Measuring the Un-Measurable – is a short and succinct title as well as an indication of the challenges and difficulties in deriving appropriate methodologies, indicators and criteria to identify, measure and assess vulnerabilities of societies at risk.

This SOURCE publication is an essential reading for those interested in vulnerability research and the assessment and measurement of it. The publication by J. Birkmann and B.Wisner leads us through the thematic areas which were discussed, outlines the different scales of the assessment approaches presented, and analyses the nature of vulnerability measurement.

Download the SOURCE No. 5/2006

UNU-EHS proundly announced the UNU Press publication Measuring Vulnerability to Natural HazardsTowards Disaster Resilient Societies, edited by Joern Birkmann, Academic Officer at UNU-EHS.

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.

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UNU-EHS is happy to present the new issue of our publications series SOURCE. SOURCE No. 4 with the title “Vulnerability: A Conceptual and Methodological Review” deals with the complex problematic of vulnerability assessment today and has been written by one of our staff members, the Academic Officer Dr. Juan Carlos Villagrán de León. The publication offers a review of different ideas, concepts and methods developed in the recent years of research to capture vulnerability at different scales, as well as of proceedings and possibilities in the field of vulnerability assessment.

Dr. Villagrán is specialized in Risk Reduction and Early Warning and has been active in the past in projects in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

To download the electronic version of the SOURCE 4/2006 issue, please click here

As of 1st of July, UNU-EHS can be found in the new UN Campus at the "Langer Eugen", where the Institute occupies three floors, the 26th, 27th and 28th floors. UNU-EHS Academic Officers can be found on the 26th floor; Resident Scholars, the training room, the library as well as the archive are placed on the 27th floor; to contact the Director, the reception area and/or the administration and academic support please visit the 28th floor.