CONFERENCE REPORTS

Symposium on the Social and Economic Aspects of Mass Voluntary Return Movements of Refugees, Addis Ababa, 15–17 September, 1992.
First Workshop on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief, NATO, Brussels, 14–15 December 1992.
Flood Hazards in Bangladesh: Hazards Forum Seminar, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 23 March 1993.     

Public health aspects of volcanic hazards; Evaluation and prevention of excessive morbidity and mortality due to natural disasters

This is a summary of the proceedings of sessions on Volcanic Hazards at the First International Symposium on Public Health in Asia and the Pacific Basin, held 3–11th March 1983, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Symposium was sponsored by the Association of Schools of Public Health, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the South Pacific Commission, and the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii. The full proceedings are being prepared for publication. The Symposium was supported in part by: The Pan American Health Organization and The Amoco Foundation.     

4th Annual Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Symposium Baltimore, 2–5 May 1991

The Symposium is sponsored by the International Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Society and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services. For further information, contact MIEMSS, Office of International Development, 11 South Paca Street, Suite 303, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. Telephone: (301) 328–2399. Fax.: (301) 328–8514.     

Institutional, policy and farmer responses to drought: El Niño events and rice in the Philippines

Droughts are common recurring natural hazards in Asia, and El Niño events are particularly severe in the Philippines. This paper explores responses by farm households, irrigation system managers, and macro policymakers in the Philippines to El Niño. In response to the large 1997–98 El Niño, farmers in one major irrigation system significantly diversified their economic activities, hut the drought was so acute that many of these activities were not successful. Communication between meteorologists and irrigation system managers is strong, and irrigation system managers are aware of El Niño events in advance. Communication between irrigation system managers and farmer irrigation associations is also strong, and together they have developed response options that attempt to augment supplies of and more efficiently allocate scarce water. Water pricing is not used, however, and lack of cooperation among farmers results in sub-optimal outcomes. Macro-level policy responses in terms of rice imports and buffer stock management to protect poor consumers have improved substantially over time.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
World Disasters Report, 1994, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Disaster Evacuation and the Tourist Industry, by Thomas E. Drabek.
Agents of Apocalypse: Epidemic Diseases in the Colonial Philippines, by Ken de Bevoise.
Patterns of China's Lost Harmony: A Survey of the Country's Environmental Degradation and Protection by Richard Louis Edmonds.
Women and Conflict, edited by Helen O'Connell.
Famine and Food Security in Ethiopia: Lessons for Africa by Patrick Webb and Joachim von Braun.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Mass Casualties: A Lessons Learned Approach (Proceedings of the First International Assembly on Emergency Medical Services, 1982), edited by R.A. Cowley.
Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth edited by Leon T. Silver and Peter H. Schultz
Tin Aicha – Nomad Village
The Ash Wednesday Bushfires in Victoria, 16th February 1983 by J. Oliver, N.R. Britton and M.K. James, Disaster Investigation Report No. 7     

The United nations and disaster relief in the sahel, 1973-75

This research is part of an extensive study entitled 'International Disaster Response: The Sahelian Experience', which was made possible by a grant number 1711–520147 of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State. The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of the researcher and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations studied or the sponsoring institutions.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Chernobyl: Law and Communication. Transboundary Nuclear Air Pollution – The Legal Materials , edited by Philippe Sands.
At the Desert's Edge: Oral Histories from the Sahel , edited by Nigel Cross and Rhiannon Barker.
Famine and Survival Strategies: A Case Study from Northeast Ethiopia , by Dessalegn Rahmato.
Multilingual Dictionary of Disaster Medicine and International Relief by S. W. A. Gunn.     

