Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122626
Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associatio...ns between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience.
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From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until August 2021, extreme weather events have affected at least 139.2 million people and killed at least 17,242 people in at least 433 unique events. These figures are certainly an underestimate, as they do not include estimates of numbers of people affected ...by extreme temperatures, or mortality during drought events.
One dimension of the compound risk of COVID-19 and climate extremes was the additional challenge of preparing for and responding to disasters during the pandemic, such as the constraints of physical distancing during evacuations and response operations.
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This Case Study explores flood forecasting systems from the perspective of its position within the flood warning process. A method for classifying the different approaches taken in flood forecasting is introduced before the elements of a present-day flood forecasting system are discussed in detail. ...Finally, the state of the art in developing flood forecasting systems is addressed including how to deal with specific challenges posed.
The target group of this case study are decision makers in disaster risk management and/or water management. The case study should help to understand some hydrologic basics of the flood forecast and assist in the administration and implementation of an appropriate flood warning system in a specific environment, to find the best solution for a region.
Best solutions depend mainly on quality and availability of data, the areas and/or points of interest, catchment properties, cross border catchments, and financial capabilities with special consideration of flood forecast.
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In the context of the floods in August 2015 in Myanmar, the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRR WG) was requested to provide clear recommendations to the DMH (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology)to strengthen preparedness activities, in particular for t...he next Monsoon season. UNDP as the lead of the DRR WG’s Policy Technical Task force carried out a desk review on EW (Early Warning) from all the DRR WG’s members at national and community levels. The document synthesizes the received information related to baseline surveys, lessons learned from the 2015’s floods, studies, project documents and initial recommendations on EW. Those serve as a base to this analysis and its overall recommendations.
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Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), also referred to as Laos, or Lao, is exposed to natural disasters such as flooding, typhoons, cyclones, drought, and earthquakes. The country is vulnerable to recurrent, sudden-onset and slow onset natural disasters with flooding, storms and typhoons hav...ing a large effect on the population. The country remains highly vulnerable to agricultural shocks and natural disasters.
Lao has established Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) practices as a result of the many natural disasters the country faces. CBDRR is implemented at the village level to enhance community preparedness and to decrease village vulnerabilities to disasters.
Lao established the National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC) as its national disaster management platform and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) to be responsible for DRM (Disaster Risk Management) and DRR activities in the country.
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Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2017
The report looks at the extent and impact of natural disasters across the region and how these intersect with poverty, inequality and the effects of violent conflict. But it also shows how scientific and other advances have increased the potential for building di...saster resilience and ensuring that even in the most extreme circumstances people can survive disaster impacts and rebuild their communities and livelihoods.
Disaster resilience is a key element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals are based on the premise of reaching absolutely everyone. When the drought is assessed, when the flood warnings are broadcast, when the tsunami siren sounds, the aim is to ‘leave no one behind’.
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The Indonesian government has reformed its laws, policies, and institutions to better manage disaster risk since the significant 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The Government of Indonesia now has contingency plans for every disaster-prone city which identifies its vulnerabilities, outlines the relief re...sponse, and builds overall preparedness. In 2007, the government introduced a disaster management bill that incorporated disaster management prevention into disaster management response. In 2008, Indonesia created the National Disaster Management Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana, BNPB). The new shift led to the strengthening of the country’s disaster management agency, and the addition of district branches and representatives. Despite the progress made, more work is needed at the local level as well as integration of disaster risk reduction in government departments.11 Under Indonesia’s 2007 Disaster Management law, provincial and district administrations are mandated to head disaster management during a crisis.
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Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Women have less access to the development services and support – such as adequate healthcare, education and
modern technology – that make people more resilient to climate change and other shocks and stressors.2
Women’s unequal access to resources, their disproportionate responsibility for ca...re of dependents (typically unpaid),
and the insecurity and precariousness of their paid labour all contribute to the feminisation of poverty and women’s
heightened vulnerability to climate hazards. Climate change is a multiplier of existing vulnerabilities and threatens to
reverse hard-earned development gains for all people, and particularly for women.
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Climate change is already having severe impacts across our planet, bringing new and previously unimaginable challenges to the people least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
This report, the first we’ve released jointly in the history of our organizations, provides a sobering review of h...ow just one of those challenges – the increase in deadly heat-waves – threatens to drive new emergency needs in the not-so-distant future.
