Is the environment becoming more hazardous?—A global survey 1947 to 1980

This paper examines the assertion that natural disasters are increasingly destructive using evidence from disaster reports during the period 1947–1980. The criteria for judging the impact of a given natural disaster are chiefly loss of life and the extent of the geographical area affected. In spite of uneveness and bias in the reporting of sudden impact disasters the conclusions are that both the frequency of disasters and number of people killed are increasing. Further research into the social consequences of disasters and the need for disaster preparedness training programmes are recommended.     

记住5·12

去年的5月12日14时28分,汶川发生了8级特大地震,这是继1976年7月28日唐山大地震之后的又一次重大灾难。突如其来的地震,不仅在瞬间震倒了数以万计的房屋,更加令人痴心的是造成了6．9万余人遇难,近1．8万余人失踪,57万余人受伤,并引发了堰塞湖、泥石流、大面积山体塌方等地质灾害。人员伤亡之多、破坏力之强、影响范围之大,使整个中国乃至全世界为之震惊。由此所带来的心灵伤痛和巨大损失至今让我们印象深刻,将永远无法忘却。     

From Holy War to Opium War? A Case Study of the Opium Economy in North‐eastern Afghanistan

This paper examines the recent growth of the opium economy in north-eastern Afghanistan. A detailed analysis of one village in Badakshan Province reveals profound changes in the local economy and social institutions. The paper describes two major shifts in the local economy: first, the switch from wheat to poppy cultivation; and second, the shift from the livestock trade to the opium trade. It then examines the underlying causes and impacts of the opium economy on social relations in the village. Although a case study of a community living on the margins of the global economy, it is argued that these changes have important implications for international policymakers. The emergence of the opium economy in north-eastern Afghanistan is symptomatic of new and expanding forms of trans-border trade associated with the restructuring of the global political economy.     

“节约·环保·减灾·平安”科普征文活动启事

为了在全社会倡导节约、环保的工作,生活和消费模式,中国科普作家协会将于今年6-12月,在全国举办主题为“节约·环保·文明”的科普征文活动,此次活动得到国家发改委、中共中央宣传部和中国科学技术协会等单位的支持。     

Are non‐poor households always less vulnerable? The case of households exposed to protracted civil war in Southern Sudan

Civil wars in Africa are now the leading contributory cause of vulnerability of rural communities. Understanding vulnerability during civil war is critical for humanitarian response and post-conflict rehabilitation planning. The lack of understanding of vulnerability has led existing studies to make sweeping generalizations, either by equating the dynamics of vulnerability during civil wars with vulnerability in other risk events, or by projecting people in the 'war zones' as unable to cope and subsequently becoming vulnerable. This paper is an attempt to gain a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of vulnerability during protracted civil war. It shows that during civil war the non-poor are not necessarily less vulnerable than poor households. The idea that people caught up in civil war are all vulnerable is not supported by the findings of this paper. It shows that the 'standard' pattern of vulnerability to drought is similar to that during exogenous counter-insurgency warfare, while a different pattern of vulnerability to endogenous shocks is identified.     

Where to Go? Strategic Modelling of Access to Emergency Shelters in Mozambique

This paper, through spatial-analysis techniques, examines the accessibility of emergency shelters for vulnerable populations, and outlines the benefits of an extended and permanently established shelter network in central Mozambique. The raster-based modelling approach considers data on land cover, locations of accommodation centres in 2000, settlements and infrastructure. The shelter analysis is a two-step process determining access for vulnerable communities first, followed by a suitability analysis for additional emergency shelter sites. The results indicate the need for both retrofitting existing infrastructure (schools, health posts) to function as shelters during an emergency, and constructing new facilities - at best multi-purpose facilities that can serve as social infrastructure and shelter. Besides assessing the current situation in terms of availability and accessibility of emergency shelters, this paper provides an example of evaluating the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance without conventional mechanisms like food tonnage and number of beneficiaries.     

A New Milestone to Global Disaster Reduction

Anewmilestonetoglobaldisasterreductionisfirmlysetupasthenewmillenniumthrowsitsfirstbeamoflightontheearth.Inthelastyearofthe20thcentury,theUNhasorganizedaseriesofimportantmeetingstosetupthenewmilestone.Forexamples,theForumfortheInternationalDecadeforN...     

