Embedded Disaster Risk Management in Adaptation Targeted Policy and Practice in Large Deltas of Africa
Shuaib LWASA (Uganda)
Integrated Risk Research in Motozintla, Chiapas, Mexico
David A. NOVELO-CASANOVA (Mexico)
Building More Resilient Megacities in the Developing World: Exploring the Case Studies of Mexico City, Beijing, Lagos and New Delhi
Fabiola SOSA-RODRIGUEZ (Mexico)
Economy and Culture of Recovery: Differences in Banda-Aceh and Tohoku
Kuniyoshi TAKEUCHI (Japan)
Turning Black into Green: Innovative Approaches in Disaster Risk Governance and Green Growth
Qian YE (China)
Embedded Disaster Risk Management in Adaptation Targeted Policy and Practice in Large Deltas of Africa
Shuaib LWASA
Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climatic Sciences (GGCS), School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences FEGS), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
River deltas are among the hotspots in regard to climate variability and change. Several factors, including population densities, intense resource utilisation, geographic location, low coastal elevation and governance, couple to influence vulnerability to various risks in the deltas. Deltas are also characterised by historic responses to disasters including flooding, coastal erosion, salt-water intrusion, and storm surges associated with extreme events. A number of interventions and adaptation actions implemented at different levels by multiple actors in the African deltas of Niger, Nile, Senegal, Okavango, Zambezi, Tana, Rufiji, Zaire, Pungue, Betsiboka, Orange and Sine-Saloumehave tended to restore the previous status after disasters. The site-specific adaptations and policy actions notwithstanding, risk management that addresses the underlying causes of risk are yet to be integrated in adaptation policies. This paper utilises a FORENSIC framework as a basis for a systematic review of both refereed and non-refereed literature on adaptation targeted policy and practice in deltas of Africa. The aim is to assess how policy and practice addresses risk and the limitations of adaptation policy in managing underlying causes of risk. The synthesis indicates knowledge gaps in risk management with dominance of vulnerability assessments, while practice is multi-actor and characterised by mixed interventions that tend to reinstate previous situations of communities after the disasters. There are also good practices emerging in some deltas that address underlying causes to minimise loss and damage, while building resilience of communities in the deltas.
Integrated Risk Research in Motozintla, Chiapas, Mexico
David A. NOVELO-CASANOVA1, Oralia OROPEZA2, Elizabeth MANSILLA1, Jose L. MACIAS1, Irasema ALCÁNTARA-AYALA2, Francisco J. CANTARERRO2, Manuel FIGUEROA2, J.M. SANCHEZ-NUÑEZ1 and Gloria A. MORENO-PERALES1
- Departmento de Sismología, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F, México
- Departamento de Geografía Física, Instituto de Geografia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F, México
This integrated risk research includes the analysis of all components of individual constituents of risk such as baseline study, hazard identification and categorisation, hazard exposure and vulnerability. Vulnerability is a pre-existing condition that affects a society’s ability to prepare for and recover from a disruptive event. Thus, risk is the estimated impact that a hazard event would have on people, services, facilities, structures and assets in a determined community. In this research, we determined the risk to natural hazards in the community of Motozintla located in southern Mexico in the state of Chiapas (15.37oN, 92.25oW). Due to its geographical and geological location, this community is continuously exposed to earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and floods. We developed integrated studies and analysis of seismic microzonation, landslide and flood susceptibility as well as volcanic impact using standard methodologies. Vulnerability was quantified from data collected from local family interviews considering five social variables: characteristics of housing construction; availability of basic public services; family economic conditions; existing community plans for disaster preparedness; and risk perception. Local families surveyed were randomly selected considering a sample statistically significant. Our results were spatially represented using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Our integrated risk analysis demonstrated that the community of Motozintla is highly exposed to floods, landslides and earthquakes and, to a lesser extent, to the impact of a volcanic eruption. The locality has a high level of structural and socio-economical vulnerability to floods and landslides. More than half of the population does not know any existing Civil Protection Plan and perceive that they are in high risk to landslides and floods. Although the community is located in a high seismic risk zone, most of the local people believe that they cannot be impacted by an earthquake. Another major observation is that the community organisation for disaster prevention and response is practically non-existent. These natural and social conditions indicate that the community of Motozintla has a very high level of risk to natural hazards. This research will support local decision-makers in developing an integrated comprehensive natural hazards mitigation and prevention programme.
