Identifying and mapping community vulnerability

Disaster vulnerability is socially constructed, i.e., it arises out of the social and economic circumstances of everyday living. Most often discussed from the perspective of developing nations, this article extends the argument using American demographic trends. Examples from recent disasters, Hurricane Andrew in particular, illustrate how certain categories of people, such as the poor, the elderly, women-headed households and recent residents, are at greater risk throughout the disaster response process. Knowledge of where these groups are concentrated within communities and the general nature of their circumstances is an important step towards effective emergency management. Emergency planners, policy-makers and responding organisations are encouraged to identify and locate high-risk sectors on Community Vulnerability Maps, integrating this information into GIS systems where feasible. Effective disaster management calls for aggressively involving these neighbourhoods and groups at all levels of planning and response, as well as mitigation efforts that address the root causes of vulnerability.     

Reproductive health in Afghanistan: results of a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey among Afghan women in Kabul

A reproductive-health knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey was carried out among 468 Afghan women of reproductive age. A convenience sample of women was selected from attendees in the outpatient departments of four health facilities in Kabul. Seventy-nine per cent of respondents had attended at least one antenatal consultation during their last pregnancy. Two-thirds (67 per cent) delivered their first child between 13 and 19 years. The Caesarean-section rate was low (1.6 per cent). Two-thirds (67 per cent) of deliveries occurred in the home. The contraceptive prevalence rate was 23 per cent (16 per cent modern and 7 per cent natural methods). Twenty-four per cent had knowledge of any STIs, although most of these women did not know correctly how to prevent them. Most of the women (93 per cent) needed authorization from their husband or a male relative before seeking professional health-care. In multivariate analysis, women's schooling was significantly associated with antenatal-care attendance (AOR 4.78), institutional delivery (AOR 2.29), skilled attendance at birth (AOR 2.07) and use of family planning (AOR 4.59). Reproductive-health indicators were noted to be poor even among these women living in Kabul, a group often considered to be the most privileged. To meet the reproductive-health needs of Afghan women, the socio-cultural aspects of their situation--especially their decision-making abilities -- will need to be addressed. A long-standing commitment from agencies and donors is required, in which the education of women should be placed as a cornerstone of the reconstruction process of Afghanistan.     

Land Conversion for Suburban Housing: A Study of Urbanization Around Warsaw and Olsztyn,Poland

In Poland of the 1990s, urban demand for housing land around city agglomerations increased rapidly. The decreasing profitability of agricultural production also caused farmers to become interested in the sale of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes, and new land legislation granted them the right to sell their land. Polish counties simultaneously received self-governing status, which allowed them to define the priorities for local development. Counties received additional responsibility for land management and quickly demonstrated strong support for land conversion, which was perceived as a factor of local development. This paper argues that decentralization and the extension of private control over land have led to a loss of rural landscapes in Poland because farmers, county governments, and rural society in general gained from the conversion of agricultural to housing land. Rapid urbanization has significantly reduced the availability of open space around cities and threatened valuable landscapes, for it has occurred in the absence of environmental safeguards. This paper reports findings from research in two counties, located in regions with diverse economic growth rates. Decentralization is particularly problematic if tax regulations and intergovernmental fiscal relations reward local authorities for urbanization but not environmental protection. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

RIVER RECREATION: PUBLIC ACCESS VS. RIPARIAN RIGHTS1

ABSTRACT: The issues involved in the conflict between the rights of the public and those of riparian landowners are examined by reviewing the public access situation with regard to inland streams in the State of Virginia. Consideration is given to the legal framework defining access rights and to the attitudes of riparian landowners regarding the access question. Existing provisions of law suggest only limited recognition of public rights, but this law is incompletely developed. A considerably broader concept of public rights could be developed within the existing framework due to the existence of unresolved questions. The analysis of landowner attitudes is based on a survey of a sample of riparian owners chosen from throughout the state. The questionnaire used in the survey contained 123 questions in a variety of areas, including landowners' perceptions of public rights, problems encountered as the result of recreational water use, attitudes toward state designation and protection of scenic rivers, and the acceptability of alternatives for increasing public access. Although the survey results indicate substantial acceptance of the concept of public use, the landowners expressed concern over governmental control of land use and did not indicate a generally acceptable means for increasing public use.     

