Ilan Kelman

We speak of earthquakes, floods, and wildfires as 'natural disasters'. In this provocative book, Ilan Kelman argues that the true disaster is not caused by natural phenomena, but by human choices which leave people unprepared and at terrible risk. He explores how we can and should act to stop people dying when nature unleashes its powers.

How Our Actions Turn Natural Hazards Into Catastrophes

Disaster by Choice

Ben Wisner

J. C. Gaillard

Especially in an era of rapid global environmental change, questions and issues about and around natural hazards and disasters are dizzying in their complexity - and urgency. This four-volume set answers the need for an authoritative reference work to make sense if this fast-moving area, and its vast and multidisciplinary corpus of scholarly literature

Disaster Risk: Big picture views

JC Gaillard

Jessica Mercer

The Routledge Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction Including Climate Change Adaptation aims to provide an overview and critique of the current state of knowledge, policy, and practice, encouraging engagement, and reflection on bringing the two sectors together. This long-awaited and welcomed volume makes a compelling case that a common research agenda and a series of practical policies and policy recommendations can and should be put in place. Over 40 contributions explore DRR including CCA in five parts. The first part presents and interrogates much of the typical vocabulary seen in DRR including CCA, not only pointing out the useful and not-so-useful dimensions, but also providing alternatives and positive examples. The second part explains how to move forward creating and supporting positive crossovers and connections, while the third one explores some aspects of multi-dimensional approaches to knowing and understanding. The fourth part argues for a balanced approach to governance, taking both governmental and non-governmental governance, as well as different scales of governance, into consideration. The final part of the Handbook emphasises DRR including CCA as an investment, rather than a cost, and connects its further implementation with livelihoods of people around the world. This handbook highlights the connections amongst the processes of dealing with disasters and dealing with climate change. It demonstrates how little climate change brings which is new and emphasises the strengths of placing climate change within wider contexts in order to draw on all our strengths while overcoming limitations with specialities. It will prove to be a valuable guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, academics, policy makers, and practitioners with an interest in disaster risk reduction and climate change.

The Routledge Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction Including Climate Change Adaptation

Lino Briguglio

Stefano Moncada

Hilary Bambrick

Catherine Iorns

Leonard Nurse

This book explores how vulnerable and resilient communities from SIDS are affected by climate change; proposes and, where possible, evaluates adaptation activities; identifies factors capable of enhancing or inhibiting SIDS people’s long-term ability to deal with climate change; and critiques the discourses, vocabularies, and constructions around SIDS dealing with climate change. The contributions, written by well-established scholars, as well as emerging authors and practitioners, in the field, include conceptual papers, coherent methodological approaches, and case studies from the communities based in the Caribbean Sea and the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. In their introduction, the editors contextualise the book within the current literature. They emphasise the importance of stronger links between climate change science and policy in SIDS, both to increase effectiveness of policy and also boost scholarly enquiry in the context of whose communities are often excluded by mainstream research. This book is timely and appropriate, given the recent commission by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of a Special Report that aims at addressing vulnerabilities, “especially in islands and coastal areas, as well as the adaptation and policy development opportunities” following the Paris Agreement. Coupled with this, there is also the need to support the policy community with further scientific evidence on climate change–related issues in SIDS, accompanying the first years of implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Vulnerability and Resilience Under Climate Change

Small Island Developing States

Laura M. Stough

Disability and Disaster adds disaster research to the expanding area of disability studies. This edited collection includes writings by international scholars and first-hand narratives from individuals with disabilities, or knowing people with disabilities, affected by disaster. In this collection, the editors, Laura M. Stough and Ilan Kelman, have embraced the call from the disability community to write "nothing about us without us," while incorporating reflections from scholars studying why certain groups are more vulnerable to disasters than others. In these first-hand narratives, authors with disabilities do not label themselves as "victims" of disaster or of disability. Rather, they portray agency and self-reliance. As such, these narratives present a counter-narrative to the assumed vulnerability and weaknesses of individuals with disabilities.

