Toward Resilience: A Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation is an introductory resource for development and humanitarian practitioners working with populations at risk of disasters and other impacts of climate change.

​There has been some degree of reluctance in the past to consider disaster risk management within the mainstream of adaptation to climate variability and climate change. However, there is now wide recognition of the need to incorporate disaster risk management concerns in dealing with such phenomena. There is also a growing awareness of the necessity for a multi-sectoral approach in managing the effects of climate variability and climate change, since this can lead to a significant reduction of risk. This book presents the latest findings from scientific research on climate variation, climate change and their links with disaster risk management. It showcases projects and other initiatives in this field that are being undertaken in both industrialised and developing countries, by universities and scientific institutions, government bodies, national and international agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. Finally, it discusses current and future challenges, identifying opportunities and highlighting the still unrealised potential for promoting better understanding of the connections between climate variation, climate change and disaster risk management worldwide.

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.

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.

This book is a compilation of recent developments in the field of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption (Eco-DRR/CCA) globally. It provides further evidence that ecosystem-based approaches make economic sense, and showcases how research has progressively filled knowledge gaps about translating this concept into practice. It presents a number of methods, and tools that illustrate how Eco-DRR/CCA has been applied for various ecosystems and hazard contexts around the world. It also discusses how innovative institutional arrangements and policies are shaping the field of Eco-DRR/CCA. The book is of relevance to scientists, practitioners, policy-makers and students in the field of ecosystem management for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

Climate change policy has typically emphasized mitigation, calling for reducing emissions and shifting away from fossil fuels. Yet while these efforts have floundered, floods, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters are becoming more frequent and potent. As the risks escalate, we must ask how to adapt to a changing climate. How might farmers modify their practices to maximize food security? Can coastal cities protect their infrastructure from rising seas? Are there strategic ways for developing countries to combine climate resilience with economic growth and poverty reduction? For people and societies around the world, these questions are not theoretical: adaptation is already underway. This book offers a concise overview of climate adaptation governance. In clear, accessible language, Lisa Dale describes key strategies that governments, communities, and the private sector are now deploying. She presents the theory and practice that underlie climate adaptation efforts at local and global scales, providing illuminating case studies that foreground the problems facing developing countries. Dale analyzes the effectiveness of a range of policy interventions, drawing out principles of good governance and discussing how practitioners can navigate complex tradeoffs. She emphasizes equity and inclusion, considering how climate adaptation policy can account for the needs of historically disadvantaged groups. Written for a wide audience, this book is an invaluable introduction for all readers interested in how societies can meet the challenges of an altered climate.

The goal of this book is to explore disaster risk reduction (DRR), migration, climate change adaptation (CCA) and sustainable development linkages from a number of different geographical, social and natural science angles. Well-known scientists and practitioners present different perspectives regarding these inter-linkages from around the world, with theoretical discussions as well as field observations. This publication contributes in particular to the discussion on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030 and the debate about how to improve DRR, including CCA, policies and practices, taking into account migration processes from a large perspective where both natural and social factors are crucial and mutually “alloyed”. Some authors see the SFDRR as a positive step forward in terms of embracing a multitude of issues, others doubting that the agreement will lead to much concrete action toward real action on the ground. This book is a timely contribution for researchers, students and policy makers in the fields of environment, human geography, migration, disaster and climate change studies who seek a more comprehensive grasp of contemporary development issues.

This volume presents eighteen case studies of natural disasters from Australia, Europe, North America and developing countries. By comparing the impacts, it seeks to identify what moves people to adapt, which adaptive activities succeed and which fail, and the underlying reasons, and the factors that determine when adaptation is required and when simply bearing the impact may be the more appropriate response. Much has been written about the theory of adaptation and high-level, especially international, policy responses to climate change. This book aims to inform actual adaptation practice - what works, what does not, and why. It explores some of the lessons we can learn from past disasters and the adaptation that takes place after the event in preparation for the next. This volume will be especially useful for researchers and decision makers in policy and government concerned with climate change adaptation, emergency management, disaster risk reduction, environmental policy and planning.

Worldwide, disasters and climate change pose a serious risk to sustainable urban development, resulting in escalating human and economic costs. Consequently, city authorities and other urban actors face the challenge of integrating risk reduction and adaptation strategies into their work. However, related knowledge and expertise are still scarce and fragmented. Cities, Disaster Risk and Adaptation explores ways in which resilient cities can be ‘built’ and sustainable urban transformations achieved. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of urban risk reduction and adaptation planning, exploring key theoretical concepts and analysing the complex interrelations between cities, disasters and climate change. Furthermore, it provides an overview of current risk reduction and adaptation approaches taken by both city authorities and city dwellers from diverse contexts in low, middle and high income nations. Finally, the book offers a planning framework for reducing and adapting to risk in urban areas by expanding on pre-existing positive actions and addressing current shortfalls in theory and practice. The importance of a distributed urban governance system, in which institutions’ and citizens’ adaptive capacities can support and complement each other, is highlighted. This book takes a holistic approach; it integrates perspectives and practice from risk reduction and climate change adaptation based on a specific urban viewpoint. The text is richly supplemented with boxed case studies written by renowned academics and practitioners in the field and ‘test yourself’ scenarios that integrate theory into practice. Each chapter contains learning objectives, end of chapter questions, suggested further reading and web resources, as well as a wealth of tables and figures. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of geography, urban studies and planning, architecture, environmental studies, international development, sociology and sustainability studies.

Climate change is increasingly of great concern to the world community. The earth has witnessed the buildup of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, changes in biodiversity, and more occurrences of natural disasters. Recently, scientists have begun to shift their emphasis away from curbing carbon dioxide emission to adapting to carbon dioxide emission. The increase in natural disasters around the world is unprecedented in earth's history and these disasters are often associated to climate changes. Many nations along the coastal lines are threatened by massive floods and tsunamis. Earthquakes are increasing in intensity and erosion and droughts are problems in many parts of the developing countries. This book is therefore to investigate ways to prepare and effectively manage these disasters and possibly reduce their impacts. The focus is on mitigation strategies and policies that will help to reduce the impacts of natural disasters. The book takes an in-depth look at climate change and its association to socio-economic development and cultures especially in vulnerable communities; and investigates how communities can develop resilience to disasters. A balanced and a multiple perspective approach to manage the risks associated with natural disasters is offered by engaging authors from the entire globe to proffer solutions.