'Connecting to Disasters": The Critical Success Factors of Mobile Phone Utilisation within Disaster Management Operations: The Case of Vanuatu

This study was an endeavour to contribute to the understanding of mobile phone use in disaster management. The main purpose of the study is to identify the factors necessary for mobile phones to successfully facilitate communication and information dissemination in disaster management operations in Vanuatu, which is viewed as a region experiencing significant risks to natural disasters, as well as a rapidly expanding mobile phone industry. The research uses qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews from two months of fieldwork in Vanuatu. Interviews were conducted with participants sourced from mobile phone providers, civil society organisations, government departments, and Vanuatu communities. The research revealed a set of 16 critical success factors that affirmed a number of conclusions drawn from the literature but also revealed information unique to the Vanuatu context. The emerging factors necessary for mobile phone success were developed into a top-down framework with four categories. At the top, factors at the ‘Government Level’ highlighted the need for government leadership and ‘ownership’, particularly in ‘policy formulation’ and ‘sanctioning’ of disseminated information. Below this, key stakeholder groups involved in mobile phones and disaster management make up the ‘Stakeholder Level’, where there was a critical need for ‘communication’, ‘alignment’ and ‘collaboration’ between these groups. Stakeholder groups also need effective ‘staff training’, and a clear understanding of their ‘roles and responsibilities’ surrounding the mobile phone application. The means that enable stakeholders to operate this process make up the ‘Technology Level’, where critical factors include an ‘extensive network’ containing ‘resilient infrastructure’ with swift ‘maintenance and repair processes’. Finally, at the grassroots, community members make up the ‘User Level’. For users mobile phones must be both ‘affordable’ and ‘easy to use’, they also need ‘electricity access’ to meet phone charging needs, as well as knowledge of local areas with sufficient ‘network access’. These results reveal the importance of addressing ways to improve mobile phone use in disaster management. Mobile phones are now the most widely used information communication technology in Vanuatu, so improving their effectiveness in disaster management operations is important and could have significant implications for communities that are vulnerable to natural disaster hazards

The Global Risks Report 2016, 11th Edition

Now in its 11th edition, The Global Risks Report 2016 draws attention to ways that global risks could evolve and interact in the next decade. The year 2016 marks a forceful departure from past findings, as the risks about which the Report has been warning over the past decade are starting to manifest themselves in new, sometimes unexpected ways and harm people, institutions and economies. Warming climate is likely to raise this year's temperature to 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, 60 million people, equivalent to the world's 24th largest country and largest number in recent history, are forcibly displaced, and crimes in cyberspace cost the global economy an estimated US$445 billion, higher than many economies' national incomes. In this context, the Reportcalls for action to build resilience – the "resilience imperative" – and identifies practical examples of how it could be done.The Report also steps back and explores how emerging global risks and major trends, such as climate change, the rise of cyber dependence and income and wealth disparity are impacting already-strained societies by highlighting three clusters of risks as Risks in Focus. As resilience building is helped by the ability to analyse global risks from the perspective of specific stakeholders, the Report also analyses the significance of global risks to the business community at a regional and country-level

Local Voices, Local Choices? Vulnerability to Climate Change and Community-Based Adaptation in Rural Vanuatu

This thesis focuses on community-based adaptation to climate change (CBA) in a rural, Pacific islands context. It is informed by a case study of Mota Lava, a small island in northern Vanuatu. Climate change poses particular challenges for Pacific island communities, who, in general, are largely natural resource dependent, coastal dwelling and experience high climate variability and extremes. This thesis responds to the lack of critical attention paid to dominant understandings of how to implement adaptation to climate change in a way that best serves the needs of local people. The research addresses the dearth of Pacific local voices in mainstream international adaptation knowledge, therefore contributing to more effective CBA projects and programmes in the region. The features that distinguish effective CBA are that it: reduces vulnerability; is participatory; is based on local knowledge, needs and priorities, and; empowers communities to help themselves in adapting to climate change. Situated in critical human geography, the study examines mainstream international discourses of vulnerability and adaptation, and the implications of these for effective CBA implementation in a Pacific island community context. Qualitative research drawing from participatory and postcolonial theories provides a platform for community voices in Vanuatu. A combination of semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews, participatory techniques and participant observation were used to investigate the ways in which people construct their vulnerability and adaptation needs in the community of Mota Lava. The research revealed tensions between local and mainstream constructions of vulnerability and therefore, adaptation needs. Local people construct vulnerability to climate change as caused by predominantly social factors and processes. Mechanisms for minimising the negative implications of a range of climate stresses and uncertainties are integrated into livelihoods, society and culture. However, this (considerable) adaptive capacity is threatened by aspects of social change stemming from non-local processes of (under)development. Effective CBA requires community-led development initiatives, targeting social processes at the core of increasing community vulnerability. However, in mainstream international discourse, vulnerability to climate change is constructed as being caused by specific climate stimuli, their biophysical impacts and the ability to directly respond to these. As a result, CBA implementation in the region is characterized by technical measures that reactively respond to particular climate impacts rather than proactively reducing vulnerability. The mainstream adaptation discourse limits the effectiveness of CBA for communities like Mota Lava, where the causes of vulnerability are primarily social

Loss and Damage from Climate Change: Concepts, Principles and Policy Options.

