Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2011

Highlights examples of preparedness programs and capacities at risk of federal budget cuts or elimination, examines state and local public health budget cuts, reviews ten years of progress and shortfalls, and outlines policy issues and recommendations

Towards a Resilient Future: Experiences with Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

This testimony shows the urgency of the problems faced by people on the front line of climate change, which is exposing more and more people to increased risk of dis This testimony shows the urgency of the problems faced by people on the front line of climate change, which is exposing more and more people to increased risk of diaster and directly affecting their lives and livelihoods. Tragically, the global community turns a blind eye to the severity of the risks posed by climate change and is doing too little to help people prepare themselves for these risks. Community managed disaster risk reduction (CMDRR) is an effective strategy of addressing the impacts and effects of climate change and reducing communities' vulnerability to disasters

Agriculture and climate change: An agenda for negotiation in Copenhagen

Table of Contents: •Overview by Gerald C. Nelson •Agricultural Science and Technology Needs for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation by Rudy Rabbinge •Reducing Methane Emissions from Irrigated Rice by Reiner Wassmann, Yasukazu Hosen, and Kay Sumfleth •Direct and Indirect Mitigation Through Tree and Soil Management by Brent M. Swallow and Meine van Noordwijk •The Potential for Soil Carbon Sequestration by Rattan Lal •Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Systems by M. Herrero and P. K. Thornton •The Role of Nutrient Management in Mitigation by Helen C. Flynn •Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Methodologies for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use by Sean Smukler and Cheryl Palm •Synergies Among Mitigation, Adaptation, and Sustainable Development by Pete Smith •The Importance of Property Rights in Climate Change Mitigation by Helen Markelova and Ruth Meinzen-Dick •The Important Role of Extension Systems by Kristin E. Davis •Adaptation to Climate Change: Household Impacts and Institutional Responses by Futoshi Yamauchi and Agnes Quisumbing •The Constructive Role of International Trade by Franz FischlerClimate change, Copenhagen, Science and technology, rice, Soil fertility management, Greenhouse gas, Nutrients, Forestry resources, Land use, Sustainable development, International trade, extension activities, Household behavior, Institutional Impacts,

Disaster and disadvantage: social vulnerability in emergency management

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.

Disaster resilience and children: managing food security in Zimbabwe's Binga District

The growing recognition of the vulnerability of children to disasters has added a new impetus to the concept of their involvement in disaster risk reduction programs. Involving children in disaster risk reduction is among those aspects promoted in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 to enhance the resilience of disaster-affected communities. This article presents the results from a research study which investigated the involvement of children in disaster risk reduction programs in Binga District, Zimbabwe, focusing on food security. The results suggest that children are an invaluable part of human agency in disaster contexts, especially in view of increasing numbers of children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Yet their involvement is still contested. Unless family and cultural pressures imposed on children are recognized and managed in disaster risk programming, the potential of children’s involvement is likely to be missed in building disaster-resilient communities