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The Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Implementation Framework 2018-2027 (KCSAIF) has been developed to provide a guide to various innovative and transformative initiatives and best practices that will strive to address challenges brought about by climate change. It is envisioned to ensure increased a...gricultural productivity and sustainably build resilience of the national agricultural systems.
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Sectors in which Priority Adaptation Projects should be implemented first include:
- 1) Agriculture, Early Warning Systems and Forest (First Priority Level Sectors). This is followed by:
- 2) Public Health and Water Resources (Second Priority Level Sectors);
- 3) Coastal Zone (Thir...d Priority Level Sector); and
- 4) Energy and Industry, and Biodiversity (Fourth Priority Level Sectors).
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Recently, Sri Lanka has been impacted by multiple natural disasters. Sri Lanka experienced a landslide in October 2014, and flooding in December 2014.8 Sri Lanka withstood the worst drought conditions witnessed in four decades in 2016; the extreme drought conditions extended into 2017 and produced s...ubstantial economic and social effects. The drought was responsible for an increase in national poverty levels, due to reduced cultivation income, especially for rural farmers. ... In May 2017, Sri Lanka experienced continuous rains causing flash floods and extreme devastation. However, despite natural disasters and challenges posed by a complex political environment, Sri Lanka’s financial performance remained largely satisfactory in the first half of 2017.
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Cambodia drafted and adopted the National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction 2014-2018 in 2014. This plan finalized the required policies and legal processes to strengthen DRM in Cambodia. It also focused on capacity building at national and sub-national levels and provided dedicated resources ...for strengthening the NCDM and the Sub-National Committees for Disaster Management. Cambodia’s legislature then passed the Law on Disaster Management in June 2015. This legal framework for disaster management assigns legally binding roles and responsibilities, establishes institutions, and assists with the allocation of resources and coordination. NCDM is Cambodia’s lead government agency for emergency preparedness and relief. The NCDM provides the overall leadership of the Plan of Action for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) coordination in Cambodia. Cambodia has adopted the Cambodia Red Cross (CRC) as the primary partner for relief operations.
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In Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Lancet Volume 397, ISSUE 10269, P129-170, January 09, 2021
Agriculture is highly exposed to climate change, as farming activities directly depend on climatic conditions. Agriculture also contributes to climate change through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Two powerful greenhouse gases are by-products of agricultural activity:
Methan...e (CH4) – from livestock digestion processes and stored animal manure;
Nitrous oxide (N2O) – from organic and mineral nitrogen fertilisers.
However, agriculture can also contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by sequestering carbon while maintaining food production.
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This consultative version of the guideline is the product of literature reviews, discussions and contributions from diverse stakeholders, as well as UNISDR-nominated experts appointed specifically for the development of the Words into Action guideline for Build back better in recovery, rehabilitatio...n and reconstruction.
Disaster impacted countries and communities are oftentimes much better equipped to Build Back Better during the extended period of recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction when they have taken actions to strengthen recovery capacity and decision-making effectiveness prior to the onset of disaster.
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The NDMS&IP focuses on mainstreaming disability to promote equitable access to services in the six thematic areas of health, education, livelihoods, empowerment, and social inclusion and cross-cutting issues.
The first part of the NDMS&IP outlines incongruences between national and sectoral policie...s and pieces of legislation on one hand, and practice on the other and identifies key priority areas/themes of the strategy,
medium-term outcomes and strategies for each identified priority area/ theme. This process is largely informed by key findings and recommendations from a study on the Situation of Persons with Disabilities
in Malawi (CBMM/NAD, 2011). The study provides background descriptive information on existing national and sectoral policy and legal framework, level of access by children, adult women and males with disabilities to services in the areas of education, health, livelihoods and other social services as well as of participation by persons with disabilities through self-representation in development activities at various levels. A review of relevant documents at the international level further describes the disability situation in Malawi in the global context.
The second part of the NDMS&IP consists of the operational matrix, (Annex 1), a monitoring and evaluation framework (Annex 2) and budget estimates (Annex 3). This part outlines specific actions by various actors both in the public, private and civil society sectors to prioritise disability in their routine policy, programming, resource mobilisation and allocation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting routines. The action plan lays out priority sectors and concrete actions by setting out implementation schedules, defining targets, assigning responsibility to key duty bearers and rights holders for coordination, decision-making, monitoring and reporting, mobilisation and allocation and control of resources.
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