Refugee Density and Dependence: Practical Implications of Camp Size

Different refugee camps may have widely differing morbidity and mortality rates. Some of these differences are ascribed to environmental factors. This paper reviews the key issues relating to one environmental factor: the size of the refugee camp, and provides a tentative theoretical framework for examining the effect of camp size on refugees. This effect may not be considered because aid workers chronically underestimate the value of the refugees' contribution to their own survival. Large camps settle great numbers of refugees to the hinterland of the camp and limit their access to resources available there. This may increase refugee dependency and vulnerability. There is some slight evidence from the analysis of data provided by Mercer (1992) that child mortality rates (aged 0–4 years) are positively correlated with camp size (as inferred from child populations). If other factors allow, it might be wise for camp planners to try to limit camps to a size which allows refugees reasonable access to local resources.     

Environmental Causes and Impact of Refugee Movements: A Critique of the Current Debate

The relationships between insecurity, environmental change and population displacement are discussed in this paper. It argues that environmental change and concomitant population displacement are the consequences of war and insecurity rather than triggers for it — as postulated in so much of the recent literature. Additionally, the paper critically reviews the state of knowledge concerning the impact of refugees on the environment of host countries. The aim here is not to document the negative or positive impacts as such, but rather to de-mythologise some aspects of the state of knowledge which through repetition have become accepted as 'scientific truth'.     

Representing Refugees: The Role of Elites in Burundi Refugee Society

Among Burundi refugees in Tanzania, men who have a university education and know English or French are most likely to represent their concerns to officials, particularly those from UNHCR. Officials consequently learn about the perspectives of refugees from these men. Based upon findings from two years of field, research in Tanzania, the history of relations between ethnic Hutu elites and the peasantry in Burundi is outlined and it is explained why education has assumed such pronounced significance in Burundi refugee society. The use of ethnicity as a political tool for elite refugees is also described. It is concluded that elite refugees may not, as is often claimed, represent the refugee majority.     

Refugee perceptions of the quality of healthcare: findings from a participatory assessment in Ngara, Tanzania

This article describes the findings of a participatory assessment of Burundian and Rwandan refugees' perceptions of the quality of health services in camps in Ngara, Tanzania. Taking a beneficiary-centred approach, it examines a collaborative effort by several agencies to develop a generic field guide to analyse refugees' views of healthcare services. The objective was to gather information that would contribute to significant improvements in the care offered in the camps. Although the primary focus was on healthcare, several broader questions considered other general apprehensions that might influence the way refugees perceive their healthcare. Findings indicated that while refugees in Ngara were generally satisfied with the quality of healthcare provided and healthcare promotion activities, recognition of some key refugee concerns would assist healthcare providers in enhancing services. With increasing need for refugee community participation in evaluating humanitarian assistance, this assessment has relevance both in the context of Ngara and beyond.     

Disaster risk management: Pro-active financing to reduce vulnerability

This study explores the preparedness of residents livingin a rural community in Victoria, Australia, for wildfires, and the factors influencing their preparedness. Overall, participants were well aware of wildfire risks and appeared well prepared for the event of a fire. However, residents involved in agriculture and with a long-standing association with the area appeared better prepared than were those on small properties and newcomers. Their social networks, previous experiences with wildfires and grassfires, and involvement with the local fire brigade influenced preparedness of long-term residents. Characteristics of agricultural communities, including a culture of self-reliance, experience with fires as part of farming, and social cohesion, appeared to contribute to wildfire preparedness within this community. Included are recommendations encouraging preparedness for wildfires.     

Practical evaluation of a pilot immunization campaign against typhoid Fever in a cambodian refugee cAMP

An epidemic outbreak of typhoid fever in the largest refugee camp of the besieged capital of Phom-Penh, Cambodia; the concomitant lack of personal and public hygiene and the availability of a locally manufactured Tetanus-Typhoid-Paratyphoid vaccine, prompted us to test the practicability of a mass immunization campaign by carrying out a trial in the smaller, well delineated refugee camp of Pochentong. Attendances by adults as well as children throughout the three or four inoculation rounds showed a steady decline with only 30 (20%) of the people completing the course. The general initial acceptance by the people on the other hand was good, due to a comprehensive service (information, health education and individual care of patients). It is concluded from these results that multi-injection immunization campaigns against typhoid-paratyphoid are a waste of money in a war-torn situation with an unstable population.     

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.     

Why Aid Agencies Need Better Understanding of the Communities They Assist: The Experience of Food Aid in Rwandan Refugee Camps

Refugee views on food aid reveal the ignorance of the international community regarding Rwandan culture, economy and politics. This ignorance carries a number of costs. On one level, the main cost is that a professional service is not carried out to the best of one's ability. Ignorance of Rwanda's North–South divide, for instance, has caused agencies to be insensitive to in-camp discrimination based upon regional identity and its impact on programme activities. On a deeper level, agency ignorance about Rwandan culture, economy and the dynamics of camp politics, reduces refugee confidence in humanitarian agencies and workers. Better information would not only result in the greater likelihood of appropriate responses to specific needs, but would also encourage greater credibility in the political arena where the ultimate stake is to see lasting peace and a dignified return of refugees to their homes.     

