Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful that has occurred or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

s that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that have already occurred. It is a stage or component of

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

and of

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

. The theory of mitigation is a frequently used element in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

and is often used by a judge to try cases such as murder, where a perpetrator is subject to varying degrees of responsibility as a result of one's actions.

Disaster mitigation

An all-hazards approach to disaster management considers all known hazards and their natural and anthropogenic potential risks and impacts, with the intention of ensuring that measures taken to mitigate one type of risk do not increase vulnerability to other types of risks. Proactive disaster mitigation (also hazard mitigation) measures are generally more effective than reactive measures in eliminating or reducing the impacts, but not all disasters are reasonably foreseeable, and when an unforeseen disaster occurs, mitigation is necessarily after the fact. Proactive disaster mitigation measures may be structural or non-structural, and will generally be based on measurement and assessment of the risk and the cost of setting up the measures, and possibly the cost of maintenance. Mitigation planning identifies policies and actions that can be taken over the long term to reduce risk, and in the event of a disaster occurring, minimize loss. Such policies and actions are based on a

risk assessment Risk assessment is a process for identifying hazards, potential (future) events which may negatively impact on individuals, assets, and/or the environment because of those hazards, their likelihood and consequences, and actions which can mitigate ...

, using the identified hazards,

vulnerabilities Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." The understanding of social and environmental vulnerability, as a methodological approach, involves ...

and probabilities of occurrence and estimates of impact to calculate risks, and are generally planned in cooperation with the stakeholder groups. The principles are applicable to mitigation of risk in general. Planning processes may include: *Stakeholder agreement on actions for risk reduction *Assessment of relative risk and vulnerability *Building partnerships among stakeholders *Increasing awareness of hazards, vulnerabilities and risk *Establishing priorities *Aligning risk reduction and mitigation strategies with other objectives Risk assessment and mitigation measures may include: *Hazard mapping *Flood plain mapping *Land use and zoning practices *Implementing and enforcing appropriate building codes **Reinforced tornado safe rooms **Burying of electrical cables to prevent ice build-up **Raising of buildings in flood-prone areas *Public awareness programs *Insurance programs

Areas

Environment

* * in public administration; also, in particular: ** * Hazard mitigation in emergency management; also, in particular: ** ** ** *

Financial risk

Financial risk management Financial risk management is the practice of protecting Value (economics), economic value in a business, firm by managing exposure to financial risk - principally credit risk and market risk, with more specific variants as listed aside - as well ...

deals with mitigation of financial risks

Information technology

* Mitigation, a kind of defense against security issues in computing, as part of

vulnerability management Vulnerability management is the "cyclical practice of identifying, classifying, prioritizing, remediating, and mitigating" software vulnerabilities. Vulnerability management is integral to computer security and network security, and must not be ...

and

Law

Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Public Law 106-390, also called DMA2K, is U.S. federal legislation passed in 2000 that amended provisions of the United States Code related to disaster relief. The amended provisions are named after Robert S ...

, a U.S. federal legislation passed in 2000 that amended provisions of the United States Code related to disaster relief *

Mitigation (law) Mitigation in law is the principle that a party who has suffered loss (from a tort or breach of contract) has to take reasonable action to minimize the amount of the loss suffered. As stated by the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal in ''Redpath Indus ...

, the principle that a party who has suffered loss has to take reasonable action to minimize the amount of the loss suffered * Also in law, mitigating factors may cause a crime to be considered less serious, or provide a reason to make a punishment less severe.

Occupational safety and health

Mitigation of the effects of incidents and health hazards is one of the central precepts of

occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

, as workers may be exposed to hazards, and that it is not always possible to eliminate the associated risk, making it necessary to deal with the consequences on those occasions when harmful incidents occur.

Politics

* Mitigation of

political risk Political risk is a type of risk faced by investors, corporations, and governments that political decisions, events, or conditions will significantly affect the profitability of a business actor or the expected value of a given economic action. Po ...

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mitigation , title=Mitigation , website=Merriam-Webster , accessdate=5 April 2020 {{cite web, url=http://cisa.gov/resources-tools/insider-threat-mitigation-guide , title=Beyond the Basics: Best Practices in Local Mitigation Planning: Introduction , website=cisa.gov {{cite web, url=https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/dsstr-prvntn-mtgtn/bt-dsstr-mtgtn-en.aspx , title=About Disaster Mitigation , website=Public Safety Canada , date=21 December 2018 , accessdate=6 April 2020 Risk management Emergency management Occupational safety and health