Shandong Experts Gathered to Discuss Water Problems

ＳｈａｎｄｏｎｇＥｘｐｅｒｔｓＧａｔｈｅｒｅｄｔｏＤｉｓｃｕｓＷａｔｅｒＰｒｏｂｌｅｍｓＨｕＺｈｅｎｇａｎｄＳｕｎＺｈａｏｍｉｎＴｈｅＷｏｒｋｓｈｏｐｏｎＷａｔｅｒＰｒｏｂｌｅｍｓｉｎＳｈａｎｄｏｎｇＰｒｏｖｉｎｃｅｗａｓｈｅｌｄｉｎＴａｉ＇ａｎ，Ｓ...     

Disaster Situations from May to June in 1996

1WindStorm,HailStorm,StormRainfallandFlood-waterloggingDamageDuringMay6~7,1l,26,Yanqing,ChangpingandMiyuncountiesinBeijingexperiencedstormrainfallandhaildisastersinvaryingdegree,affecting85,0O0peopleandseverelyaffecting44,O0Opeople19l67Oha0fcropswereaffected,0utofwhich4,540hasufferedan0utputreductionby30%.Thedirecteconomicl0ssestotaled28.699millionyuan(RMB)-DuringMay22and24,stormrainfall,hailandhighwindhitBijie,T0ngren,Anshun,thesouthwestGuizhouandLit1panshuiareas,affecting165townshi…     

5·12汶川强震的特征与成因——访中国地震局地质研究所所长张培震

5·12汶川大地震已经过去两个多月了,回顾和总结这次地震给我们带来的经验教训对今后的防震减灾工作有着非常重要的指导意义。这场特大地震具有哪些特征？地表破裂带究竞在哪里？地震的根本原因是什么？面对地震我们能做些什么？就这些社会公众关注的问题,《防灾博览》杂志社于近期采访了一直在震区组织科学考察的中国地震局地质研究所所长、国家汶川地震专家委员会南北带地震构造研究组组长张培震。     

每年的5月31日为"世界无烟日",世界各国——重拳出击严禁烟

为了引起国际社会对烟草危害人类健康的重视,世界卫生组织于1987年11月建议将每年的4月7日定为＂世界无烟日＂,并于1988年开始执行。这一天正好是世界卫生组织成立40周年的纪念日。     

The Natural Disaster Situations from August to December in 1997

１．ＤｒｏｕｇｈｔＤｉｓａｓｔｅｒｓＦｒｏｍｔｈｅｍｉｄｄｌｅｔｏｔｈｅｅｎｄｏｆＡｕｇｕｓｔ，ｒｅｇｉｏｎｓａｌｏｎｇｔｈｅｕｐｐｅｒａｎｄｍｉｄｄｌｅｒｅａｃｈｅｓｏｆｔｈｅＹａｎｇｔｚｅＲｉｖｅｒｗｅｒｅａｆｌｉｃｔｅｄｗｉｔｈｓｕｓｔａｉｎｅ...     

Situation of Natural Disasters from July to December in 2000

Drought1 June～August( 1 ) Region affected:L iaoning ProvinceDaily water shortage:1 .7million m3Casualties:1 .86million persons faced with shortage of drinking waterMaterial damage:2 .53 million ha of crops affected,2 .65million ha damaged;0 .88million headof livestock faced with shortage of drinking waterEstimated damage:7billion yuan RMB( 2 ) Region affected:Jilin ProvinceDaily water shortage:60 0 0 0 0 m3/ citiesCasualties:2 .6million persons faced with shortage of drinking waterMater…     

Summary Account of Natural Disasters From April to June 1994

ＳｕｍｍａｒｙＡｃｃｏｕｎｔｏｆＮａｔｕｒａｌＤｉｓａｓｔｅｒｓＦｒｏｍＡｐｒｉｌｔｏＪｕｎｅ１９９４Ｔｈｅｓｅｃｏｎｄｓｅａｓｏｎ（Ａｐｒｉｌ－Ｊｕｎｅ）ｏｆ１９９４ｗｉｔｎｅｓｓｅｄａｎａｂｎｏｒｍａｌａｎｄｆｒｅｑｕｅｎｔｎａｔｕｒａｌｄｉｓａ...