Showing papers in "Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies in 2009"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss one of the pioneer projects regarding risk perception issues, which was originally titled Risikogesellshaft, Auf dem weg in eine andere Moderne or in English The society of risk, towards a new modernity.
Abstract: The present review discusses one of the pioneer projects authored by Ulrich Beck, regarding risk perception issues, which was originally titled Risikogesellshaft, Auf dem weg in eine andere Moderne or in English The society of risk, towards a new modernity. This review is part of a broader project related to a Social Psychology doctoral thesis on fears of travelling in urban circumstances.
3,656 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the vulnerability of cotton farmers to climate change in a cotton growing district in Zimbabwe has been analyzed using a time series analysis of temperature and rainfall for a period of 30 years, resulting in graphs of any climate anomalies.
Abstract: This study analyzes the vulnerability of cotton farmers to climate change in a cotton growing district in Zimbabwe. The vulnerability indicators studied include cotton output and farmers’ livelihoods from cotton farming. In order to examine climate variability and change, a time series analysis of two variables: temperature and rainfall was done for a period of 30 years, resulting in graphs of any climate anomalies. Correlation tests between the independent variable (the climate) and the dependent variable (cotton output) were assessed in order to examine the nature and the magnitude of the relationship between the two. The opinions of 100 randomly sampled farmers were analysed in an attempt to verify the climate scenarios and cotton production trends, as well as to understand their adaptation to climate change. Negative rainfall deviations from the long-term mean and positive temperature deviations dominated the climate trend scenarios’ results. Cotton production levels declined as precipitation decreased and temperatures increased across the district. The survey revealed that a significant number of farmers believed that temperatures were increasing and precipitation was declining. Farmers’ perceptions on whether the climate was changing were greatly influenced by incidences of drought and changes in the seasonal timing of rainfall, and in few cases unusual floods. The majority believed the frequency of droughts was increasing. While farmers were prepared to adapt to changes in climate, their options were very limited. The results show that farmers are highly vulnerable to climate change and that there is a need to invest in climate adaptation strategies, including policies on irrigation and early warning systems to help farmers to cope better and to reduce their vulnerability to climate change.
73 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the resilience of vulnerable rural communities to flood risks associated within increasingly frequent and severe events linked to climate change and argue for a coordinated teamwork approach in flood risk mitigation in rural areas.
Abstract: The increasing occurrence of disastrous flooding events and the mounting losses in both life and property values in Zimbabwe have drawn attention to the flooding situation in the country, especially the rural areas. This article explores the resilience of vulnerable rural communities to flood risks associated within increasingly frequent and severe events linked to climate change. Starting by reviewing the current literature on rural livelihoods, resilience and vulnerability research, the paper argues for a coordinated teamwork approach in flood risk mitigation in rural areas. The paper concludes with several recommendations for enhanced resilience to flood hazards.
60 citations
TL;DR: The most vulnerable families in the face of the trash slide were eventually those who had to su#er again from life-disrupting relocation while being the less able to recover quickly from the disaster.
Abstract: Victims of disasters are disproportionately drawn from the marginalized segments of society. Disaster victims are marginalized geographically because they live in hazardous places, socially because they are members of minority groups, economically because they are poor, and marginalized politically because their voice is disregarded by those with political power. #e victims of the July 2000 Payatas trash slide in the Philippines show all these characteristics. Most of the victims of the disaster were urban migrants who came all the way from their poor provinces to settle on the lower slopes of the largest dumpsite of the country. #ey scavenged recyclable materials to sell as a way to make a living, but their limited incomes did not allow them to a$ord safer locations for their homes, farther removed from the slopes of the dumpsite. On the morning of 10 July 2000, 300 of them lost their lives when a large section of the dumpsite collapsed in a massive debris %ow which buried their houses. In the aftermath of the disaster, the survivors who used to live on the dumpsite, and who were the poorest victims, were also those who were relocated by the Philippine government. In the present case, the most vulnerable families in the face of the trash slide were eventually those who had to su#er again from life-disrupting relocation while being the less able to recover quickly from the disaster. Daily incomes of relocated families are today much lower than those who remained in the vicinity of the dumpsite. For the victims of the July 2000 Payatas tragedy, poverty thus acted as a vicious, worsening circle which ranged from vulnerability to poor recovery, or from marginality to further marginalization.