This book provides an authoritative insight on the Loss and Damage discourse by highlighting state-of-the-art research and policy linked to this discourse and articulating its multiple concepts, principles and methods. Written by leading researchers and practitioners, it identifies practical and evidence-based policy options to inform the discourse and climate negotiations. With climate-related risks on the rise and impacts being felt around the globe has come the recognition that climate mitigation and adaptation may not be enough to manage the effects from anthropogenic climate change. This recognition led to the creation of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage in 2013, a climate policy mechanism dedicated to dealing with climate-related effects in highly vulnerable countries that face severe constraints and limits to adaptation. Endorsed in 2015 by the Paris Agreement and effectively considered a third pillar of international climate policy, debate and research on Loss and Damage continues to gain enormous traction. Yet, concepts, methods and tools as well as directions for policy and implementation have remained contested and vague. Suitable for researchers, policy-advisors, practitioners and the interested public, the book furthermore: • discusses the political, legal, economic and institutional dimensions of the issue • highlights normative questions central to the discourse • provides a focus on climate risks and climate risk management. • presents salient case studies from around the world

Many Strong Voices: Outline for an assessment project design

This document defines, guides, and supports the development and implementation of a full assessment of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), under the Many Strong Voices (MSV) programme. A summary of impacts of climate change on SIDS is provided along with a literature review and analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in SIDS, supplemented by consultations with SIDS partners, to indicate data availability and quality along with how to fill in data gaps. Then, an initial structure for the assessment is detailed with recommendations for implementing a SIDS assessment of climate change vulnerability and adaptation.Recommendations describe the need for the work, the scientific methods to adopt, the focus on case studies, and the emphasis on a problem- driven and action research approach involving local consultations.Research, policy, and practice outcomes of the assessment are also described

Compendium of good practices : harnessing civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in conflict, emergencies, and fragile settings

The compendium’s collection of case studies and real-world examples targets a range of audiences. Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) data are essential for informing policymakers as they address humanitarian crises, respond to emergencies, and provide for displaced populations. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, displaced people and the stateless struggled to obtain legal identity and work permits and get access to formal employment and social safety nets. No country or statistical system has been left untouched by conflict, disease, and climate change impacts. This series of 12 papers is commissioned by diverse experts such as civil registrars, practitioners, and researchers.Global Affairs Canada (GAC

Governance and Vulnerability in Small Island States

In general, communities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are socioeconomically and environmentally vulnerable due to their geographical and ecological conditions. Small archipelagic states are even more vulnerable in terms of natural and human-induced disasters because of their fragmentation, isolation and smallness. Good governance is a vital precondition to reduce the vulnerability of these states. This study examines these two correlated phenomena, governance and vulnerability, their inter-related implications and complications, and the role of governance in reducing vulnerability of SIDS and their island communities. It also proposes some practical remedies for the challenges of these communities. Qualitative research using multiple methods, secondary data collection, informal semi-structured interviews, open-ended discussions, informal conversational interviews and direct observations, was carried out through case studies of two archipelagos, the republics of Maldives and Vanuatu. In addition, the New Zealand local government model with a focus on Bay of Plenty Region was also studied in order to seek policy models and best practices from a developed state. The field inquiry revealed that an effective local governance system is vitally important to address socio-economic and environmental vulnerability of these archipelagic communities. Neither a rigid centralised system, like the Maldives, nor a decentralised system, as in the case of Vanuatu, was found to be appropriate and effective unless certain functions are delegated and local authorities are made selfreliant, financially and functionally self-sufficient and aware of their responsibilities through education, while community members are empowered by providing more socio-economic opportunities. Based on the research findings, the thesis highlights four key causes of increasing vulnerability in these communities: absence of a reliable outreach mechanism for emergency management, lack of a strong local governance system, scarcity of socioeconomic resources and opportunities, and inadequate socio-economic infrastructures. The thesis suggests possible ways forward by proposing a four tier cluster approach with a decentralised emergency management system and local governance model. The transient vulnerability (natural or weather related disasters) of these archipelagic communities cannot be addressed unless their chronic vulnerability, lack of socio-economic opportunities, is addressed through sound local governance

Governance and Vulnerability in Small Island States

In general, communities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are socioeconomically and environmentally vulnerable due to their geographical and ecological conditions. Small archipelagic states are even more vulnerable in terms of natural and human-induced disasters because of their fragmentation, isolation and smallness. Good governance is a vital precondition to reduce the vulnerability of these states. This study examines these two correlated phenomena, governance and vulnerability, their inter-related implications and complications, and the role of governance in reducing vulnerability of SIDS and their island communities. It also proposes some practical remedies for the challenges of these communities. Qualitative research using multiple methods, secondary data collection, informal semi-structured interviews, open-ended discussions, informal conversational interviews and direct observations, was carried out through case studies of two archipelagos, the republics of Maldives and Vanuatu. In addition, the New Zealand local government model with a focus on Bay of Plenty Region was also studied in order to seek policy models and best practices from a developed state. The field inquiry revealed that an effective local governance system is vitally important to address socio-economic and environmental vulnerability of these archipelagic communities. Neither a rigid centralised system, like the Maldives, nor a decentralised system, as in the case of Vanuatu, was found to be appropriate and effective unless certain functions are delegated and local authorities are made selfreliant, financially and functionally self-sufficient and aware of their responsibilities through education, while community members are empowered by providing more socio-economic opportunities. Based on the research findings, the thesis highlights four key causes of increasing vulnerability in these communities: absence of a reliable outreach mechanism for emergency management, lack of a strong local governance system, scarcity of socioeconomic resources and opportunities, and inadequate socio-economic infrastructures. The thesis suggests possible ways forward by proposing a four tier cluster approach with a decentralised emergency management system and local governance model. The transient vulnerability (natural or weather related disasters) of these archipelagic communities cannot be addressed unless their chronic vulnerability, lack of socio-economic opportunities, is addressed through sound local governance