Charity hazard—A real hazard to natural disaster insurance?

After the flooding in 2002 European governments provided billions of Euros of financial assistance to their citizens. Although there is no doubt that solidarity and some sort of assistance are reasonable, the question arises why these damages were not sufficiently insured. One explanation why individuals reject to obtain insurance cover against natural hazards is that they anticipate governmental and private aid. This problem became to be known as “charity hazard”. The present paper gives an economic analysis of the institutional arrangements on the market for natural disaster insurances focusing on imperfections caused by governmental financial relief. It provides a theoretical explanation why charity hazard is a problem on the market for natural disaster insurances, in the way that it acts as an obstacle for the proper diffusion and therefore the establishment of natural hazard insurances. This paper provides a review of the scientific discussion on charity hazard, provides a theoretical analysis and points out the existing empirical problems regarding this issue.     

Jellyfish jelly press and jelly perception

Since the early 2000’s, invasions and blooms of jellyfish have been increasingly reported in scientific literature as well as in the general media. Despite this increased coverage, the global jellification issue remains unsolved due to the scarcity of extended time series. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the main messages about jellyfish (increase, causes, threats, solutions, etc.) in the Flemish (Belgian Dutch-language) media correspond with the knowledge and perception of recreational users, tourism-related professionals and local government officials on the Belgian coast. The number of articles in the Flemish media (140) increased from <5 in 2000 to 27 in 2010, with half of them reporting on jellyfish in the Belgian Part of the North Sea. Almost 75 % of these articles reported on the causes (overfishing being mentioned as the main cause) and economic consequences of jellyfish blooms. Articles about the dramatic consequences of stinging, poisonous and non-indigenous species were also common. A questionnaire-based survey carried out on the Belgian coast in summer 2012 indicated that jelly perception is only partly driven by the general media, while personal experience seemed at least equally important as driver. Information on causes, threats, consequences and solutions for problems caused by jellyfish corresponded to a large extent with the answers given by recreational users and tourism-related professionals. Respondents generally agreed that all underlying causes of a potential jellification problem should be addressed and tackled at an international level. With keywords like “pain”, “smell” and “slime” used to describe jellyfish, they have little sympathy from most actors, and most recreational users of beaches and coastal waters are extremely careful with any type of jellyfish, especially when children are involved. Species-specific knowledge (names, ecology, stinging vs. harmless species) presented in the media is not assimilated by most recreational users or local officials, except for divers, who have a very different perception of jellyfish than most recreational users. This lack of knowledge appeared to be a key issue in perception among recreational users. As public perception is a key driver in policy decisions, integrated coastal zone management and measures should provide good and easily understandable information, for example by distributing leaflets and putting up warning signs on the beach. This will result in a better understanding and acceptance of jellyfish as well as generating high-quality data from citizen science programs. Better and more information on jellyfish will thus benefit all the actors and sectors potentially affected by jellification.     

An efficient and simple method for measuring (226)Ra using the scintillation cell in a delayed coincidence counting system (RaDeCC)

A delayed coincidence counter (RaDeCC), developed to determine ultra-low levels of (223)Ra (half life = 11.1 days) and (224)Ra (half life = 3.6 days) in seawater, was adapted to measure (226)Ra (half life = 1622 years). After pre-concentration of Ra from seawater onto MnO(2)-coated fiber we show in this study that the (226)Ra activity can be determined using the RaDeCC's ability to record alpha decay of its daughters as total counts. For sufficient ingrowth of (222)Rn, the Mn-fiber is hermetically sealed in a column for a few days. Then, the ingrown (222)Rn is circulated through the RaDeCC air-loop system followed by shutting down of the pump and closure of the scintillation cell for equilibration. Counting may be completed within a few hours for seawater samples. Sample measurements with this method agreed well with data obtained using gamma-ray spectrometry. This proves that a set of Ra isotopes ((223)Ra, (224)Ra, and (226)Ra), commonly used for geophysical studies such as mixing rates of different water masses and submarine groundwater discharge, can be efficiently and rapidly measured using the RaDeCC.     

The Belgian Coastal Atlas: moving from the classic static atlas to an interactive data-driven atlas

The Belgian Coastal Atlas was first published in hardback in 2004, with no intention to move towards a web version. The many requests for maps encouraged the developers to launch a web-based atlas in 2005. The interactive-nature of the maps was kept simple and the look of the maps was considered more important than the possibilities that GIS applications offered. Three years on, the Coordination Centre on ICZM would like to move from the more or less static web atlas to an interactive data-driven atlas, where sustainability indicators for the coast play a prominent role. The final product will be a policy supporting tool that will back the ICZM process for a wide range of coastal actors, planners and managers.     