Explorations and Exchanges

Disability and Disaster

Robert Kibugi

Kheng-Lian Koh

Rose-Liza Eisma Osorio

Adaptation to Climate Change: ASEAN and Comparative Experiences presents a dynamic and comprehensive collection of works from legal scholars around the world that delves into a relatively new frontier on legal aspects of climate change adaptation with focus on the ASEAN region, both at the regional level as well as at the national level in some ASEAN countries — such as Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. Other countries not within ASEAN are also represented, such as Bangladesh, People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, and the Republic of Taiwan. In doing so, it surveys one of the most important issues confronting developing countries today, and the challenges to building resilient societies. It is an essential source of reference for policy-makers, administrators, the private sector officials, scientists, academic scholars, climatologists, NGOs, and CSOs in ASEAN and the world. Contents:Foreword by Tommy Koh, Ambassado-at-LargePreface and AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsKeynote Address by Raman Letchumanan, formerly Head of the Environment Division, ASEAN SecretariatTheme I: Coastal Warming and Sea Level Rise:Asia-Pacific Islander Responses to Climate Change (Ilan Kelman)Managing Southeast Asian Ecosystems to Reduce Coastal Population Vulnerability Under Sea Level Rise (Daniel A Friess)Theme II: Legal Frameworks/Policies/Governance for Climate Change:Adaptive Water Governance: Lessons Learned from Implementing an Ecosystem-Approach in Mesoamerica (Alejandro Iza, Alexandra Müller, and Valentina Nozza)Legal and Policy Framework for Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Malaysia: A Reform Oriented Study (Abdul Haseeb Ansari)Policy and Legal Responses to Climate Change Adaptation in China: New Developments, New Challenges (Wang Xi and Gao Qi)Theme III: Key Future Impacts and Vulnerabilities:The Laws, Policies, and Institutions Relating to Climate Change in Thailand: Balancing between "Mitigation" and "Adaptation" (Kanongnij Sribuaiam)The Warsaw International Mechanism: Exploring the Structures and Functions to Address Loss and Damage Associated with Climate Change Impacts (M Hafijul Islam Khan) Geoengineering: An ASEAN Position (Jolene Lin)Theme IV: Economic Interconnections:Assessing Green Jobs in Taiwan: A Tri-Pillar Approach (Fan Chien-Te and Hsu Yun-Hsiang)Sustaining Growth, Climate Change, and Meeting Environmental Obligations: What can ASEAN Governments Do? (Euston Quah and Tan Tsiat Siong)Theme V: Some Case Studies:Options for Adaption to Climate Change (Richard L Ottinger, Wang Pianpian, and Kristen M Motel)Dealing with Climate Migrants: A New Challenge for Developing Nations (Asanga Gunawansa)Climate Change, Migration, and International Law in Southeast Asia (Benoît Mayer)Achieving Human Rights in an Era of Climate Disruption: The Philippines (Amado S Tolentino, Jr.)Theme VI: Adaptation — Disaster Management, Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Assistance:The Legal Regime of Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Management in Taiwan: Focus on the Major Amendment Following the Devastating Typhoon Morakot of 2009 (Gao Ming-Zhi Anton)Legal Options for Mainstreaming Climate Change Disaster Risk Reduction in Governance for Kenya (Robert Kibugi)Land Tenure Systems as a Challenge for Disaster Recovery: Adapting to Extreme Weather Events after Typhoon Haiyan (Daniel Fitzpatrick and Caroline Compton)The Role of ASEAN in Disaster Management: Legal Frameworks and Case Study of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda (Koh Kheng-Lian and Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio) Readership: Policy-makers, administrators, scientists, academic scholars, climatologists, NGOs and CSOs, and students in the fields of law and environmental science. Key Features:A dynamic collection of works from legal scholars around the world building knowledge in climate change adaptation, one of the important issues confronting people of todayPromotes a "whole of the world" approach to finding solutions to climate change and the challenges to building resilient societiesThis publication is focused on taking stock of legal and policy frameworks on climate change adaptation in ASEAN and other countriesKeywords:Climate Change Adaptation;Legal Frameworks;ASEAN;Nature-based Solutions;Warsaw International Loss and Damage;Mitigation

ASEAN and Comparative Experiences

Adaptation to Climate Change

Inspirations and Imaginaries

Antarcticness

Antarcticness joins disciplines, communication approaches and ideas to explore meanings and depictions of Antarctica. Personal and professional words in poetry and prose, plus images, present and represent Antarctica, as presumed and as imagined, alongside what is experienced around the continent and by those watching from afar. These understandings explain how the Antarctic is viewed and managed while identifying aspects which should be more prominent in policy and practice. The authors and artists place Antarctica, and the perceptions and knowledge through Antarcticness, within inspirations and imaginations, without losing sight of the multiple interests pushing the continent’s governance as it goes through rapid political and environmental changes. Given the diversity and disparity of the influences and changes, the book’s contributions connect to provide a more coherent and encompassing perspective of how society views Antarctica, scientifically and artistically, and what the continent provides and could provide politically, culturally and environmentally. Offering original research, art and interpretations of different experiences and explorations of Antarctica, explanations meld with narratives while academic analyses overlap with first-hand experiences of what Antarctica does and does not – could and could not – bring to the world.

