Integrating disaster risk reduction in national development planning: experience and challenges of Jamaica

It is generally recognised by the disaster risk management and development communities that disasters have a negative impact on development, and indeed can set back development by years. This realisation led to a new paradigm for the management of hazards and their impacts, namely an integrated approach which emphasises disaster risk reduction being incorporated into national development planning. Awareness, however, does not necessarily translate into implementation. ‘Reduce the underlying risk factors’, Priority for Action 4 of The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015, reported the lowest average score for progress of the five priority areas. Challenges to progress, as reported by Governments included inappropriate development practices, high levels of poverty and other factors which increase vulnerability. Various authors have recognised the difficulty of consistently and successfully integrating disaster risk reduction into development planning. This integration is particularly challenging for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which face high exposure to hazards, vulnerable populations and limited resources, often both human and financial. The efforts of Jamaica, a Caribbean SIDS, at integrating disaster risk reduction into national development, and some factors which proved to be important in making progress are presented here. This retrospective paper is written from the perspective of a participant observer and traces developments in disaster risk management over three decades, 1980–2010. Integration and inclusiveness, use of quantitative methods and application of risk assessments are identified as being important in gaining acceptance for disaster risk reduction.     

铁路泥石流防治安全性及综合减灾决策的研究

本文介绍铁泥石流防治方案的安全性评估及综合减灾决策技术。文中首先提出了以风险性分析为指导的铁路泥石流防治方案规划原则;然后介绍了综合减灾方案安全性的概念,以及用事故树和计算机仿真技术计算安全度的方法,最后对综合减灾决策模式进行了探讨。     

A roadmap for the conservation of freshwater mussels in Europe

Europe has a long history of human pressure on freshwater ecosystems. As pressure continues to grow and new threats emerge, there is an urgent need for conservation of freshwater biodiversity and its ecosystem services. However, whilst some taxonomic groups, mainly vertebrates, have received a disproportionate amount of attention and funds, other groups remain largely off the public and scientific radar. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) are an alarming example of this conservation bias and here we point out six conceptual areas that need immediate and long-term attention: knowledge, threats, socioeconomics, conservation, governance and education. The proposed roadmap aims to advance research, policy and education by identifying the most pressing priorities for the short- and long-term conservation of freshwater mussels across Europe.     

The interplay between climate change and disaster risk reduction policy: evidence from Mexico

Mexico gained worldwide reputation for its efforts to develop both climate change (CC) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies at the national and international levels. However, the integration of agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Hyogo and Sendai Frameworks into the national institutional setting has been challenging in terms of creating a coherent national risk reduction policy. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interplay between DRR and CC domains; it provides evidence for the situation in Mexico by comparing the institutions and main actors in both fields as well as the financial and operational instruments currently in force. The comparison is based on institutions’ jurisdictions, priorities and lines of action. This paper synthesises the most important policy instruments, their meeting points and their contradictions and discusses the implications of such policy setting for the implementation of effective CC risk policies. The study depicts a fragmented policy interface with serious shortcomings in terms of the institutional design necessary to coordinate actions. The article concludes that, despite the multiple conceptual and political intersections between both policy fields, the implementation of specific, shared actions would hardly overcome the difficulties imposed by the current, fragmented normative frameworks and jurisdictions.     

A policymaking perspective on disaster risk reduction in Mozambique

Academics and practitioners alike emphasise that public policy plays a key role to support efforts to reduce disaster risks and to buffer the impacts of natural hazards when they occur. This involves developing public policies to promote disaster risk reduction (DRR). However, the public policy dimension has only recently begun to receive attention in empirical research on DRR. Processes of policy change are discussed, yet less often studied, and more empirical research is needed to advance the understanding of the conditions for DRR policy change. Combining insights from adaptation research and public policy theory, this study investigates the long-term development of DRR policy in Mozambique as perceived by multiple stakeholders. The study identifies barriers and enabling factors influencing the DRR policy process over time. Using data from 37 semi-structured interviews, the study finds six main enabling factors supporting DRR policy change. Among the most important enabling factors are past disasters and broad stakeholder involvement. The study also unveils several barriers to DRR policy change, including resource insufficiency and lack of coordination among stakeholders. The study concludes with suggestions for integrating DRR and policy process research and lessons for policymaking in support of DRR over time.     

The social consequences of a natural/technological disaster: evidence from Louisiana and Mississippi

Disaster scholarship shows that people’s relationships stay the same or improve after natural disasters and become worse after technological, or human-induced, events. Using the case of Katrina, this research explores what happens to people’s relationships after a disaster that began with a catastrophic natural event and was followed by numerous failures in the way human institutions responded to the event. Through an analysis of survey data collected in devastated areas of Louisiana and Mississippi in 2008, this study tests how consequences of both natural (damage to the home and having to leave the home) and technological events (distrust in government, stress, concern about toxic exposure, and pursuing litigation) affect people’s relationships with family members and community groups. Damage to the home, distrust in government, and the pursuit of litigation lead to declines in people’s relationships. These experiences are more likely to change intimate relationships (with family) than relationships in the broader community. The relevance that these findings have for creating better social justice outcomes after future disasters is discussed.     

Building a freshman-year foundation for sustainability studies: Terrascope, a case study

Terrascope is a freshman learning community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in which teams of students work to find solutions to large ‘unsolvable’ problems and to communicate about those problems with a wide variety of audiences in multiple formats. The program strongly promotes students’ autonomy in focusing and structuring their work, and student projects culminate in public presentations, both to general audiences and to panels of technical specialists. Students who have completed the program tend to show strong engagement with environmental and sustainability issues, as well as the skills and experience to work intensively on such issues within multidisciplinary teams. Here, we present the program as a case study, with some discussion of the factors that are key to its operation.

项目教学法在高职环境监测实践教学中的应用

“项目教学法”是一种以学生为中心的新型教学模式,在高职教育中应用广泛。从项目选取、项目实施、项目总结与评价以及考核方案设计等方面出发,结合教育实践,探讨了项目教学法在高职《环境监测》课程实践教学环节的应用,并对其实施效果进行了简要分析和总结。     

新疆原生地球化学环境灾害特征与防治

新疆原生地球化学环境灾害属自然灾害－原生地质环境灾害之一。它是由地壳内外动力地质作用（包括成岩、构造、水、气、生物等作用）形成的某区域、地区、局部地质体（岩石、土壤）、水体、气体、生物体中某些化学元素或化学成分的超常富集或超常贫化对人类生命健康、生活、生存繁衍及活动造成的灾害、危害和影响。新疆是我国原生地球化学环境灾害较严重的省区之一。在中央实施“西部大开发”战略方针的指引下,从环境地球化学的角度入手,初步划分了新疆原生地球化学环境灾害的类型,分析了新疆源生地球化学环境灾害的特征,并提出了防治对策。     

工程结构的风灾破坏和抗风设计

风是自然界常见的一种自然现象 ,国内外每年都会发生因风灾而造成的严重灾害。风灾损失的主要形式之一是工程结构的损坏和倒塌。因此 ,工程抗风设计计算的合理和全面与否是工程安全的重要关键 ,抗风设计也是工程结构中的重要研究课题。笔者结合我国的有关抗风工程的工程规范 ,介绍了风对结构的作用、工程结构的风灾破坏形式和抗风设计的主要研究内容。最后 ,笔者对抗风工程的研究进行了展望。