54 citations
TL;DR: The theme issue of Jamba as mentioned in this paper takes up the question of neglected disasters, which is an important topic because the world is changing, disasters are changing, and theory is changing; all these changes call for a re-assessment of why some human suffering and social disruption receive attention from authorities, donors, researchers and the media, while some does not.
Abstract: This theme issue of Jamba takes up the question of neglected disasters. It is an important topic because the world is changing, disasters are changing, and theory is changing. All these changes call for a re-assessment of why some human suffering and social disruption receive attention from authorities, donors, researchers and the media, while some does not. Recent progress in both development studies and disaster studies provides tools for answering this question. Development and disaster studies date in their current forms to ways of thinking that were current in academic and policy circles in the late 1950s and 1960s. At that time the world was recovering from world war and former colonies of Europe were gaining independence. It was a world in which (with some exceptions) conflict was held in check in an uneasy cold war balance. It was also a world where a growing UN system held the promise of meeting humanitarian needs when they arose. That world is no more. ‘Development’ has changed.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on PAR as a strategy, applying various methods and specific participatory tools to understand social vulnerability, within the context of women as rural farm dwellers in the North-West Province, South Africa.
Abstract: Participatory action research (PAR) is a robust and versatile research and development strategy. It can be utilised to: understand complex community structures and interaction; determine various types of vulnerability; assist in community capacity building and skills transfer; ensure community participation, and allow for the strengthening of livelihoods. This article focuses on PAR as a strategy, applying various methods and specific participatory tools to understand social vulnerability, within the context of women as rural farm dwellers in the North-West Province, South Africa. It emphasises the need for continued participation and highlights the practical principles and benefits derived from PAR. The PAR process cycles are discussed and parallels are drawn with the practical setting. In conclusion, the article emphasises that the application of the PAR process can make a multi-dimensional contribution towards the development of a community by creating an understanding of social vulnerability, by building capacity and by ensuring participation, and also addresses income-generating activities.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a participatory development communication approach through development support communication strategies is proposed for the provision of disaster risk reduction public awareness activities by government and other role-players in South Africa.
Abstract: Southern Africa has frequently been struck by damaging climate hazards which increasingly continue to threaten sustainable development efforts. Ominously, climate models predict that the incidence of major ‘wet’ events, such as floods and cyclones will increase in frequency against the background of a changing climate. Unfortunately, local mechanisms for communicating and raising public awareness of the consequent risks and appropriate risk reduction options remain weak. At the core of policy responses to the threat posed by climate related hazards, the South African government has adopted a disaster risk reduction approach to disaster management. This article details how, among many other measures to limit the adverse impacts of natural hazards, South Africa’s National Disaster Management Framework calls for the implementation of effective public awareness activities to increase the knowledge among communities of the risks they face and what risk-minimising actions they can take. Emphasis is laid on the importance of information provision and knowledge building among at-risk communities. Citing established theories and strategies, the author proposes a participatory development communication approach through Development Support Communication strategies for the provision of disaster risk reduction public awareness activities by government and other disaster risk reduction role-players in South Africa. By way of a review of completed studies and literature, the article provides guidance on the planning and execution of successful public communication campaigns and also discusses the constraints of communication campaigns as an intervention for comprehensive disaster risk reduction.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors stress the importance of recognizing interdependencies between factors determining disaster risk in any attempt to integrate disaster risk reduction in international development cooperation, based on case studies of four past projects in Sri Lanka and Tajikistan, which are scrutinised using a theoretical framework based on systems approaches.
Abstract: This article stresses the significance of recognising interdependencies between factors determining disaster risk in any attempts to integrate disaster risk reduction in international development cooperation. It bases its arguments on the case studies of four past projects in Sri Lanka and Tajikistan, which are scrutinised using a theoretical framework based on systems approaches. It appears that the results of ignoring interdependencies may (1)cause sub-optimisation problems where the desired outcome is not reached as the factor focused on and/or the desired outcome are dependent on other factors, and (2) make it difficult or impossible to monitor and evaluate the actual effects of international development cooperation projects in disaster risk reduction.
20 citations
TL;DR: In the Limbe Subdivision of Cameroon, landslides and flooding are frequent threats as discussed by the authors, and the worst recorded event occurred in June 2001, when floods and landslides took the lives of some 30 persons, left over 2000 people homeless, and destroyed property and social amenities including roads and telephone lines worth hundred of thousands of US Dollars.