Conditions for citizen co-production in a resilient,efficient and legitimate flood risk governance arrangement. A tentative framework

Across Europe, there is an increasing trend towards citizen involvement in the implementation of flood risk governance. Policy-makers increasingly advocate co-produced flood risk governance (FRG), whereby citizens are actively engaged in the implementation of flood risk policy, for example, by taking property-level protection measures. In doing so, they aim to make FRG more resilient, efficient and legitimate [Mees, H., Crabbé, A., Alexander, M., Kaufmann, M., Bruzzone, L., Levy, L., & Lewandowski, J. (2016a). Coproducing flood risk management through citizen involvement: Insights from cross-country comparison in Europe. Ecology and Society, 21(3), 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08500-210307]. Co-production, however, also raises important questions concerning these aims. In this paper, the opportunities and limitations of and barriers to citizen co-production in FRG in terms of resilience, efficiency and legitimacy are investigated by an extensive review of literature on citizen co-production in other public services and on individual and community-based climate change adaptation and FRG. Based on this, a tentative framework is developed on the required conditions to enable co-produced FRG, which benefits both the resilience, efficiency and legitimacy of FRG.     

Reducing the complexity of the flood vulnerability index

After the flooding in 2002 European governments provided billions of Euros of financial assistance to their citizens. Although there is no doubt that solidarity and some sort of assistance are reasonable, the question arises why these damages were not sufficiently insured. One explanation why individuals reject to obtain insurance cover against natural hazards is that they anticipate governmental and private aid. This problem became to be known as “charity hazard”. The present paper gives an economic analysis of the institutional arrangements on the market for natural disaster insurances focusing on imperfections caused by governmental financial relief. It provides a theoretical explanation why charity hazard is a problem on the market for natural disaster insurances, in the way that it acts as an obstacle for the proper diffusion and therefore the establishment of natural hazard insurances. This paper provides a review of the scientific discussion on charity hazard, provides a theoretical analysis and points out the existing empirical problems regarding this issue.     

Social rank, fecundity and lifetime reproductive success in wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Wild European rabbits of both sexes have separate linear rank orders, which are established and maintained by intensive fights. This paper presents data from a 14-year study (1987-2000) on the population physiology and behavioural ecology of wild rabbits living in a 22,000 m² enclosure and focuses on the relationship between social rank and reproduction in females. Group composition, social ranks, fecundity and reproductive success were known for all females (n=197) from the outset of their first reproductive season at an age of about 300 days until their death. The annual reproductive success of females was influenced to a large extent by their social rank. This depended on two effects of about equal strength: a higher fecundity of high-ranking females and a lower mortality of their offspring between birth and adulthood. The lifetime reproductive success of the females varied greatly. Only about 50% of all females had any reproductive success (range: on to nine adult offspring). The social rank achieved by the females during their first reproductive season substantially influenced their lifetime reproductive success: The mean reproductive lifespan and lifetime fitness of high-ranking females (ranks 1 and 2) was about 60% greater than that of lower-ranking females, although many of the latter also gained dominant positions in subsequent years.     

Abschätzung des umweltchemischen und ökotoxikologischen Verhaltens von Stoffen durch computergestützte Analyse von Struktur und Verhalten sowie von Struktur und Wirkung

Risk assessment of chemicals requires comprehensive data material, which often is not available. To provide substitutes for the lacking experimental ecotoxicological and physico-chemical data, a software-system (SAR-System) has been developed comprising more than 90 estimation models for relevant endpoints. The approach is based on quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). Two major aspects characterize the SAR-System:

1. The implemented models were tested for their validity and application range.
2. The QSARs are accessible by a menu-driven programme package.

The following endpoints are included: Thysico-Chemical Data: 1-Octanol/water-partition-coefficient log P_ow, vapour pressure, water solubility, pK_a-value, boiling point Biological Data: Toxicity towards fish, daphnia, tetrahymenae, algae, bacteria and mammals, mutagenicity. Distribution: soil sorption, bioconcentration, Henry-Constant, Mackay (Level I). Degradation: photodegradation, biodegradability.