Halfway through the NATRISK project: Enhancing risk management and resilience to natural hazards in India, Brazil and Norway through collaborative education, research and innovation

The NATRISK project is an international project, financed by Research Council of Norway (project number 337241), aimed at strengthening risk management and societal resilience to natural hazards in steep terrain through integrated research, education, and innovation. The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute is the coordinator of the project that has a budget of circa 1M euro a duration of 5 years. By connecting expertise from Brazil, India, and Norway, the project enhances the capacity of research institutions, universities, and public agencies to better understand natural hazards, quantify risk, communicate uncertainty, and improve disaster risk governance. NATRISK addresses key challenges related to multihazard processes, cascading effects, and the increasing influence of climate and demographic change on risk, while promoting knowledge exchange, mobility, and capacity building across partner countries (https://www.ngi.no/prosjekter/natrisk/).

This contribution presents the midway achievements of the NATRISK project and demonstrates how transnational collaboration generates knowledge and tools with relevance beyond the participating regions. The project is structured around four thematic pillars focusing on: (i) understanding natural hazards and multihazard interactions, (ii) quantifying and assessing risk, (iii) mitigating, perceiving, and communicating risk, and (iv) managing disaster risk and enhancing resilience. These pillars are supported by integrated education packages combining online modules, intensive courses, and field-based training, complemented by cross-pillar initiatives such as joint supervision, co-teaching, stakeholder engagement, and innovation activities.

Key activities to date include the implementation of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 training programs. Pillar 1 activities, hosted in Norway (Oslo and Bergen area), combined lectures, practical exercises, and field excursions to enhance understanding of landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, floods, and climate-driven hazards in steep terrain. Pillar 2 activities, conducted in India (Delhi and Roorkee area), focused on qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods, integrating exposure, vulnerability, and future climate and demographic change, and included extensive field visits to geotechnical and seismotectonic sites in the Himalayan region. These activities facilitated hands-on learning, cross-country comparison, and interaction with local experts and authorities.

Overall, the NATRISK project demonstrates the value of practice-oriented international collaboration for advancing natural hazard understanding and risk assessment while strengthening education and capacity building. The approaches, tools, and training frameworks developed within NATRISK provide transferable methods for improving disaster risk reduction and resilience in high-risk environments worldwide.