2002
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"Disaster
Reduction for
Sustainable Mountain Development" |
2002
United Nations World Disaster Reduction Campaign |
Information
Kit |
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Dear Readers,
A “natural” disaster which is the result of the impact
of a natural hazard on a community- can not only set back the healthy
development of people’s lives and economic activities, it can
also compromise the existence of a community altogether. For this
reason the over-arching goal of the International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) is the integration of disaster reduction into sustainable
development
planning and living.
In order to explain and promote disaster reduction to an increasing
cross-sectoral audience worldwide, the United Nations Inter-Agency
Secretariat of the ISDR organises public awareness campaigns -
entitled World Disaster Reduction Campaigns- on a new theme every
year.
It gives me great pleasure
to introduce you to this booklet on “Disaster
Reduction for Sustainable Mountain Development” which is
this year’s chosen theme. The theme was selected for two
reasons; first, because mountain communities are particularly vulnerable
to natural disasters and we hope that they will benefit from the
information and experiences mentioned in this booklet. Second,
our theme was selected in parallel to the celebration of the International
Year of Mountains by the United Nations this year, under the leadership
of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (www.mountains2002.org),
whose aim is to promote sustainable mountain development worldwide.
The lead article of this booklet was written by our colleagues
from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
(ICIMOD-www.icimod.org) based in Nepal. I wish to warmly thank
ICIMOD and all the other contributors to the booklet for their
valuable time and material. Many UN entities, governments, regional
and national organisations, NGOs, research institutions and private
individuals are involved in disaster reduction projects for sustainable
mountain development. Please get in touch with the ISDR Secretariat
for useful contacts in your area or check page 15.
The World Disaster Reduction
Campaigns are given special emphasis every year on the second
Wednesday of October with the celebration
of the International Day for Disaster Reduction. You will find
suggestions for the celebration of the Day on page 14 of the booklet
and on our website at www.unisdr.org. Further support material
related to “Disaster Reduction for Sustainable Mountain Development”,
includes a poster and a booklet on volcanoes for children, all
of which can be obtained from the ISDR Secretariat.
The ISDR Secretariat is currently working on a global review of
disaster reduction initiatives.
Please check our website for information coming up shortly.
I wish you a pleasant and informative read. Definitions of key
concepts issues can be found on page 4.
Sálvano Briceño
Director
United Nations Inter-Agency Secretariat
of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
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Contents |
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The
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
The UN has established the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction as
a global framework for action with a view to enabling all societies to become
resilient to the effects of natural hazards and related technological and environmental
disasters, in order to reduce human, economic and social losses. It involves
a conceptual shift from an emphasis on disaster response to the management
of risk through the integration of disaster reduction into sustainable development.
The implementation
of the Strategy is premised on the establishment of partnerships
between governments, civil society organizations, UN agencies,
the scientific community, the media as well as other relevant
stakeholders in the disaster reduction community.
The four goals
of the Strategy are to increase public awareness about disaster
reduction, to obtain commitment from public authorities, to stimulate
inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral partnerships, and to improve
the scientific knowledge of the causes of natural disasters and
the consequences of the impact of natural hazards. The UN General
Assembly has mandated two additional tasks which are directly
relevant to disaster reduction; the continuance of international
cooperation to reduce the impacts of El Niño and La Niña
and the strengthening of Early Warning Systems.
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The
Inter-Agency Secretariat of the ISDR
Within the United Nations system, the Secretariat of the International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction is responsible for coordinating disaster reduction strategies
and programmes and serves as facilitator among partners. Its mission is to help
people withstand disasters by making them aware of the importance of disaster
reduction measures and providing support to help reduce human, economic and social
losses. The Secretariat also provides backing to the Inter-Agency Task Force
on Disaster Reduction headed by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and comprising representatives of several United Nations agencies, regional
institutions and non-governmental organizations. Within the United Nations system,
the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction is the main body responsible
for the design of disaster reduction policy. |
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Key Concepts
What
is a “Natural” Disaster?
Strictly speaking, there are no such things as natural disasters, but there
are natural hazards. A disaster is the result of a hazard’s impact
on society. So the effects of a disaster are determined by the extent of
a community’s vulnerability to the hazard (or conversely, its ability,
or capacity to cope with it). This vulnerability is not natural, but the
result of an entire range of constantly changing physical, social, economic,
cultural, political and even psychological factors that shape people’s
lives and create the environments in which they live.
What is Disaster
(Risk) Reduction?
Solutions to counter the increasing impact of natural hazards worldwide exist.
Disaster reduction is the systematic development and application of policies,
strategies and practices to minimise vulnerabilities and disaster risk throughout
society. Disaster reduction is often referred to as disaster risk reduction.
Risk, in this context, is the probability of harmful consequences or expected
loss resulting from the interaction between hazards and vulnerable conditions.
In this booklet, the term disaster reduction is the equivalent of risk reduction.
Disaster reduction measures cover a wide spectrum of activities ranging from
avoiding disasters all together (disaster prevention) to measures aimed at
limiting the severity of a disaster (disaster mitigation) and the measures
to undertake immediately before disaster strikes (disaster preparedness). Sound
information sharing, education and political commitment are the basis for success.
Disaster reduction seeks to motivate societies at risk to become engaged in
conscious disaster management, beyond the traditional response to disasters.
Disaster reduction is multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary and involves a wide
variety of interrelated activities at the local, national, regional and international
level. Examples of the above in relation to sustainable development are given
in this booklet.
What is a Natural
Hazard?