Building More Resilient Megacities in the Developing World: Exploring the Case Studies of Mexico City, Beijing, Lagos and New Delhi
Fabiola S. SOSA-RODRÍGUEZ1, Xie XINLU2, Shabana KHAN3 and Olayinka AKANLE4
- Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), Mexico
- Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
- Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
- Department of Sociology, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
To date, the world’s population is estimated as 7.21 billion and 60 per cent of the total world population lives in cities. Unfortunately, it is increasing by more than 100 million annually; a situation that will intensify current urban problems. The rapidly increasing growth of cities from developing countries has reshaped the urban world, promoting the creation of megacities. The urban concentration is not a new phenomenon in the history of humanity; however, the accelerated growth of large cities in non-industrialised countries has become a major challenge that requires a careful study since the large cities of poorer countries are growing much faster than similar cities in the developed world. Thus, they are exposed to several risks, but have poor understanding of the consequences of these phenomena. Hence, governments of these developing nations (with emerging megacities) lack the political will and policy capabilities to make proactive and effective decisions under uncertain conditions. While in the developing world, urban growth has been concentrated in one of few large cities, in the developed world this phenomenon was characterised by the growth of a large number of medium-sized cities.
Megacities in the developing world experience resource shortages, which will be exacerbated by ever-increasing services demands, in addition to severe air, water and other environmental problems, insufficient food, poor quality housing, insufficient energy supply, and an increasing waste and waste-water generation. At present, these problems have not been well understood and poorly addressed, thereby increasing the vulnerability and risk exposure in megacities. Therefore, it is fundamental to analyse the water-related risks this type of urbanisation creates or intensifies, the management and societal responses to these risks (e.g., lack of water, low quality, water sources pollution and overexploitation), and the new challenges megacities are facing to supply safe and sufficient water to their inhabitants under a changing climate.
In this research four of the largest megacities in the developing world are studied: Mexico City (Mexico), Beijing (China), Lagos (Nigeria) and New Delhi (India). The problems faced by these megacities are similar; therefore, one of the main goals of this research is to identify commonalities and difference from these areas in terms of their urbanisation characteristics, the water-related risks they faced, and their current water management practices. By studying these aspects, it would be possible to identify lessons learned that can guide water management in other megacities around the world, in addition to improving our current understanding for an effective and sustainable water management and adaptation. Therefore, the main water-related risks that affect megacities in the developing world and current water management practice to face those risks are explored.
Economy and Culture of Recovery: Differences in Banda-Aceh and Tohoku
Kuniyoshi TAKEUCHI
International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) under the auspices of UNESCO Public Works Research Institute (PWRI),Tsukuba, Japan
Although the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, occurred on 11 March 2011, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami, occurred on 26 December 2004, brought equally catastrophic damages to Tohoku and Aceh, the recovery processes have been considerably different. In Aceh, the recovery was rather quick. In two years or so many houses were reconstructed and a considerable portion of the tsunami-swept area was recovered. In Tohoku, Japan, on the other hand, the recovery process seems slow in reconstruction of local communities. Most of the tsunami destroyed areas are still empty, although some business buildings and retail shops are rather quickly rebuilt.
This difference comes mainly from the societal choice of recovery and reconstruction processes. In Aceh, the main focus was build back and, as much as possible, build back better. In Tohoku, Japan, on the other hand, the focus is construction for the future securing not only prosperity but also risk reduction not to repeat the same tragedy again in the future. Design of new communities for sustainable geophysical and ecological conditions and viable socio-economic development is a question. For such design and decision-making, much time is necessary especially to reach community consensus.
This study looks into some basic issues of economy and culture in selection of reconstruction processes, quick recovery or long term risk reduction.
Turning Black into Green: Innovative Approaches in Disaster Risk Governance and Green Growth
Qian Ye
International Project Office, Integrated Risk Governance Project
Officially launched in 2010, the Integrated Risk Governance Project (IRGP) is one of core scientific research projects of IHDP with a mission of generating knowledge to deal with very large-scale disasters that exceed current human coping capacities. In this presentation, after reviewing activities of IRGP in the past five years, a new implementation plan for the next ten years (2015-2024) will be presented covering key scientific questions, research foci, building up international partnerships, as well as training young researchers and communicating risk knowledge with all kinds of stakeholders, and exploring opportunities for effective risk governance.