Climate change and disaster impact reduction

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

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

This Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) has been jointly coordinated by Working Groups I (WGI) and II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report focuses on the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events, the impacts of such events, and the strategies to manage the associated risks. The IPCC was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in particular to assess in a comprehensive, objective, and transparent manner all the relevant scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information to contribute in understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, the potential impacts, and the adaptation and mitigation options. Beginning in 1990, the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other key documents which have since become the standard references for policymakers and scientists.This Special Report, in particular, contributes to frame the challenge of dealing with extreme weather and climate events as an issue in decisionmaking under uncertainty, analyzing response in the context of risk management. The report consists of nine chapters, covering risk management; observed and projected changes in extreme weather and climate events; exposure and vulnerability to as well as losses resulting from such events; adaptation options from the local to the international scale; the role of sustainable development in modulating risks; and insights from specific case studies

Risk and vulnerability : the forward looking role of social protection in a globalizing world

The paper outlines a forward-looking role of social protection against the background of increasing concerns about risk, and vulnerability, exemplified by the recent East Asian crisis, the concerns of the World Development Report (WDR) 2000, the need for a better understanding of poverty dynamics, and the opportunity and risks created by globalization. These considerations, and the need for a more proactive approach to lasting poverty reduction, have led to the development of a new conceptual framework, which casts social protection as social risk management. The paper highlights the main elements of the new conceptual framework, and its main strategic conclusions for attacking poverty, before addressing crucial issues for its implementation: the need for an operational definition of vulnerability; the use of social risk assessments as an operational entry point for a new policy dialogue; economic crisis management, and the lessons for social protection; and, the undertaking of social expenditure reviews to enhance the effectiveness of government intervention for addressing risk and vulnerability. The pilot experience with some of these elements, yields cautious optimism that a promising road for addressing poverty has been found.Environmental Economics&Policies,Social Risk Management,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,Insurance&Risk Mitigation

Assessing transportation networks vulnerability for the decision making in humanitarian logistics

Transportation networks are vulnerable to natural disasters, which can degrade their functionality and generate negative impacts over people, especially during the emergency phase, where timely access of humanitarian operations is critical. An interruption of humanitarian relief supply chains at the short-term emergency stage increases the human suffering (deprivation costs) resulting from the lack of access to essential goods or services. These costs are generally not considered in the mathematical formulations used for assessing vulnerability in transportation networks, which can lead to inappropriate strategies for humanitarian assistance. Consequently, in this doctoral thesis a vulnerability assessment model for the development of high impact humanitarian logistics operations is presented. The model is based on an economic analysis that involves both the logistical costs of humanitarian distribution operations and the deprivation cots derived from the delays in the provision of basic supplies

Minimising flood risk accumulation through effective private and public sector engagement

Flooding is a global problem affecting both developing and developed countries. Academics and practitioners in climate science frequently argue that changing climatic conditions are likely to worsen the length and severity of these flood events, which will have catastrophic consequences to economies and social lives of communities world over. Whilst the overall consequences affecting many regions have been established, effective and efficient strategies to cope with the effects of flooding and building up resilience strategies have not properly evolved. This paper examines this issue by exploring effective strategies undertaken in partnerships between private and public stakeholders. The paper details two case studies conducted in a developed and a developing country to investigate what global strategies for coping and resilience to flooding have worked in practice. The two case studies: Cockermouth in Cumbria, UK and Patuakhali in Bangladesh provide interesting insights on how some of the strategies work within the chosen developed and developing country contexts. The case study findings are mapped against UNISDR’s ten-point checklist under the “Making Cities Resilient Campaign”. In conclusion the paper examines how these findings can be incorporated within city development plans to develop stakeholder capacity and capability and eventually build up resilient cities

Minimising flood risk accumulation through effective private and public sector engagement

Flooding is a global problem affecting both developing and developed countries. Academics and practitioners in climate science frequently argue that changing climatic conditions are likely to worsen the length and severity of these flood events, which will have catastrophic consequences to economies and social lives of communities world over. Whilst the overall consequences affecting many regions have been established, effective and efficient strategies to cope with the effects of flooding and building up resilience strategies have not properly evolved. This paper examines this issue by exploring effective strategies undertaken in partnerships between private and public stakeholders. The paper details two case studies conducted in a developed and a developing country to investigate what global strategies for coping and resilience to flooding have worked in practice. The two case studies: Cockermouth in Cumbria, UK and Patuakhali in Bangladesh provide interesting insights on how some of the strategies work within the chosen developed and developing country contexts. The case study findings are mapped against UNISDR’s ten-point checklist under the “Making Cities Resilient Campaign”. In conclusion the paper examines how these findings can be incorporated within city development plans to develop stakeholder capacity and capability and eventually build up resilient cities

The application of multivariate cluster analysis in the assessment of volcanic social vulnerability

The 20th Century was characterized by increasing human population settlement in volcanically active regions of the world. This continued growth, particularly in less developed nations, has led to an increasing exposure of households and communities more predisposed to the social and physical risks a disaster could present. This thesis proposes a new methodology for the identification, targeting and assessment of these socially vulnerable communities. Drawing from specific examples of Mount Vesuvius (Italy) and Guagua Pichincha (Ecuador), multivariate statistics are applied to population census data to characterise the frailties and assumed coping capacity of different neighbourhood types to volcanic risk. Using cluster analysis and geodemographic discriminatory techniques, results show that communities more pre-disposed to the social and economic pressures of a disaster can be identified using this method. This approach looks to enhance upon current disaster risk metrics that tend to focus on single or cumulative risk scores, rather than seeking to define the behavioural traits and attitudinal perceptions of a neighbourhood. The peripheral and often informal barrios around Quito, Ecuador are shown to be highly susceptible to volcanic social vulnerability, whilst the Campania province around Vesuvius, Italy, highlights that the greatest risk to community resilience is associated with the high density settlements along the coastal towns near the volcano. The complex nature and site-specific characteristics of volcanic hazards, as well as the cultural landscape in which a volcanic eruption takes place are found to be key determinants in all aspects of disaster reduction. Vulnerability indicators, as defined in previous studies of disaster response are often independent of each other, and in many cases, non-transferrable in different cultural settings. Similarly, vulnerability and risk perception are as much a consequence of culture and state as they are of geographical setting and the physical characteristics of a volcanic eruption. Whilst caution is advised on the application and treatment of vulnerability metrics for mitigation, examples are provided as to how a neighbourhood classification systems methodology can be practically applied for disaster risk reduction. The output of this thesis is proposed as being of direct use to disaster risk managers (DRM), civil authorities and NGOs as an alternative tool in community outreach, exposure management, disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness plans. The contribution is also discussed in the wider context of disaster risk reduction measures, recent conceptual frameworks, and ongoing global initiatives such as the United Nations’ Hyogo Framework for Action and its intended replacement, HFA2

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3