Abstract: In the Limbe Subdivision of Cameroon, landslides and flooding are frequent threats. The worst recorded event occurred in June 2001, when floods and landslides took the lives of some 30 persons, left over 2000 people homeless, and destroyed property and social amenities including roads and telephone lines worth hundred of thousands of US Dollars. The objective of this project was to assist local administrative officers, other decision makers and planners to understand which areas to concentrate their efforts on in order to develop mitigation actions to protect the lives of the population in these zones that are affected by flooding and associated landslides. To meet this objective the project made extensive use of geospatial tools and existing digital spatial datasets. Series of field data collection exercises constituted an integral part of the project. The project focused on the Limbe subdivision in the south-western part of Cameroon. Areas with high (greater than 60%) probability of sliding to occur, occupy 23% while areas with medium (greater than 40% and less than 60%) probability of sliding to occur occupy 44% and areas with low (less than 40%) probability of sliding occupy 33%. Settlements along the Atlantic coast all lie less than ~50m above sea level. These settlements (villages) are susceptible to flooding. Again settlements in the town of Llimbe along the Djenguele river, i.e., Animal Farms, Cassava Farms, Lumpsum areas, Church Street, New Town and Down Beach, are more susceptible to inundation during raining periods and therefore have experienced persistent flooding over the years.
16 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigates the interdisciplinary nature of disaster risk reduction as an emerging field of study and argues that the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of both public management and disaster risk management share commonalities.
Abstract: This article investigates the interdisciplinary nature of Disaster Risk Reduction as an emerging field of study. The development of this field of study is interpreted within the context of the evolution of Public Management as an academic discipline. The author argues that the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of both Public Management and Disaster Risk Reduction share commonalities. Thus, the foundational and functional aspects of Public Management did, and should continue to, inform and enrich the study of Disaster Risk Reduction.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the history of the flooding events of December 2004/January 2005 along the Garden Route, as well as the manner in which emergency/disaster management personnel responded to the crisis, and find that although some tourism products were severely affected, the 2004/2005 floods did not have a significant impact on the number of tourists frequenting the area.
Abstract: The December 2004-January 2005 floods in the Garden Route region of the Southern Cape in South Africa have had a significant impact on local development and economic activities, tourism products andlocal institutions. This article aims to capture the dynamism between a number of related fields within the context of transdisciplinary research. Qualitative research methods were used to target a representative sample of the affected population. This article considers the history of the flooding events of December 2004/January 2005 along the Garden Route, as well as the manner in which emergency/disaster management personnel responded to the crisis. The effect of the floods on the tourism sector along the Garden Route was researched in general and the effects of the floods on tourists, local residents, and particularly communities in disadvantaged areas were specifically determined. The research reflects on the disaster risk management strategies that were in place at the time of the floods to determine what local authorities could have done to cope with the potential conditions of crisis. The research found that although some tourism products were severely affected, the 2004/2005 floods did not have a significant impact on the number of tourists frequenting the area. In terms of disaster risk management, concerns remain regarding the lack of the following factors: capacity, adequate early warning systems, proper infrastructure maintenance, local institutions, and an in-depth understanding of the disaster risk profile of the area.
TL;DR: Sahrawi women are active agents in the social dynamics of the refugee camps, in which they have developeda number of coping strategies to overcome the hardships of a deteriorating humanitarian situation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Sahrawi women are active agents in the social dynamics of the refugee camps, in which they have developeda number of coping strategies to overcome the hardships of a deteriorating humanitarian situation. Since the outbreak of the con#ict and the forced settlement in Tindouf, Algeria, women have been responsible for the entire management of refugee camps, assuming leadership roles in many sectors of society.This paper highlights the Sahrawi women’s contribution to the process of local human development in a context of protracted refuge such as the one in the Western Sahara. In addition to the enlargement of the refugee population’s capacities in relation to material and physical assets, social and organizational abilities, and motivational strengths, one of the major achievements of Sahrawi women has been their own individual and collective process of empowerment within the camp life.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the link between urban planning practices and disaster risks and found that laxity in enforcing the laid down planning rules, regulations and procedures facilitates the accumulation and occurrence of disaster risks in urban areas.
