Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards
Towards Disaster Resilient Societies
EDITED BY JÖRN BIRKMANN
A seemingly non-stop series of disasters has shown that societies
worldwide seem unprepared for the threats posed by natural hazards:
Hurricane Katrina, drought in Africa; flooding in China and Germany;
earthquakes in Pakistan and India; a tsunami in South-East Asia; and
forest fi res in Portugal, Australia and North America. The tragic
impacts of these events drew short-term attention from policy makers,
the media and the general public, but their response was too late to
prevent serious harm. Societies need to measure their vulnerabilities in
advance, and make adequate provisions. This book is a unique
compilation of state-of-the-art vulnerability assessment and is
essential reading for academics, students, policy makers, practitioners,
and anybody else interested in understanding the fundamentals of
measuring vulnerability. It is a critical review that provides important
conclusions which can serve as an orientation for future research
towards more disaster resilient communities.
Jörn Birkmann
is an Academic Officer at the United Nations University
Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Chair of the
International Expert Working Group on Measuring Vulnerability.
Contents Overview:
Foreword, Hans van Ginkel Preface, Sálvano Briceño Introduction,
Janos J. Bogardi Basic principles and theoretical basis Contributors
include: Jörn Birkmann, Stefan Schneiderbauer, Daniele Ehrlich, Angela
Queste and Peter Lauwe. Vulnerability and environment Contributors:
Fabrice Renaud, Marcel T.J. Kok, Vishal Narain, Steven Wonink, Jill
Jaeger Global, national and sub-national index approaches Contributors
include: Mark Pelling, Pascal Peduzzi, Maxx Dilley, Omar Cardona, Stefan
Greiving, Robert Kiunsi, Manoris Victor Meshak, and Erich J. Plate.
Local vulnerability assessment Contributors include: Christina Bollin,
Ria Hidajat, Masaru Arakida, Juan Carlos Villagrán de León, Ben Wisner,
Jörn Birkmann, Nishara Fernando, and Siri Hettige. Institutional
vulnerability, coping and lessons learned Contributors include: Louis
Lebel, Elena Nikitina, Vladimir Kotov, Jesse Manuta, Reinhard Mechler,
Stefan Hochrainer, Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, Georg Pfl ug, Simon Horner,
Peter Billing, Ulrike Madengruber, Elisabeth Krausmann, and Fesil
Mushtaq. Comparative glossary of disaster reduction, Katharina Thywissen
Conclusion, Jörn Birkmann
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