Early warning systems for natural and environmental hazards: technological shift or mirage?
Early warning systems (EWS) are methods implemented in natural risk management. For many decades, they have been applied to all kinds of hazards, especially water-related and geological ones, but are rarely effective. In the last few decades, the Province of Quebec was hit by many water-related hazards (ice storms, inland and coastal flooding, coastal erosion, etc.). A lot of questions arose from stakeholders about the effectiveness of the response capacity of current systems. This paper underlines the main conditions that contribute to making EWS effective within a risk management approach using an exhaustive literature review. It further states key factors and constraints to their success and failures. Many factors, such as technical, administrative, and sociological, influence their operation. The alert communication and its non-appropriate response is the main constraint to an EWS success. To bring out the main contributors of an effective EWS in a risk management context, this document synthesises their constraints and underlines some success criteria. The operation of an effective EWS requires a holistic approach instead of simple linear communication networks solely based on technology, which generally forget to integrate the community into the entire process. While the main goal of an EWS is to minimize the risk affecting a population, lowering its vulnerability necessitates a locally adapted system. Moreover, linking scientific to traditional knowledge can contribute to focusing on real and concrete societal needs, and facilitates knowledge sharing among stakeholders. Such a collaboration can be accomplished through environmental monitoring. Ultimately, feedbacks from communities into the system are imperative to reduce vulnerabilities to natural hazards.