Part III of this book examined the protection of critical infrastructure and services by the development of more resilient technological and organizational systems. In Part IV, we highlighted the growing interdependent nature of economic and social activities, which lead to more global and interdependent risks: the failure of one organization is more likely to have an effect on others. This new reality needs to be letter understood and worked out quite specifically, something we addressed in the previous part and for which we suggested some strategies and policies to better respond to these challenges.

Whereas the suggested actions should limit the occurrence and/or the impacts of major catastrophes, the possibility that such extreme events will occur anyway cannot be disregarded.