Search results for "Disaster risk reduction"
showing 10 items of 22 documents
Universal Design of Information Sharing Tools for Disaster Risk Reduction
2019
International audience; Disaster information sharing tools are an important aspect of disaster resilience, and it is of utmost importance that these tools are accessible and usable for as many potential users as possible. In this paper, we evaluate the accessibility of a selection of tools for crowdsourcing disaster situation information. As our evaluation shows that the selected tools are not fully accessible, we provide recommendations for mitigation, as well as highlight the importance of further research in this area.
Disaster Risk Reduction for All? Understanding Intersectionality in Disaster Situations
2021
When designing digital services for citizens in a disaster situation, the diversity of its audience and their particular needs are not always sufficiently taken into account. Variables like digital equipment available, environment, disabilities, socio-economic status, etc., play a significant role in people’s ability to access and exchange important information through digital means. In this paper, we will examine some factors that lead to this inequality, and we see that they tend to boil down to a lack of awareness or focus on the diversity of the population, and this affects not only people with disabilities, but also other disadvantaged groups. More broadly, we will examine this in term…
Governance through Economic Paradigms: Addressing Climate Change by Accounting for Health
2016
"Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable development, impacting human health, wellbeing, security, and livelihoods. While the post-2015 development agenda sets out action on climate change as one of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is little provision on how this can be achieved in tandem with the desired economic progress and the required improvements in health and wellbeing. This paper examines synergies and tensions between the goals addressing climate change and economic progress. We identify reductionist approaches in economics, such as 'externalities', reliance on the metric of the Gross Domestic Product, positive discount rates, and short-term profit targets as so…
Precipitation responses to ENSO and IOD in the Maldives: Implications of large-scale modes of climate variability in weather-related preparedness
2020
Abstract This research seeks to address the extent to which indices of large-scale modes of climate variability (El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)) can be linked to physical differences in the local mean and extreme rainfall conditions experienced in the Maldives in order to suggest implications for disaster risk reduction (DRR). While some significant differences in precipitation metrics do occur at the local level between different phases of the large-scale modes of climate variability studied, they do not occur for all sites studied. While the constrained availability of historical meteorological data in the region is a limiting factor in this analysis, th…
Informal Disaster Governance
2020
<p>Scholars and practitioners are increasingly questioning formal disaster governance (FDG) approaches as being too rigid, slow, and command-and-control driven. Too often, local realities and non-formal influences are sidelined or ignored to the extent that disaster governance can be harmed through the efforts to impose formal and/or political structures. A contrasting narrative emphasises so-called bottom-up, local, and/or participatory approaches which this article proposes to encapsulate as Informal Disaster Governance (IDG). This article theorises IDG and situates it within the long-standing albeit limited literature on the topic, paying particular attention to the literature’s fa…
Geoethics and dimensions of vulnerability in Central Africa: the case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2021
<abstract> <p>This article aims to analyse the dimensions of vulnerability in the complex territorial ecosystem of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, considering some substantial geoethical considerations and guidelines, usefull for the resolution of crisis situation. A thematic analysis was carried out on a gathering of secondary data and testimonies. Specifically, the paper will examine the modalities by which the mitigation process of the various vulnerabilities can be realized if implemented in synergy with some geoethical key points. This could contribute to the disaster risk reduction in DRC. Therefore, this paper will ascertain how the promotion of an environmental and…
Insurance mechanisms for tropical cyclones and droughts in Pacific Small Island Developing States
2016
One group of locations significantly affected by climate-related losses and damage is the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). One mechanism aiming to reduce such adverse impacts is insurance, with a wide variety of products and models available. Insurance for climate-related hazards affecting Pacific SIDS has not been investigated in detail. This article contributes to filling this gap by exploring how insurance mechanisms might be implemented in the Pacific SIDS for tropical cyclones and droughts. The study examines opportunities and constraints or limitations of some existing insurance mechanisms and programmes as applied to the Pacific SIDS. Eight insurance mechanisms are compared and…
Knowledge exchange through science diplomacy to assist disaster risk reduction
2021
Abstract This paper analyses science diplomacy efforts to reduce disaster risks and proposes establishing national knowledge exchange centers (KECs) to help individual states adhere to their Sendai Framework goals. KECs are considered to be interconnected globally and work together to promote resilience efforts by facilitating sharing of information and strategies in risk monitoring, assessment, and ultimately reduction across the globe. KECs can provide high-quality scientific evidence for informed decisionmaking along with a component related to disaster science media to ensure that appropriate knowledge reaches a variety of people who need it in different forms tailored for them. KECs ca…
2016
Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable development, impacting human health, wellbeing, security, and livelihoods. While the post-2015 development agenda sets out action on climate change as one of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is little provision on how this can be achieved in tandem with the desired economic progress and the required improvements in health and wellbeing. This paper examines synergies and tensions between the goals addressing climate change and economic progress. We identify reductionist approaches in economics, such as ‘externalities’, reliance on the metric of the Gross Domestic Product, positive discount rates, and short-term profit targets as som…
PPGIS applied to environmental communication and hazards for a community-based approach: a dualism in the Southern Italy "calanchi" landscape
2021
<abstract> <p>The need of protection of the territory is a priority for the society, which is an integral part of it (unfortunately, this coincidence is often forgotten): the new environmental issues require the development of innovative management strategies and of appropriate knowledge and models. The balanced use of resources, essential for the survival and well-being of society, can be optimised through the promotion of the territory. The identification and the sustainable development of local resources can only be achieved by directing development policies towards a path of integration between ecological needs, protection of the landscape and socio-economic and cultural nee…