Maritime global critical infrastructure
IRGC’s first project focussing on critical infrastructures concluded with the publication in 2006 of the IRGC White Paper Managing and Reducing Social Vulnerabilities from Coupled Critical Infrastructures", also the title of an IRGC policy brief published in 2008.
IRGC has now begun work, in collaboration with our project partner – the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University, Japan – on a project addressing the risk governance of the maritime global critical infrastructure. The project has a specific focus on the Strait of Malacca and the Port of Singapore.
In this project IRGC addresses the issue of risk governance relating to potential break-points in the global critical infrastructure of global shipping and trade. This system inherently encompasses a great variety of stakeholders, resulting in a high level of systemic complexity and uncertainty. Given that approximately 90% of world trade is transported by sea, the global economy is heavily dependent on the effective operation of the shipping industry. One of the busiest shipping lanes in the world is the Strait of Malacca, carrying around 25% of all world trade and half of the world’s shipped crude oil. Located at its end is the Port of Singapore – the world’s busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage, attracting vessels from over 600 ports in 120 countries each year. Due to their strategic importance, these two critical infrastructures combined present an ideal case example for IRGC to develop recommendations for improved risk governance of the maritime global critical infrastructure.
In 2009 the project held a multi-stakeholder workshop in Kyoto, Japan, gathering participants from North- and Southeast Asia as well as India, from academia, industry, government and NGOs. More information and a workshop report can be found here.
As a result of the activities in 2009, the project has developed a document outlining its insights to date and the plans for the next phase of the project:
The project held a preparatory workshop in Singapore on 30 April and 1 May 2010, in preparation for the second international multi-stakeolder workshop currently planned for September 2010. This will be followed by the publication of an IRGC Policy Brief presenting risk governance recommendations for the maritime global critical infrastructure in the autumn.
For more information about this project, please contact Malin Samuelsson.
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