A GIS-Based Decision Support System for Multi-Hazard Assessment in Post-Mining Regions

Abandoned mines are generally exposed to multi-hazard: natural and man-mad hazards. The risk assessment is one of the challenges of the site management. This paper presents first the categories of hazards and potential interactions, then it shows a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based Decision Support System (DSS), as part of the European research project titled "POst-mining Multi-Hazards Multi-Assessment for Land-Planning (POMHAZ)." Utilizing predominantly open-source tools (PostGIS, Geoserver, and Leaflet) and Python Scripts, the DSS aims to tackle the intricate challenges posed by post-mining hazards in European mining regions. The objective is to furnish a functional web-based tool tailored for EU administrative units, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of various hazards that impact their territories.

In the context of post-mining landscapes, conventional environmental policies often encounter challenges due to the lack of operational and accessible tools. The proposed DSS seeks to bridge this gap by catering to a diverse user base, including citizens, scholars, associations, and public bodies.

The DSS streamlines the acquisition, management, and processing of both static and dynamic data, providing web-accessible data visualization. Customized for post-mining multi-hazards, this tool contributes to enhanced decision-making by generating data, statistics, reports, and maps for various EU areas of interest. Validation is obtained through a case study of abandoned coal mine (France), this validation demonstrates its capabilities. This paper showcases the practical application of the DSS in North Rhine Westphalia offering valuable insights to address the intricate challenges posed by post-mining hazards.