text: Berks SL5 9LP United Kingdom Mr. S. Rajagopal Joint Director Housing and Urban Development Department Government of Tamil Nadu 807 Anna Salai Madras - India Dr. J. Tomblin Seismic Research Institute University of West Indies St. Augustine Trinidad and Tobago 33 Dr. D. Varnes United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey Box 25046 Denver Federal Centre Denver, Colorado 80225 -U.S.A. Mr. Ma Xingyuan Deputy Director State Seismological Bureau Peking China AGENCIES Food and Agriculture Organization F.A.O. (Rome) Mr. K. Wagner International Bank for Reconstruction and Development I.B.R.D. (Washington D.C.) Mr. C.B. Boucher United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) UNCHS (Nairohi) Mr. J. Miller United Nations Development Programme UNDP (Geneva) Mr. Petitpierre, Mr. Desai and Miss Bekker United Nations Environment Programme UNEP (Nairobi) Mr. 0. Popyrin United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO (Paris) Mr. E.M. Fournier d’Albe World Meteorological Organization WMO (Geneva) Mr. E.A. Hassan 34 ANNEX III NOTE ON THE DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF VULNERABILITY AND ON THE EVALUATION OF THE RISK ATTACHED TO NATURAL PHENOMENA 1. General The purpose of this note is to summa&e the main lines of a method for evaluating in a way as simple as possible the probable loss associated with natural hazards for a given population of construction, facilities, etc., at a given site. The concepts to be introduced or taken into account are: the randomness of natural hazards at the given site, the vulnerability of the structures located on the site, the importance of the elements (human population, capacities of production, dwellings, invested capitals, etc.) possibly affected, these elements are referred to as “elements at risk”, the risk which is the probable loss to be expected within a fixed period of time (period of reference). 
analysis: The text appears to be discussing a method for evaluating the risk of natural hazards on a population and its infrastructure, which suggests a connection to the natural environment and human settlements. The mention of international organizations and government agencies also implies an international scope. The focus on evaluating the probable loss associated with natural phenomena suggests a concern for economic and human impacts.