Book Reviews

Yasemin Aysan, Andrew Clayton, Alistair Cory, Ian Davis and David Sanderson. Developing Building for Safety Programmes: Guidelines for Organizing Safe Building Improvement Programmes in Disaster-prone Areas
Y. Danieli, N.S. Rodley and L. Weisaeth. . International Responses to Traumatic Stress. Humanitarian, Human Rights, Justice, Peace and Development Contributions, Collaborative Actions and Future Initiatives
Sharon Hutchinson. Nuer Dilemmas: Coping with Money, War and the State
Michael Edwards and David Hulme. Non-Governmental Organisations Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet
Thomas E. Drabek. Disaster Evacuation Behavior: Tourists and Other Transients.
Jeremy Armon and Andy Carl. Accord–An International Review of Peace Initiatives: The Liberian Peace Process, 1990–1996
Peter J. May. Environmental Management and Governance: Intergovernmental Approaches to Hazards and Sustainability     

Youth participation in disaster risk reduction through science clubs in the Philippines

With the UN‐led celebration of the International Year of Youth from August 2010 to August 2011 there has been a renewed interest in young people and the vital role they can play in important issues, such as disaster risk reduction (DRR). This study aims to examine the potential of science clubs as a vehicle for youth participation in DRR in the Philippines. A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 658 science club members from different provinces of the Philippines participated in the survey. The result of the survey is used to explain how the major barriers to youth participation in DRR can be overcome. Through science clubs, the youth can become a link between their school, home and community and can contribute to spreading knowledge about disaster prevention, preparedness and response learned inside and outside the classroom.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed:
Annelies Heijmans and Lorna P. Victoria, Citizenry–based and Development–oriented Disaster Response: Experiences and Practices in Disaster Management of the Citizens' Disaster Response Network in the Philippines     

Evaluation of Two Kurdish Refugee Camps in Iran, May 1991: The Value of Cluster Sampling in Producing Priorities and Policy

Following the end of the Gulf war in March 1991, Kurdish refugees from Iraq crossed the border into Western Iran. To plan public health interventions and to assist in priority setting for scarce resources, a rapid epidemiological assessment of two camps, Hafez and Kaliche, was conducted in May 1991. A 30 cluster sampling method was used to determine the demographics of the camp population, the morbidity and mortality from certain diseases, and the nutritional status of the children <5 years of age. The estimated population of the camps at the time of the survey was 28,500 and 22,500 for Hafez and Kaliche respectively; children < 5 years of age accounted for approximately 25 per cent of both camp populations. The mortality rate was highest in Hafez and estimated to be 2.5/10,000 per day (95%CI:0.3–5) for adults (> 14 years of age) and 4.9/10,000 per day (95%CI:2.4–7.4) for children. Diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases accounted for major morbidity in both camps with diarrhoea the commonest stated cause of death. Little malnutrition was found but it was greater in Hafez where 6 per cent (19/327) of the children between 1 and 5 years of age had a mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) <12 cm and eleven (5.2 per cent) of the 211 children measured for height and weight were below 80 per cent of the median (95%CI:2.6%;7.8%). The survey identified that morbidity and mortality were less severe than in the Kurdish camps on the Turkish border and provided information for camp authorities to plan appropriate relief interventions.     

The Tasman Spirit oil spill: implications for regulatory change in Pakistan

An oil spill in July 2003 from the tanker Tasman Spirit attracted considerable public and media attention in Pakistan. This paper focuses on the experience of a developing country such as Pakistan in dealing with a major oil spill and its impact on bringing about change in the national regulatory framework. A major outcome has been the ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, which came into force in March 2006 in Pakistan. The convention provides a compensation mechanism for victims incurring oil pollution damages from maritime casualties involving oil laden ships. Several additional changes are still required to improve the country's ability to cope with marine oil spills. These include the development of a comprehensive domestic regulatory framework, implementation of an effective contingency plan, and capacity building of all relevant agencies.     

Opportunities for British Involvement in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction

The UK Science, Technology and Engineering Committee for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) was jointly established by The Fellowship of Engineering and The Royal Society, in 1990. Its purpose is to promote the aims of the IDNDR with particular reference to disaster risk reduction within developing countries.
In order to provide a forum for people with a wide range of experience in this field to meet and exchange views, the Committee convened a one-day Workshop, held at The Royal Society in London on 27 March 1992. The following is a shortened version of a position paper (originally drafted by Ian Davis and subsequently approved by the Committee), setting out seven 'priorities' for the IDNDR, which formed the basis of discussion at the Workshop.     

