Kuniyoshi Takeuchi

Biography

Prof. Takeuchi has contributed to ICFM's objectives through his many roles over a long period. Just to mention a few: Director of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) under the auspices of UNESCO; Member and Vice Chair of IRDR Integrated Research on Disaster Risk; President of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences; Vice President of International Water Resources Association; and many others.

Prof. Takeuchi’s professional and academic contributions provide insights into basic concepts of and Japanese experience in flood risk management. Through his work, Prof. Takeuchi contributes to closing the gap between science and practice to reduce human losses in flood disasters.

In September of 2011, just five months after the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (March of 2011) Prof Takeuchi mobilized the community and organized the 5th ICFM conference in Tokyo. The conference was a success with more than 450 participants from 41 different countries. The conference outcomes indicated that (i) Events beyond Expectation such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 11 March 2011 will continue to happen; (ii) Increasing Complexity of Socio-Economic Systems that the components of socio-economic activities are increasingly dependent upon each other and the impact of local disasters may quickly extend to national, regional and global scales through the market network (e.g., supply chains); (iii) floods are the most extensive and frequently occurring disaster in the world, resulting in the largest socio-economic impacts to most nations in comparison to all other natural disasters; and (iv) climate change is a serious factor that acts to increase the flood risk (the intensity and frequency of torrential rains have markedly increased). After the conference, Prof. Takeuchi co-edited the IAHS Red Book publication “Floods: From Risk to Opportunity,” which included contributions from conference participants. In addition, a selected number of conference papers were published in the special issue of the International Journal of Flood Management.

All of Prof. Takeuchi's contributions make him an excellent candidate for the 2023 ICFM Lifetime Achievement Award.