Abstract: This study examined the link between urban planning practices and disaster risks. The study used the former Kunduchi Quarry Site within the City of Dar es Salaam to demonstrate how laxity in enforcing the laid down planning rules, regulations and procedures facilitates the accumulation and occurrence of disaster risks and disasters in urban areas. This undermines one of the central roles of urban planning, which is to protect the lives of people from disaster risks and disasters. In exploring this, the study specifically focused on understanding the rules, regulations and procedures of planning in Tanzania; the extent to which they are followed and, where they are not followed, their implications for disaster risks and disasters; the coping initiatives adopted by local communities to reduce risks and their level of success or failure; and finally the drawing of lessons and recommendations for disaster risk reduction in urban areas. Strongly emerging from this study is the finding that although planning rules and regulations do exist, they are not enforced. As a result urban communities suffer from disaster risks and disasters caused by unregulated activities. The study analyzed the coping initiatives that urban communities apply to reduce disaster risks in their areas. It noted that, while a range of “coping” responses could be observed, these are not lasting solutions to the disaster risks being faced. Sustainable solutions seem to be known by the local community but they are not adopted for fear of compromising or undermining their existing livelihood strategies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the conditions in Tajikistan which created the compound disaster, the humanitarian response and how this disaster became a neglected event are discussed, and the difficulty of identifying and responding to a compound disaster creates a particular challenge for humanitarian organisations if they are to be effective in reducing human su%ering due to disasters.
Abstract: During the winter of 2007-2008 the Central Asian country of Tajikistan experienced an unusually cold winter which led to shortages of electricity, water and heating as well as food losses and these impacts occurred at the same time as a combined with a drought, and dramatically increased food prices and increased food insecurity. These impacts were exacerbated by a lack of investment in the water, power and fuel supplies, health care and education systems since independence in 1991. This combination of events was termed a compound disaster. The note explores the conditions in Tajikistan which created the compound disaster, the humanitarian response and how this disaster became a neglected event. The concept of compound disaster has gained limited acceptance in Central Asia but may also be applicable elsewhere. The difficulty of identifying and responding to a compound disaster creates a particular challenge for humanitarian organisations if they are to be effective in reducing human su%ering due to disasters.
TL;DR: Smit et al. as mentioned in this paper conducted a case study based on a literature analysis and ethnographic data obtained during the Greenlandic winter of 2008, with emphasis on the adaptation strategies of male and female actors in vulnerable societies.
Abstract: Understanding human adaptation to climate changes is one of the most important research issues within the area of global environmental change, accounting for the fact that people worldwide are currently adapting to their changing environment (Adger and Kelly 2000: 253; Smit et al. 2008). The Greenlandic case study as presented in this paper is mainly based on a literature analysis and ethnographic data obtained during the Greenlandic winter of 2008, with emphasis on the latter. Participant observation and interviews were combined with a discursive analysis of climate change-related policies. The empirical findings as presented in this paper suggest that an exclusive and gender-neutral focus of policy makers on economic aspects of adaptation to climate changes may increase socio-economic inequality as well as male domestic violence over women. Social research can help to identify such chains of reactions resulting from climate changes and related policies, by focusing on individual adaptation strategies of male and female actors in vulnerable societies.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the displacement of the inhabitants of Jaguaribara (Northeast Brazil) who were resettled due to the construction of the Castanhao Dam.
Abstract: # is paper examines the displacement of the inhabitants of Jaguaribara (Northeast Brazil) who were resettled due to the construction of the “Castanhao”. # e Government planned a new city to shelter the inhabitants from “Old Jaguaribara” that was $ ooded due to the over$ owing of the dam. # e case of Jaguaribara provides another perspective for analysing the consequences of the resettlement of the community, elucidating - besides the impoverishment risks - the protective factors that came up during the process of resistance against the construction of the dam, in the light of the concept of resilience. In order to capture the various dimensions of this process, qualitative primary data were used as the main source, together with documentation made by NGOs and professionals involved during the process of resistance against the construction of the dam, as well as semi-structured interviews. # e enhancement of resilience in Jaguaribara represented the possibility to transform isolated individuals into a powerful integrated group that could combine forces, catalyse collective gains as well as articulate and defend common interests.
TL;DR: In this paper, a study involves 111 migrant households from central Chad that, as a result of war and drought, have lost everything and now have to live in squatter areas of N'Djamena and Mongo, facing uncertainty and threats while negotiating their livelihoods.