Inspirations and imaginaries

Climate change and globalisation are opening up the Arctic for exploitation by the world – or so we are told. But what about the views, interests and needs of the peoples who live in the region? This volume explores the opportunities and limitations in engaging with the Arctic under change, and the Arctic peoples experiencing the changes, socially and physically. With essays by both academics and Arctic peoples, integrating multiple perspectives and multiple disciplines, the book covers social, legal, political, geographical, scientific and creative questions related to Arcticness, to address the challenges faced by the Arctic as a region and specifically by local communities. As well as academic essays, the contributions to the book include personal reflections, a graphic Topics covered in the essays include indigenous identity and livelihoods such as reindeer herding, and adapting to modern identities; a graphic essay on the experience of Arctic indigenous peoples in residential schools; the effects of climate change; energy in the Arctic; and extractive industries and their impacts on local communities.essay, and poetry, to ensure wide and varied coverage of the Arctic experience – what the contributions all have in common is the fundamental human perspective.The book includes reflections on the future of Arcticness, engaging with communities to ensure meaningful representation and as a counterpoint to the primacy of environmental, national and global issues.

Power and Voice from the North

Arcticness

When an earthquake hits a war zone or cyclone aid is flown in by an enemy, many ask: Can catastrophe bring peace? Disaster prevention and mitigation provide similar questions. Could setting up a flood warning system bring enemy countries together? Could a regional earthquake building code set the groundwork for wider regional cooperation? This book examines how and why disaster-related activities do and do not create peace and reduce conflict. Disaster-related activities refer to actions before a disaster such as prevention and mitigation along with actions after a disaster such as emergency response, humanitarian relief, and reconstruction. This volume investigates disaster diplomacy case studies from around the world, in a variety of political and disaster circumstances, from earthquakes in Greece and Turkey affecting these neighbours’ bilateral relations to volcanoes and typhoons influencing intra-state conflict in the Philippines. Dictatorships are amongst the case studies, such as Cuba and Burma, along with democracies such as the USA and India. No evidence is found to suggest that disaster diplomacy is a prominent factor in conflict resolution. Instead, disaster-related activities often influence peace processes in the short-term—over weeks and months—provided that a non-disaster-related basis already existed for the reconciliation. That could be secret negotiations between the warring parties or strong trade or cultural links. Over the long-term, disaster-related influences disappear, succumbing to factors such as a leadership change, the usual patterns of political enmity, or belief that an historical grievance should take precedence over disaster-related bonds. This is the first book on disaster diplomacy. Disaster-politics interactions have been studied for decades, but usually from a specific political framing, covering a specific geographical area, or from a specific disaster framing. As well, plenty of quantitative work has been completed, yet the data limitations are rarely admitted openly or thoroughly analysed. Few publications bring together the topics of disasters and politics in terms of a disaster diplomacy framework, yielding a grounded, qualitative, scientific point of view on the topic.

How Disasters Affect Peace and Conflict

Disaster Diplomacy

J.C. Gaillard

The Handbook provides a comprehensive statement and reference point for hazard and disaster research, policy making, and practice in an international and multi-disciplinary context. It offers critical reviews and appraisals of current state of the art and future development of conceptual, theoretical and practical approaches as well as empirical knowledge and available tools. Organized into five inter-related sections, this Handbook contains sixty-five contributions from leading scholars. Section one situates hazards and disasters in their broad political, cultural, economic, and environmental context. Section two contains treatments of potentially damaging natural events/phenomena organized by major earth system. Section three critically reviews progress in responding to disasters including warning, relief and recovery. Section four addresses mitigation of potential loss and prevention of disasters under two sub-headings: governance, advocacy and self-help, and communication and participation. Section five ends with a concluding chapter by the editors. The engaging international contributions reflect upon the politics and policy of how we think about and practice applied hazard research and disaster risk reduction. This Handbook provides a wealth of interdisciplinary information and will appeal to students and practitioners interested in Geography, Environment Studies and Development Studies.

Handbook of Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Nikolas Sellheim

Yulia V. Zaika

This book approaches the challenges the Arctic has faced and is facing through a lens of opportunity. Through pinpointed examples from and dealing with the Circumpolar North, the Arctic is depicted as a region where people and peoples have managed to endure despite significant challenges at hand. This book treats the ‘Arctic of disasters’ as an innovated narrative and asks how the ‘disaster pieces’ of Arctic discourse interact with the ability of Arctic peoples, communities and regions to counter disaster, adversity, and doom. While not neglecting the scientifically established challenges associated with climate change and other (potentially) disastrous processes in the north, this book calls for a paradigm shift from perceiving the ‘Arctic of disasters’ to an ‘Arctic of triumph’. Particular attention is therefore given to selected Arctic achievements that underline ‘triumphant’ developments in the north, even when Arctic triumph and disaster intersect.

Ilan Kelman

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