我国沙漠化灾害的发展及其危害

沙漠化灾害是在特定自然环境背景下产生的,严重危及人类生产和生存。文章着重阐述沙漠化发展对农、牧业、工矿交通及环境等方面造成的经济损失。据初步统计,全国每年因沙漠化遭受的直接经济损失达36～45亿元,间接经济损失高达292亿元以上。同时,指出沙漠化的实质是从根本上毁损土壤肥力,丧失人类赖以生存的土地。因此,从沙漠化发生时间的频繁性、经常性,空间分布的广泛性,致害的多样性及造成的经济损失严重性看,沙漠化灾害是我国严重自然灾害之一。     

Disaster policy and nuclear liability: Insights from post-Chernobyl agriculture in the United Kingdom

The recent events at Chernobyl have again brought the issues of nuclear safety to the forefront of the nuclear power debate. Fortunately, our experience with such incidents has been very limited, but it is important to learn as much as possible from such events so as to minimize the cost and effect of any other nuclear incidents, be they small or large. Much of the discussion about the possible effects of nuclear incidents has centered around the human cost in terms of health. While this is undoubtedly of paramount concern, the effect of the release of radiation from Chernobyl on the agricultural resource base in Europe can provide valuable insights on how to reduce the costs associated with the contamination of agricultural areas. This article outlines some of the lessons that can be learned using the livestock-raising industry in northern Wales as an example.     

The Setting-up of the Synthetical Database for Disaster Reduction

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Resilience in practice: Five principles to enable societies to cope with extreme weather events

The concept of resilience is used by many in different ways: as a scientific concept, as a guiding principle, as inspirational ‘buzzword’, or as a means to become more sustainable. Next to the academic debate on meaning and notions of resilience, the concept has been widely adopted and interpreted in policy contexts, particularly related to climate change and extreme weather events. In addition to having a positive connotation, resilience may cover aspects that are missed in common disaster risk management approaches. Although the precise definition of resilience may remain subject of discussion, the views on what is important to consider in the management of extreme weather events do not differ significantly. Therefore, this paper identifies the key implications of resilience thinking for the management of extreme weather events and translates these into five practical principles for policy making.     

Landscape fires as social disasters: An overview of ‘the bushfire problem’

The ‘landscape’, ‘bushfire’ or ‘forest-fire’ problem is exemplified by the destruction of homes and human lives by landscape fires raging out of control. The ‘problem’ involves a series of landscapes (e.g. wildland and suburb), a series of systems (e.g. biophysical system and environmental-effects system), and a series of time phases (e.g. planning phase). It is a multi-stakeholder, multi-variable, multi-scale problem. Land uses, like ‘farmland’, imply a set of specific assets and, therefore, particular perceptions of losses. In all land-use designations, at any one point, fire-proneness may be seen as a function of exposure to ignition sources (embers, burning brands or flame radiation and flame contact) and the ease of ignition. The landscape-fire problem has multiple partial ‘solutions’, not just one overall solution, and these involve social governance, land management (public and private), suppression capacity and personal preparedness. The problem needs to be addressed at multiple temporal and spatial scales in an integrated fashion for the outcome to be of maximal benefit. There will always be a residual risk of severe fire occurrence. Minimisation of residual risk requires effective land management, recurrent funding and the perpetual vigilance of all parties.     

Not just a matter of knowledge. The Katrina debacle

The paper deals with hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf coast of the US at the end of August 2005, with disastrous consequences. The paper sketches the chronicle of the main events and deals with preparation and response in New Orleans, exploring the connection between knowledge and disaster management policies, in particular communication policy. The main failures in applying and sharing available information for preventing and limiting damage are attributed to lack of coordination between elected officials, authorities and agencies at all levels. The critical role of the media in shaping the perception of the event and the immediate response to it is also highlighted.     

Modern accident investigation - Four major challenges

Nowadays, ‘investigation’ is a very commonly advocated approach and consequently is becoming an umbrella concept. ‘Investigation’ includes many types of approaches on different system levels. Originating from transport accidents and crime scenes, ‘investigation’ ranges from genocide, natural disasters, via discrimination, health care to crime fighting, economic fraud and ethical questions in engineering and management. In such a changing operating environment and widespread applications, accident investigation must reassess its distinctive role, purposes and operating conditions. It must clarify and communicate its specific aims and functions and performance to such an extent that it maintains its credibility, capability and quality in the eye of professionals, politicians as well as the public. Based on an assessment of the past performance of leading investigation agencies, practical experiences during major ad hoc accident investigations and changes in the operating environment, a SWOT analysis identified several issues as internal and external challenges in the future conduct of major investigations. Finally, the article proposes several priorities, challenging each stakeholder and expert in the investigation community to contribute from its own perspective to improve accident investigation theory and practices.     

The safety chain: A delusive concept

Various governments have defined a so-called safety chain to structure their efforts in the field of risk management for low-probability disasters. The safety chain typically consists of the following components: proaction, prevention, preparation, repression. While the terminology suggests that the safety chain should be interpreted a series system, the safety chain more closely resembles a parallel system. This has important implications: the safety chain is not as weak as its weakest link; unreliable links need not always be strengthened as it will often be more efficient to rely on a few layers of protection, or just one. To avoid misguided efforts caused by the confusing terminology ‘safety chain’, we propose the use of the term ‘layers of protection’, as is currently the case in the Dutch flood safety policy. Furthermore, we show that imperfect preparedness for low-probability disasters is often perfectly defensible or rational, given the differences between the cost-effectiveness of investments in prevention and disaster preparedness.     

1997年5月7日益阳罕见雷击灾害分析

通过调查益阳市赫山区羊角乡小河口村发生的特大罕见雷击灾害，翔实记述了雷击出现引起的特异现象及灾害，科学地分析了雷击发生的天气形势和地理环境条件及其原因．并提出了预防雷击的措施。