Abstract: Once a humanitarian disaster receives coverage in the global media, the international community usually mobilises to reduce the most severe consequences. However people in Chad are experiencing endemic crises that are detached from speci! c triggers, and they are not receiving any international assistance to help relieve the hardships they face. " is study involves 111 migrant households from central Chad that, as a result of war and drought, have lost everything and now have to live in squatter areas of N’Djamena and Mongo, facing uncertainty and threats while negotiating their livelihoods. Qualitative and quantitative methods have been combined in this study to reveal the intriguing story of their daily lives in the face of complex and endemic crises. Anthropometric and health data were generated to determine the nutritional status of mothers and their children under ! ve. Life histories, in-depth interviews and participatory observation allowed the researchers to capture the negotiation strategies they use to access food and shelter, their experiences of food insecurity and sanitary vulnerability, and the consequences these have on daily life. Results indicate that 62% of households were female headed, there were high rates of acute (40-50%) and chronic (35-40%) malnutrition and 46% of the mothers were underweight and anaemic. Infant mortality rates were also high at 30%-42% and 97% of the children had had incomplete or no vaccinations. No households had access to clean water, sanitation or public-health services. Endemic corruption and abuse by the authorities were identi! ed as major sources of day-to-day insecurity. " ese migrants were not expecting any improvement in their livelihoods in the foreseeable future and saw these miserable conditions as normal.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors concerne 111 menages de migrants of the region du centre du Tchad, who ont, a cause de la guerre et de la secheresse, tout perdu, and qui vivent desormais dans de N’Djamena et de Mongo.
Abstract: Lorsqu’une catastrophe humanitaire fait la une des medias, la communaute internationale se mobilise a reduire les consequences les plus serieuses. La population du Tchad connait cependant des crises endemiques qui ne sont liees a aucun element declencheur particulier# ; elle ne recoit pas l’assistance internationale necessaire pour faire face a ces problemes. La presente etude concerne 111 menages de migrants de la region du centre du Tchad, qui ont, a cause de la guerre et de la secheresse, tout perdu, et qui vivent desormais dans de N’Djamena et de Mongo#; ces familles sont confrontees a la precarite et a d’autres elements qui menacent leurs moyens de subsistance. Des methodes qualitatives et quantitatives ont ete combinees dans l’etude pour reveler l’histoire intrigante de leur vie quotidienne au milieu de crises complexes et endemiques. Des donnees anthropometriques et sanitaires ont ete utilisees pour determiner l’etat nutritionnel des meres et de leurs enfants de moins de cinq ans. Des narrations de vie, des entretiens en profondeur et des observations participatives ont permis aux chercheurs de determiner les strategies de negociation que ces familles adoptent pour acceder a leur nourriture et a leurs abris, leur experience de l’insecurite alimentaire et de la vulnerabilite sanitaire, ainsi que les consequences que ces elements ont sur leur vie quotidienne. Les resultats indiquent que 62% des menages sont diriges par des femmes, qu’il existe de forts taux de malnutrition aigue (40-50%) et chronique (35-40%) et que 46% des meres sont sous-alimentees et anemiees. Les taux de mortalite infantile se sont averes egalement eleves#: de 30% a 42%. 97% des enfants n’ont pas ete completement vaccines, voire pas vaccines du tout, dans certains cas. Aucun des menages n’a acces a l’eau potable et aux services sociaux de base. La corruption endemique et l’abus manifeste par les autorites tchadiennes ont ete identi$es comme sources d’insecurite quotidienne. Ces migrants considerent cette situation miserable comme normale.
TL;DR: In this paper, the contribution des femmes sahraouies au processus de developpement humain local dans un contexte de refuge prolonge tel celui que connait le Sahara Occidental.
Abstract: Les femmes sahraouies sont des agents actifs dans la dynamique sociale des camps de refugies, au sein desquels elles ont defini un certain nombre de strategies de resolution de problemes pour surmonter les obstacles lies a une situation humanitaire qui se deteriore. Depuis le debut du conflit et le deplacement force a Tindouf, en Algerie, les femmes sont en e%et integralement responsables de la gestion des camps de refugies, et ont assume un role de dirigeantes dans de nombreux secteurs de la societe. Cet article souligne la contribution des femmes sahraouies au processus de developpement humain local dans un contexte de refuge prolonge tel celui que connait le Sahara Occidental. En plus d’ameliorer la capacite d’acces des refugies aux ressources materielles, physiques, sociales et organisationnelles ainsi qu’aux forces motivationnelles, les femmes sahraouies ont ete en mesure de mettre en place leur propre processus de renforcement des capacitesII individuelle et collective dans la vie du camp.