1,721,210 research outputs found
Systemic problems of capacity development for disaster risk reduction in a complex, uncertain, dynamic, and ambiguous world
Full text linkThe international community has been engaged in capacity development for decades, sometimes under different names or with a slightly different focus. So far, these efforts have failed to bring significant and sustainable change. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 specifies capacity development as the means to reduce disaster losses substantially. The purpose of this paper is to offer a better understanding of the reasons behind the poor results with capacity development for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Twenty qualitative semi-structured interviews with high-level decision makers in the international community indicate systemic failure that requires a complete overhaul of the aid system. When analysing the discrepancies between principles for capacity development (ownership, partnership, contextualization, flexibility, learning, accountability, long-term, and sustainability) and the actual performance of actors operating in a complex, dynamic, uncertain, and ambiguous world, five interrelated problems emerge: (1) Clashing principles; (2) Quixotic control; (3) Mindset lag; (4) Lack of motivation for change; and (5) Power imbalances. Understanding and addressing these systemic problems is fundamental to the success of capacity development. It is not enough to blame the actors who implement capacity development activities for DRR, nor to merely rename it, yet again, after another few years of continuous frustration
Conflicts in adaptation: case studies from Nepal and the Maldives
No full textPurpose
Adaptation appears to be regarded as a panacea in policy circles to reduce the risk of impending crises resulting from contemporary changes, including but not restricted to climate change. Such conceptions can be problematic, generally assuming adaptation as an entirely positive and non-conflictual process. The purpose of this paper is to challenge such uncritical views, drawing attention to the conflictual nature of adaptation, and propose a theoretical framework facilitating the identification and analysis of conflicts in adaptation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on case study research using first-hand narratives of adaptation in Nepal and the Maldives collected using qualitative interviews, participant observation and document analysis.
Findings
The findings identify conflicts between actors in, and around, communities that are adapting to changes. These conflicts can be categorized along three dimensions: qualitative differences in the type of conflict, the relative position of conflicting actors and the degree of manifestation of the conflict.
Originality/value
The three-dimensional Adaptation Conflict Framework facilitate analysis of conflicts in adaptation, allowing for a critical examination of subjectivities inherent in the adaptation discourses embedded in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation research and policy. Such an inquiry is crucial for interventions supporting community adaptation to reduce disaster ris
Katastrofriskreducering: ett mångvetenskapligt forskningsfält och ett tvärsektoriellt politikområde
No full textVarför bosätter sig människor på riskfyllda platser? Hur beter sig människor i en katastrof och vilken betydelse har religion, hushåll och försörjning för återhämtning? Lär vi oss av våra kriserfarenheter och vilken roll spelar motivation och kollektiva minnen för detta? Är kapacitetsutveckling, multisektoriell samverkan och övning en hållbar väg mot reducerad katastrofrisk? Dessa är några av de många frågor som denna bok besvarar. Katastrofriskreducering är ett växande område, såväl politiskt som inom forskning och utbildning. Det handlar om att förstå de samhällsprocesser som skapar risk för katastrofer och som påverkar villkoren för organisationer och individer att hantera dem. Denna kunskap kan bidra till att minska exponering och sårbarhet för människor, egendom och miljö och utveckla samhällens, organisationers och enskildas förmåga att reducera risker och hantera katastrofers konsekvenser, vad som på senare tid kallas resiliens. Katastrofriskreducering innehåller både teoretiska kapitel och empiriska fallstudier baserade på aktuell forskning om katastrofriskreducering. Boken ger läsaren en god översikt av detta mångvetenskapliga kunskapsområde, genom att beskriva och problematisera centrala begrepp och perspektiv. Det här är en bok som vänder sig till såväl studenter och forskare som praktiskt verksamma beslutsfattare inom krisberedskap, humanitära insatser och riskhantering på myndigheter, i kommunal verksamhet och i icke-statliga organisationer
Drivers of regional crop variability in Chad
No full textHighlights
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Combines environmental and livelihood data to analyze regional crop production in Chad.
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Structural breaks are identified and used to detrend the crop statistics.
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Combines quantitative and qualitative research methods.
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Advances the explanatory capacity to regional crop variability.
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Identifies notably differences in explanatory capacities between region
Paradigm shift in engineering of pluvial floods: from historical recurrence intervals to risk-based design for an uncertain future
No full textPrecipitation is intrinsically associated with high uncertainty, which is exacerbated exponentially over time—especially concerning climate change. However, the current design practice in urban drainage infrastructure remains firmly bound to deterministic assumptions regarding the design load. This approach is too simplified—focusing only on the return period of the design event—and ignores the complexity of drainage systems and the potential changes in catchment hydrology and the at-risk valuable assets within. Therefore, the current design approach is inherently an unsustainable practice that cannot deal with extreme uncertainties associated with urban drainage and flood resilience in changing climate and society. This paper examines the current deterministic design practice and encourages a collective discussion on the need for a paradigm shift in the engineering of pluvial floods toward a risk-based design. We believe that adopting a risk-based design will partially address the uncertainty and complexity of climate and urban drainage, respectively, although a method for the new practice in a risk-based design paradigm must be develope
‘Too many mice make no lining for their nest’ – Reasons and effects of parallel governmental structures for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Southern Africa
Full text linkMany African countries face escalating challenges of increasing disaster risk and anticipated impacts of climate change. Although disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are tightly linked and comprising virtually identical practices in vulnerable countries in Southern Africa, research has identified parallel governance structures across the region. This study applied comparative case study research, based on 27 semi-structured interviews, to investigate the reasons for and effects of such parallel structures for DRR and CCA in Botswana, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia. It revealed overwhelmingly negative effects in terms of unclear mandates and leadership, uncoordinated efforts, duplication of efforts, suboptimal use of resources and competition over resources and control. The study identified both external reasons for the parallel structures, in terms of global or international initiatives or incentives, and internal reasons, with regard to the history and quality of the governance structures. Although the identified negative effects are common to a range of complex nexuses, there is a clear distinction with the DRR–CCA nexus comprising virtually indistinguishable practices in Southern Africa. There is, as such, no practical reason for keeping them apart. The parallel structures for DRR and CCA are instead the result of pervasive institutionalisation across the region, driven by coercive, mimetic and normative pressures coming from both within and abroad. Although much point to the difficulties of changing the studied institutional arrangements, these parallel structures for DRR and CCA must be addressed if the populations in Southern Africa are to enjoy safety and sustainable development
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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