzerland cooperates, among others, with neighbouring countries with which it shares lakes (e.g. Lake Maggiore, Lake Geneva) or where rivers cross both countries (e.g. International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine, ICPR). Switzerland's experience in dealing with natural hazards and its approach to reducing risks also bring to bear in international committees and conferences, such as the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is also able to call on the FOEN's experience and expertise in prevention and protection projects.