11,988 research outputs found

    Governance of the world food system and crisis prevention

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    The present study offers a framework, rooted in Disaster Studies. The next few sections will first discuss the analytical tool box, which we have largely drawn from Disaster Studies. Thereafter the food regime will be looked into in the quantitative (food security, Section 3.1) and qualitative sense (food safety, Section 3.2), and the actors and rules and regulations for international food aid discussed. It will become clear that the private sector has a key role to play in both categories. Chapter 4 calls attention to the increasing complexities and uncertainties in the global food system that complicate food governance. To get anything done at all, a simplification seems necessary, such as declaring a food problem a safety issue

    Vulnerability, Canadian Disaster Law and The Beast

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    This article is the first step in a major research project on Canadian disaster law. As such, the article\u27s first objective is to map the terrain of the law in Canada that governs disasters. To provide context for this exercise in mapping, the article focuses on the circumstances surrounding the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire (\u27the Beast\u27). Focusing on the \u27the Beast\u27 also gives rise to the article\u27s second objective: a critical examination of the ways in which Canadian disaster law fails to reflect foundational social science research on disaster harm. The article argues that the current framework of Canadian law lacks nuance in its understanding of vulnerability and fails to identify and address communities that are especially vulnerable to disaster harm. It also argues that the implementation of the relevant law to disasters fails to adequately incorporate legal mechanisms that can connect disaster law with the underlying drivers of disaster vulnerability. The outcome is that Canadian disaster law currently leaves Canadians unnecessarily susceptible to disaster harm

    Disaster and disadvantage: social vulnerability in emergency management

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    This report describes who is most at risk of being socially vulnerable in an emergency or disaster and what needs to be done to better protect them and improve their recovery Executive summary: While they can be devastating for all affected individuals and communities and cause great physical, financial and psychological hardship, for people who are already facing disadvantage, the impacts can be overwhelming, leading – in the words of one mother – to a “cascade of sorrows”. People facing disadvantage, such as those in poverty, migrants, refugees, children, older people, people with disabilities, people who are homeless or transient, and people living in poor quality housing, are more vulnerable at all stages of a disaster – before, during, and after it strikes. These people are considered ‘socially vulnerable’ in the face of a disaster. Whether it is their capacity to evacuate in time or to recover in the long term from trauma and financial devastation, socially vulnerable people are hit hardest and longest by disasters and emergencies. These people often have fewer resources and less social support, mobility and housing options at their disposal, and so are less able to prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster or emergency. As one report put it, socially vulnerable are “more likely to die...and less likely to recover.

    Building Back Better Resilient Public Spaces What the COVID-19 pandemic changed in urban planning and design

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    The aim of the paper is to point out the role of resilient public spaces in ensuring public health and safety in the time of pandemic and in multi-risk scenarios. The investigation of urban strategies – that guarantee accessibility and flexibility of public spaces – is framed in opposition to the policies of closure and forbiddance of use which have largely been applied during the COVID-19 pandemic in the years 2020-2022, especially in Italy. Through a review of current policies on the topic of multi-risk exposure and emergency management at the global, Europe- an, national, and local level (with the case of the Campania Region, in South Ita- ly), the paper underlines the weaknesses of urban planning and design instances in emergency decision-making processes. A selection of initiatives that experi- mented new spatial uses and configurations of public spaces is used to reflect on how recent practices reacted to the pandemic, as an alternative to restrictive, non-resilient approaches. The results are discussed and interpreted as relevant components to build back better, reinterpreting the role of public spaces towards an innovative research agenda for more sustainable and resilient planning and design

    Climate change and disaster impact reduction

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    Based on papers presented at the 'UK - South Asia Young Scientists and Practitioners Seminar on Climate Change and Disaster Impact Reduction' held at Kathmandu, Nepal on 5-6 June, 2008

    Building Resilient Cities: A Simulation-Based Scenario Assessment Methodology for the Integration of DRR and CCA in a Multi-Scale Design Perspective