空冷机组运行初期如何降低汽水系统的硅含量

为了保证对空冷发电机组的水汽系统在机组运行初期硅含量监督指标的控制,对影响水汽中SiO₂含量的因素进行分析,提出洗硅的有效方法和措施。应用结果表明:采用洗硅、投运前冲洗、合理的凝结水精处理以及调节pH值等控制手段,可有效改善并解决水汽系统硅含量长期超标的问题,保证机组合格的水汽品质。     

Strategic regeneration: A policy coupling approach to managing a coastal resort in South Wales

This review paper takes a case study approach to critically discuss how regeneration in the coastal resort of Porthcawl, South Wales has integrated flood defences as part of a strategic spatial planning and integrated policy coupling approach to the redesign of the town's seaside, promenade and harbour quarter. This planned initiative is part of a concerted effort to upgrade the town's waterfront and enable regeneration of a small seaside resort. From a resort cycle perspective, Porthcawl's perceived vulnerability to changing economic fortunes has prompted a master planning approach which is intended to bring together a mixed-use development programme with particular attention to urban design, strategic environmental assessment and public consultation. In different ways, this process has sought to raise public awareness of the issues and risks associated with the town's coastal location and to integrate flood defence aspects within the strategic regeneration plan as part of a greater sensitivity to climatic risks and potential flooding. This paper examines the adaptive capacity of coastal communities and the complex of socio-economic and spatio-temporal perspectives that shape policy developments in the planning, development and proactive management of coastal environments. The paper identifies the need to accommodate a new civic awareness of potential environmental hazards in articulating the public interest and balancing the trade-offs involved.     

A 'Principled' Approach to Complex Emergencies: Testing a New Aid Delivery Model in the Nuba Mountains

This paper provides an analysis of the Nuba Mountains Programme Advancing Conflict Trans-formation (NMPACT) as an example of an operational response in a complex emergency that innovatively addressed an incipient food security crisis. NMPACT is notable for having brought together an array of actors around a common principled agenda and for being the only operational programme in the Sudan to which both warring parties subscribed during the conflict. The key features of the programme are presented and the main innovative elements are reviewed, including the role of the principles of engagement and the 'political humanitarianism' of NMPACT. The paper looks at how NMPACT broke from traditional externally driven responses to food insecurity, and, drawing on lessons from Operation Lifeline Sudan, adopted an approach that focuses on capacity building, sustainable agriculture and market revitalisation, alongside conflict transformation and peace-building. The limitations of the model are also assessed, and preliminary lessons regarding its replication in other complex emergency contexts are presented.     

A minority group's response to a severe climatic event: a case study of rural Indo-Fijians after Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016

This paper investigates the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Winston (2016) on rural Indo-Fijians and their response to the devastation. Studies have previously examined how rural communities in Pacific Island countries respond to severe climatic events, arguing that traditional knowledge of the climate, together with indigenous techniques, contribute substantially to recovery from a disaster. Strong communal bonds have also been identified as an influencing factor. Disaster risk reduction frameworks often assume the availability of such knowledge and capital. Yet, little research has been done on how minority groups with limited access to such knowledge and capital cope with disaster-related damage. The current study shows that rural Indo-Fijians responded to the consequences of Tropical Cyclone Winston differently to indigenous Fijians, owing to relatively limited access to traditional awareness of the climate, communal labour sharing, and intra- and/or inter-community networks. The findings point to the necessity to implement a more inclusive disaster risk reduction framework.     

韩国农村好安居

<正>初到韩国,有一种叫人找不到北的感觉。这个北不是东南西北的北,也不是逛街晕了头,而是分不出城乡差别。韩国是我国的近邻,但中韩建交比较晚,1992年8月9日才正式建立外交关系。中韩建交后,文化交流、贸易往来等走上正常轨道,由于贸易额增加,中国商船往返中韩之间的次数也逐年增加,几年间,在笔者的海员生涯中几乎跑遍了韩     

330kV输电线路不落导线更换ZM塔施工技术

为了解决输电线路改造施工时影响被跨越物正常运行的难题,在组立铁塔过程中,采用了内悬浮提升抱杆,逐步抬高中相导线,保持导线不落地施工方法,对330 kV大-固线路跨越福-银高速公路段进行改造。应用结果表明:利用2根铝合金薄壁抱杆不落线对ZM铁塔加高的施工方法,操作简单,安全可靠,大大地节约了施工费用,可在类似改造工程中推广使用。     

中卫─文昌110kV送电线路11号铁塔倒塌原因分析

针对中卫-文昌110 kV送电线路11号转角塔在未超条件使用的情况下,架线后发生倒塔事故,通过现场调查并对铁塔破坏处的结构进行受力分析与核算,结合现场塔材的破坏情况提出具体处理方案和预防措施。分析结果表明:基础根开的施工误差偏大产生了腿部主材较大的附加内应力,而该附加内应力正是导致铁塔过载破坏的根本原因。     

Crop adaptation processes to extreme floods in Bangladesh: a case study

This paper investigates farmers’ crop adaptation processes in response to three recent devastating floods in Islampur, a case-study area in rural Bangladesh. The paper reports a multi-method research project which comprised a questionnaire survey, focus-group discussions and interviews with agricultural block supervisors. The author analyses three recent severe floods in Bangladesh, occurring in 1988, 1995 and 1998, and reviews the adaptation techniques and strategies embraced by the same group of farmers in order to survive the more devastating inundations that occur from time to time. The study concluded that vulnerable farmers are highly resilient and, with appropriate support, their adjustments can be sustainable. This enquiry showed that in the face of climate change both the inclusion of autonomous adaptations into planning and policy-making and the enhancement and support of community-based adaptation can be effective in ensuring the survival of riverine farming systems. This case study can be considered as a key reference case in regard to vulnerable locations in the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna mega-delta basin, particularly in respect to Bangladesh.