"Geography helps us to stay ahead of
incidents caused by natural or technological risks"
Head of Civil Protection of the Terres de l’Ebre. Government of Catalonia
I like to say that I am a geographer. I studied the bachelor's degree in Geography at Rovira i Virgili University and later did my master's degree in Environmental Risk Analysis at the University of Cádiz. Currently I am Head of Civil Protection in the Terres de l'Ebre Home Department as an official of the special higher body of geographers of the Government of Catalonia.
Previously I worked as a technician in the Environment Office in Terres de l'Ebre. I also created a consultancy on territorial planning and environmental management just after completing the Diploma of Advanced Studies in Territorial Planning, specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Geography has given me the basic tools to understand why territories function in a complex way, how societies and activities are developed, and why nature behaves as an integrated system and we must be careful to adapt to its changes.
My specialization in risk analysis and emergency management makes the geographical component of my job a must, especially the more technological side of the discipline. Geographic Information Systems, as well as all the tools currently available for geospatial, meteorological and climate analysis, are resources that geography professionals have to explore in depth, since the vector from spatial and territorial analysis, from any sector or starting point, has been shown to be the best field where geographers develop and add significant added value to multidisciplinary teams.
Geography helps us discover that everything that happens on the earth's crust is interrelated, and also provides us with the necessary mechanisms for making accurate interpretations. For professionals that monitor risks and manage emergencies, geography gives an overview of incidents caused by natural or technological risks and helps us understand why they occur so we can anticipate them and work properly to solve them.
In short, geography is a very powerful tool that geography professionals need to know how to focus and direct to the sectors that need this information, as a fundamental basis for later specializing and thus applying geographical science fully.