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    Resilience of the built environment and communities to natural and man-made hazards is consolidating worldwide as a key requirement in the field of urban planning and building design, and there is an increasing awareness that Sustainable Development Goals and priorities of the Sendai Framework cannot be achieved without a comprehensive approach able to promote the effective implementation of DRR and CCA measures within regeneration processes at various scales. In this sense, an “all-hazards” approach, addressing multiple risk conditions (including Natech and cascading effects) and integrating DRR and CCA design strategies, show a highly cost-effective potential, maximizing the effect of complementary measures and optimizing mitigation/adaptation design techniques within a multi-scale (building/neighbourhood/city) resilience perspective, delivering at the same time socio-economic benefits linked to the improvement of urban spaces’ liveability and environmental quality. Vulnerability and impact assessment represent an essential component of a simulation-based methodology aimed at increasing the potential for use of scientific results by decision-makers, through multi-hazard and dynamic impact scenarios combined with cost-benefit and multi-criteria analyses to assess the effectiveness of alternative options. The paper presents the methodological approach developed at PLINIVS Study Centre and the experimental applications implemented within recent EU and National projects, such as H2020-ESPREssO and SIMMCITIES_NA

    Tsunami risk communication and management: Contemporary gaps and challenges

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    Very large tsunamis are associated with low probabilities of occurrence. In many parts of the world, these events have usually occurred in a distant time in the past. As a result, there is low risk perception and a lack of collective memories, making tsunami risk communication both challenging and complex. Furthermore, immense challenges lie ahead as population and risk exposure continue to increase in coastal areas. Through the last decades, tsunamis have caught coastal populations off-guard, providing evidence of lack of preparedness. Recent tsunamis, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, 2011 Tohoku and 2018 Palu, have shaped the way tsunami risk is perceived and acted upon. Based on lessons learned from a selection of past tsunami events, this paper aims to review the existing body of knowledge and the current challenges in tsunami risk communication, and to identify the gaps in the tsunami risk management methodologies. The important lessons provided by the past events call for strengthening community resilience and improvement in risk-informed actions and policy measures. This paper shows that research efforts related to tsunami risk communication remain fragmented. The analysis of tsunami risk together with a thorough understanding of risk communication gaps and challenges is indispensable towards developing and deploying comprehensive disaster risk reduction measures. Moving from a broad and interdisciplinary perspective, the paper suggests that probabilistic hazard and risk assessments could potentially contribute towards better science communication and improved planning and implementation of risk mitigation measures

    Tsunami risk communication and management: Contemporary gaps and challenges

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    Very large tsunamis are associated with low probabilities of occurrence. In many parts of the world, these events have usually occurred in a distant time in the past. As a result, there is low risk perception and a lack of collective memories, making tsunami risk communication both challenging and complex. Furthermore, immense challenges lie ahead as population and risk exposure continue to increase in coastal areas. Through the last decades, tsunamis have caught coastal populations off-guard, providing evidence of lack of preparedness. Recent tsunamis, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, 2011 Tohoku and 2018 Palu, have shaped the way tsunami risk is perceived and acted upon. Based on lessons learned from a selection of past tsunami events, this paper aims to review the existing body of knowledge and the current challenges in tsunami risk communication, and to identify the gaps in the tsunami risk management methodologies. The important lessons provided by the past events call for strengthening community resilience and improvement in risk-informed actions and policy measures. This paper shows that research efforts related to tsunami risk communication remain fragmented. The analysis of tsunami risk together with a thorough understanding of risk communication gaps and challenges is indispensable towards developing and deploying comprehensive disaster risk reduction measures. Moving from a broad and interdisciplinary perspective, the paper suggests that probabilistic hazard and risk assessments could potentially contribute towards better science communication and improved planning and implementation of risk mitigation measures

    Risk Mitigation, Vulnerability Management and Resilience under Disasters

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    The Special Issue (SI) discusses the topic of Disaster Risk Management and its cornerstones: vulnerability reduction and resilience building. The focus of the SI is the impact of risk information, communication and representation, risk knowledge as related to science and practice, risk perception and awareness, and risk culture on multi-faceted vulnerability and several aspects of resilience
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