Terestrisk

Terestrisk is a term used in risk assessment to denote the aggregated risk exposure of terrestrial systems, including land surfaces, ecosystems, agricultural land, and land-based infrastructure. It encompasses hazards that originate on or affect land, such as extreme weather, floods, soil erosion, landslides, drought, wildfires, pests, and the impacts of land-use change and urban expansion. The concept aims to integrate hazard frequency, vulnerability, and exposure into a single framework.

The word is a portmanteau of terra, meaning earth, and risk. In practice, terestrisk is used by researchers and policy practitioners as a shorthand for evaluating how climate variability, geological processes, and socio-economic pressures combine to threaten terrestrial assets and ecosystems.

A terestrisk assessment typically includes components such as hazard probability, exposure of assets, and vulnerability of systems to damage. It can be quantified with indicators like potential economic losses, disruption to food supply, ecological degradation, and long-term productivity changes, often using GIS, scenario modeling, and multi-criteria analysis.

Applications include land-use planning, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and environmental management. It supports prioritization of interventions such as soil conservation, green infrastructure, and resilient agricultural practices.

Critics argue that terestrisk lacks standard definition and may conflate several distinct risk domains, risking inconsistency in measurement and policy guidance. Clear terminology and methodological guidelines are needed to ensure comparability across regions and sectors.