III A Disaster for Whom?: Local Interests and International Donors During Famine Among the Dinka of Sudan

The 1985–88 famine amongst the Dinka is described and shown to have been rooted in the long term exploitation of the south by northern Sudanese and international interests. This process of exploitation served, and continues to serve, important functions for particular groups. Some of the ways in which the 1985–88 famine was functional – for the central government, the army and merchants – are outlined and the implications for relief operations considered. It is argued that international donors had considerable "room for manoeuvre" which they could have used to adopt more effective policies. They only did so after the worst of the mortality was over.     

Insiders and outsiders: local government and NGO engagement in disaster response in Guimaras,Philippines

This paper examines local government and non‐governmental organisation (NGO) engagement in disaster response in the wake of the M/T Solar 1 oil spill in Guimaras, Western Visayas, Philippines, on 11 August 2006. It assesses the response activities of these two entities as well as the institutional factors that affected their interaction on the ground. Local government and NGO engagement was shaped by multi‐layered, overlapping, and oftentimes contending government‐designed response frameworks. Within these frameworks, government actors played the role of primary implementer and provider of relief, allowing them to determine who could be involved and the extent of their involvement. The absence of formal roles for NGOs in these frameworks not only undermines their ability to work in a setting where such institutional set‐ups are operational but also it reaffirms their ‘outsider’ status. This study of the Guimaras oil spill illustrates the complexity and the institutional difficulties inherent in disaster response and coordination in the Philippines.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Rwanda: Which Way Now? , by David Waller
Humanitarian Aid to Somalia , by the Operations Review Unit, Netherlands Development Corporation, The Hague
The State of the World's Refugees 1995. In Search of Solutions , by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Mercy Under Fire: War and the Global Humanitarian Community , by Larry Minear and Thomas G. Weiss
The Politics of Humanitarian Intervention , edited by John Harriss
'The Conscience of the World', The Influence of Non-Governmental Organisations in the UN System , edited by P. Willetts
Nutrition Matters: People, Food and Famine , by Helen Young and Susanne Jaspars
Nutrition Guidelines , by Médecins Sans Frontieres
Who Will Feed China: Wake-up Call for a Small Planet , by Lester Brown
Urban Disaster Mitigation: The Role of Engineering and Technology , edited by F.Y. Cheng and M.-S. Sheu
Learning from Failure – The System Approach , by Joyce Fortune and Geoff Peters, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester
Landslides Hazard Mitigation with Particular Reference to Developing Countries: Proceedings of a Conference Held at the Royal Society, November 1993 , The Royal Academy of Engineering
Crisis and Opportunity. Environment and Development in Africa , by François Falloux and Lee M. Talbot
Megacities: Reducing Vulnerability to Natural Disasters , by the Institution of Civil Engineers     

Entitlements and the Wollo Famine of 1982–1985

The traglic recent events in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa have again foccussed attention on the different anaytical approaches to the problems iof famine. Perhaps the most important analytical contribution to this field has been Sen's "entitlements approach." One of the case studies Sen used to articulate this approach was of the 1972–1973 famine in Wollo Province, Ethiopia. This article provides a provisional assessment of the famine process in the Wollo during 1982–1985 to set against the analysis by Sen of the earlier famine. Some striking contrasts are revealed.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Subject to Famine: Food Crises and Economic Change in Western India, 1860–1920
Why They Did Not Starve: Biocnltural Adaptation in a South Indian Village
Ethiopia: The Challenge of Hunger
The Economics of Bushfires: The South Australian Experience
Victims of the Environment: Loss from Natural Hazards in the United States 1970–1980
Medical Laboratory Manual for Tropical Countries     

Index to Volume 23, 1999

In the 'chronically vulnerable areas ' (CVAs) of East Africa a smooth linear transition away from emergency programming towards rehabilitation and long-term development is difficult, if not impossible. This makes uncritical application of the 'relief-to-development ' continuum to programming unhelpful at best, and perhaps counter-productive. This paper is the result of CARE's efforts to review its own programmes – and those of some of its sister agencies – in chronically vulnerable areas in the East Africa region, to derive important lessons learned and to identify areas where improvements are needed. The paper focuses on strategic considerations and decision-making in relation to entry, programme design and strategies for transition and exit.