THE EVOLUTION OF TEXAS WATER LAW AND THE IMPACT OF ADJUDICATION1

Texas' surface water law began its evolution during the Hispanic period of occupance. Later, the English riparian doctrine was adopted, and finally, in the late 1800's, the prior appropriation doctrine was superimposed, resulting in an exceedingly complex dual system. Though the judiciary, legislature, and state water agencies have wrestled with the problem of coordinating these diverse water rights and more accurately delineating and measuring riparian rights and water use since early in this century, until recently all attempts were unsuccessful. The unknown riparian element, in particular, made coordinated and efficient management and administration of the state's surface water resources impossible. Finally, measurable progress toward solution of these problems began in 1967 with passage of the Water Rights Adjudication Act, aimed at identifying all unrecorded surface water rights claims and eventually merging all claims into the permit system. This paper examines the gradual evolution of Texas' curious blend of Hispanic-English riparian rights and later appropriate rights; discusses the resultant problems of water resource administration; and traces the progress of the ongoing water rights adjudication, a lengthy, expensive, and complex procedure, which should eventually make possible more efficient administration of all surface water rights.     

MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF CYCLIC STORAGE OF WATER IN AQUIFER SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: Most of California's precipitation falls at the wrong place in the wrong season in relation to the water needs. Redistribution and regulation are essential. Aquifer systems – groundwater basins – can provide a share of the future cyclic storage regulation. There are some differences in management concepts in using a full basin in comparison with a partially dewatered basin. Legal, water quality, and physical impacts on aquifer systems, including subsidence, are concerns. Storage may be for the benefit of overlying water users or for distant areas. Extraction during dry periods or recharge methods will require careful planning. Existing rights and uses and equitable treatment of all parties must be assured. Financial compensation may be involved. Changes in methods of operation or degree of self-determination by affected water agencies will require committed watermanship to resolve. Legislation or amendments to organic acts may be needed but much can be accomplished within existing statutes. Environmental impacts which can be avoided by not using large surface storage sites are important. Energy for pumping will be a key consideration. About 40 percent of California is underlain by aquifer systems. This resource offers major potential in overcoming the maldistribution of natural water resources.     

WATER RIGHTS,EMINENT DOMAIN,AND THE PUBLIC TRUST1

ABSTRACT: Faced with the necessity of meeting growing municipal water requirements in areas where available supplies are completely allocated, numerous cities throughout the West are turning to their eminent domain powers to affect a reallocation of water from less preferred uses to municipal uses, thus bringing about a sharp conflict with agricultural interests. As a basis for discussing these eminent domain powers, this paper begins with a brief review of the development of property rights. The existence of both private and public (social) rights in the “bundle of rights” is noted. In recent years the Public Trust Doctrine has been used to limit private rights in property, and to protect and strengthen social rights. A case study which focuses on a conflict between individual and social interests in water rights is discussed. This case involves the City of Thorton, Colorado which initiated municipal condemnation proceedings to acquire the water rights and structures of two nearby irrigation companies. The case represents an attempt to incorporate the spirit of the Public Trust Doctrine into legislation which sets forth procedures for resolution of similar water rights conflicts that will inevitably become more numerous throughout the West in the future.     

Assessing of Environmental Quality in Six Areas in India,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Environmental quality for environmental health has been examined visually by describing general conditions and drinking water supply, sanitation and solid waste treatment conditions and practices in six South-East Asian villages with a dense population. The environmental review was supplemented by discussions with local people and political and administrative decision makers. Some drinking water analyses were done in order to show the water quality to the local people. The quality of the general conditions and the conditions and practices of drinking water supply, excreta disposal and solid waste treatment practices have been graded with the grading system presented below. The grading could be done in 1 or 2 days in each area by two persons, of which one was an environmental scientist and the other a social scientist, who also knew the local culture and worked as a translator.     

Indigenous benefits and carbon offset schemes: An Australian case study

The nexus between human rights and the environment is a key issue for climate policymakers and Indigenous peoples around the world. We combine national spatial, social and biological datasets from Australia to describe where Indigenous carbon projects are happening, why Indigenous people are participating, and how effective these schemes might be at marrying Indigenous co-benefit, biodiversity and carbon emission mitigation goals. Our study shows that many Indigenous people engage in carbon offset schemes as part of their broader cultural responsibility for landscapes, and that they seek to grow the relationship between social and ecological benefits. It also highlights the challenges associated with designing carbon offset schemes that address the impacts of climate change and respond to Indigenous peoples’ world views about what is required to sustain cultural-social-ecological systems.     

Variable Irrigation District Action in Water Trading

Irrigation districts (IDs) in the American west are highly diverse in their economic attributes and local water scarcity circumstances. This diversity may affect reallocative action via water transactions as scarcity rises. The institutional background defining and constraining IDs is described here. For a Texas study region the progress of permanent water right transfers involving IDs is documented and examined. An econometric analysis of multiple decades of ID water transfer activities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley finds that IDs with larger initial water right holdings and higher populations in nearby cities are more likely to participate in agricultural‐to‐municipal water transfer activities. The findings suggest that consolidation of smaller water right holding IDs may be an avenue for quickening the pace of reallocation, especially in more populated areas.