# Mitigation

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mitigation
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mitigation.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitigation
> Source revision: 1354832278
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Reduction of something harmful or the reduction of its harmful effects}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}

'''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](/source/hazard)s that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that have already occurred. It is a stage or component of [emergency management](/source/emergency_management) and of [risk management](/source/risk_management). The theory of mitigation is a frequently used element in [criminal law](/source/Criminal_Law_(Amendment)_Act%2C_2013) 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.<ref name="Merriam-Webster" /><ref name="Mitigation guide Intro" />

==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,<ref name="Mitigation guide Intro" /> 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.<ref name="PSC" />
Mitigation planning identifies policies and actions that can be taken over the long term to reduce risk, and in the event of a [disaster](/source/disaster) occurring, minimize loss.  Such policies and actions are based on a [risk assessment](/source/risk_assessment), using the [identified hazards](/source/Hazard_analysis), [vulnerabilities](/source/Vulnerability) and probabilities of occurrence and estimates of impact to calculate risks, and are generally planned in cooperation with the stakeholder groups.<ref name = "Mitigation guide Intro" /> The principles are applicable to mitigation of risk in general.

Planning processes may include:<ref name="Mitigation guide Intro" />
*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:<ref name="PSC" />
*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===
* {{annotated link|Climate change mitigation}}
* {{annotated link|Environmental mitigation}} in public administration; also, in particular:
** {{annotated link|Mitigation banking}}
* [Hazard mitigation](/source/Emergency_management) in emergency management; also, in particular:
** {{annotated link|Flood mitigation}}
** {{annotated link|Landslide mitigation}}
** {{annotated link|Hurricane mitigation}}
* {{annotated link|Radon mitigation}}

===Financial risk===
*[Financial risk management](/source/Financial_risk_management) deals with mitigation of financial risks

===Information technology===
* Mitigation, a kind of defense against security issues in computing, as part of [vulnerability management](/source/vulnerability_management) and [risk management](/source/IT_risk_management).

===Law===
* [Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000](/source/Disaster_Mitigation_Act_of_2000), a U.S. federal legislation passed in 2000 that amended provisions of the United States Code related to disaster relief
* [Mitigation (law)](/source/Mitigation_(law)), 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mitigation |title=Mitigation |website=dictionary.cambridge.org | accessdate= April 5, 2020 }}</ref>

===Occupational safety and health===
Mitigation of the effects of incidents and health hazards is one of the central precepts of [occupational safety and health](/source/occupational_safety_and_health), 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](/source/political_risk)

==See also==
* [Harm reduction](/source/Harm_reduction)
* {{annotated link|Hazard}}
* {{annotated link|Hazard analysis}}
* {{annotated link|Risk}}
* {{annotated link|Risk assessment}}
* {{annotated link|Risk management}}
* {{annotated link|Federal Emergency Management Agency|abbreviation=FEMA}}
* [Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies](/source/Risk_Evaluation_and_Mitigation_Strategies)
* [Disaster risk reduction](/source/Disaster_risk_reduction)
{{wiktionary|mitigation}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Merriam-Webster" >{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mitigation |title=Mitigation |website=Merriam-Webster |accessdate=5 April 2020 }}</ref>

<ref name="Mitigation guide Intro" >{{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 }}</ref>

<ref name="PSC" >{{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 }}</ref>

}}

Category:Risk management
Category:Emergency management
Category:Occupational safety and health

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mitigation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitigation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitigation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
