Synthetic biology offers powerful remedies for some of the world’s most intractable problems, but these solutions are clouded by uncertainty and risk that few strategies are available to address. The incentives for continued development of this emerging technology are prodigious and obvious, and the public deserves assurances that all potential downsides are duly considered and minimized accordingly. Incorporating social science analysis within the innovation process may impose constraints, but its simultaneous support in making the end products more acceptable to society at large should be considered a worthy trade-off. Contributing authors in this volume represent diverse perspectives related to synthetic biology’s social sciences, and reflect on different areas of risk analysis and governance that have developed for the field. Such perspectives include leading scholarly discussion pertaining to risk assessment, governance, ethics, and communication. The chapters of this volume note that while the first twenty years of synthetic biology development have focused strongly on technological innovation and product development, the next twenty should emphasize the synergy between developers, policymakers, and publics to generate the most beneficial, well governed, and transparent technologies and products possible. Many chapters in this volume provide new data and approaches that demonstrate the feasibility for multi-stakeholder efforts involving policymakers, regulators, industrial developers, workers, experts, and societal representatives to share responsibilities in the production of effective and acceptable governance in the face of uncertain risk probabilities. A full consideration of such perspectives may prevent a world of draconian regulations based on an insufficient or incomplete understanding of the science that underpins synthetic biology, as well as any hesitancy or fear by the public to adopt its eventual products.

Cet ouvrage collectif, coordonné par les quatre animateurs du groupe de travail et d'échanges commun à IMdR et 1'AFPCN " Incertitudes et Décisions ", a été l'occasion pour des communautés de pratiques différentes (risques naturels, industriels, environnementaux et sanitaires) et des communautés de chercheurs en sciences humaines et sociales, en sciences de la vie et en sciences de l'ingénieur de dépasser les clivages entre le monde de la " recherche " et le monde de " l'action " sur la prévention, la mitigation et la gestion des risques et des crises liées aux catastrophes naturelles et sanitaires, et aux accidents industriels majeurs. Quels sont les pratiques, les insuffisances, les problèmes et les attentes des parties prenantes et des décideurs en la matière ? Quels sont les résultats des recherches des différentes disciplines scientifiques ? Comment accompagner le changement de pratique notamment en France ? Quelles suggestions faut-il proposer pour améliorer la pratique ainsi que la recherche en la matière ? Pour examiner ces questions, les auteurs prennent appui sur de nombreux dossiers des industries de la pétrochimie au nucléaire, des risques accidentels aux risques chroniques, des risques dits naturels et environnementaux aux risques dits technologiques et sanitaires.

The contributions in Risks Challenging Publics, Scientists and Government looks at risks not just as a technical, social, political or economic matter, but as originating and challenging the various disciplines. Contextual aspects, usually defined by engineers as "margin conditions", are generally not looked at, but deserve much more atttention, pa

Hydrology and dams are two fields that are obviously closely related. Four bulletins have so far been published by the Committee: Selection of Design Flood – Current methods, Dams and Floods – Guidelines and cases histories, Role of Dams in Flood Mitigation – A review and Integrated Flood Management. These bulletins have essentially addressed floods, the risks they represent and their significance for the concerned populations. The present Bulletin deviates slightly from this path, adopting a somewhat more technical perspective. The text consists of three chapters, conceived to be accessible to the practitioners.