Katharina Rieder

Katharina Rieder works for the Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control (WLV), part of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management. In her role, she is responsible for international cooperations and projects, works at the interface between spatial planning and natural hazard management, and supports the public relations department. In this context, she also serves as Co-Lead of EUSALP Action Group 8 and was Chair of the Natural Hazard Working Group of the Alpine Convention for three years.

Katharina’s field of expertise is spatial planning. She has further strengthened her knowledge through specialised courses on natural hazard management at BOKU University. Her work focuses on the intersection between spatial planning and natural hazard management, especially the integration of zoning maps and hazard zone plans.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time in the mountains, whether it's hiking, climbing or skiing.

Katharina joined the we4DRR network in 2022 to empower women in the male-dominated field of Disaster Risk Reduction. She has greatly benefited from the exchange and support of fellow female experts of the network, both personally and professionally. She also values we4DRR’s capacity building workshops and webinars to expand her knowledge. In 2026, Katharina joined the Organisation Team to support the network with communication activities.