Natural hazards are natural processes or phenomena occuring in the biosphere
that may constitute a damaging event. Natural hazards can be classified by
origin in: earthquakes, tsunamis; volcanic activity and emissions, mass movements
(i.e.: landslides, rockslides, rock fall, avalanches, liquefaction, submarine
slides); floods, debris and mud flows; permafrost, glacier advance; hailstorms,
blizzards, rain and wind storms; tropical cyclones, storms surges, and other
severe storms; drought, desertification, heat waves, sand or dust storms.
What is Sustainable
Development?
The World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by the Mrs Gro
Harlem Bruntdland, published a report in 1987 called “Our Common Future” (The
Bruntdland Report) which brought the concept of sustainable development onto
the international agenda. It also provides the most commonly used definition
of sustainable development describing it as development which meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
The International
Year of Mountains and Sustainable Development
The UN General Assembly, at its 53rd session, adopted resolution 53/24 proclaiming
2002 the International Year of Mountains. The resolution encouraged all to
take advantage of the IYM in order to act for sustainable mountain development.
In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development, known as the Rio
Conference, adopted Agenda 21, a global blueprint for sustainable development
into the 21st century. Chapter 13 is the “Mountain Agenda” (Managing
Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development). YIM will reinforce theimplementation
of Chapter 13 and initiate new and practical action in mountain development.
The challenge of coping with disasters and the need to integrate disaster reduction
into sustainable development planning must number among our major concerns.This
issue will also be taken up at the September 2002 World Summit on Disaster
Reduction in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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What is a Mountain?
To date, mountain
complexity has made it impossible to provide a thorough definition
of mountains with universal application. The following is a list
of elements that help describe mountains:
Elevation
zones: Cartographic compilation showed that 48 percent of the world's
total terrestrial surface lies above 500 m; 27 percent above
1 000 m; 11 percent above 2 000 m; 5 percent above 3 000 m; and
2 percent above 4 000 m. These statistics provide an approximation
for describing mountain areas.
Morphology
and climate: "Steep slopes" (characterized by geomorphologically
high-energy environments with frequent mass transfers down slope)
and "altitude" (characterized by low temperatures and,
in certain cases, aridity) are aspects of mountain or highland
landscapes which individually, or as a system, lead to marginality
for human utilization and adaptation.
Latitude: The
climatic effects of higher latitudes through the poles mean significant
areas in these regions have mountainous characteristics despite
only moderate altitudes.
Biodiversity
and food security: Mountains contain high biological diversity,
often of global relevance. Consequently, mountains are also important
centres of crop diversity, a key factor in agriculture worldwide
and water resources.
Land-use
opportunities and constraints: From the humid sub-tropical and temperate zones
pole wards, all land-use activities in mountain areas are disadvantaged
compared with the subjacent, neighbouring, and more densely populated
flatlands. But from the subtropical arid zones to the tropical
humid zones, some higher altitudinal belts are more beneficial
for human land use than lower altitudes because of better moisture
and temperature conditions.
Conflicts
and cooperation: Mountains often constitute geo-political borders
and can be sites of potential/current tensions or even conflicts
owing to their rich natural resources and strategic relevance.
Within countries too, mountain areas can be places of tension
and conflict.
Highland-lowland
interactions: Highlands and lowlands are interconnected through
often very complex linkages; therefore the interest in mountain
areas should not stop at the contour lines. Looking beyond mountain
areas into the ecological, economic, social and political dimensions
of highland-lowland interactions is an issue of growing importance.
This is particularly relevant in the context of lowland vulnerability
to mountain hazards.
How Disaster Reduction Can Help to Protect:
- Mountains
are home to one-tenth of the world’s
population of which over four-fifth is among the
poorest on the planet.
- -More
than half of humanity-three billion people-relies on
mountains for safe, fresh water to drink,
to grow food, to
produce electricity and to sustain industries.
- Mountain
forests are crucial to the ecological health of the
planet. They protect the watersheds
which supply
freshwater.
Tropical mountain forests have been disappearing
at a rapid pace in recent years
- Mountains
are islands of biological diversity and are home to
a unique and seemingly infinite
variety
of plants
and
animals found nowhere else. Of the twenty
plants species which supply 80% of the world’s food, six originated
in mountains.
- Mountains
are guardians of cultural diversity. They are keepers
of languages and repositories
of traditions.
- Mountains
are a barometer for climate change. A change in temperature
can disrupt
a mountain
system. Mountain
glaciers
are melting at unprecedented rates. Consequently,
mountains will become more dangerous
as soil erosion, landslides,
rock fall, floods and avalanches will
increase in number and intensity.
- Tourism
and the related economic boom of mountain resorts over
the last century
have
pushed more
and more settlements
into disaster-prone areas.
- Mountains
are very sensitive to environmental change. Environmental
degradation
becomes apparent earlier and
quicker. In general,
changes in soil regime above the
treeline are irreversible.
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Disaster
Reduction for Sustainable Mountain Development
Contribution from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development
(ICIMOD), Nepal
Mountain Hazards
and Disasters
Disasters in mountain areas regularly capture the headlines. Landslides, debris
flows, avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and nowadays glacial lake outburst
floods or GLOFs, cause sometimes massive loss of life and property and can
result in whole areas being cut off for days, weeks, or even months.
The hazards
are inherent in the mountain terrain: extreme slopes and unstable
formations turn heavy rain or snow into agents of destruction.
Water loosens boulders, soaked earth slips down exposed rock
faces, melting snow breaks away and crashes down, and the roads
and trails clinging to hillside slopes and creeping precariously
through narrow valleys are blocked or broken away, or rivers
in valley bottoms are temporarily dammed only to release their
waters some time later in a disastrous flood wave.
Mountains by
their nature are growing and changing areas: rain induces soil
erosion, freezing, thawing and circulation of water break down
rock. In some areas, like the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, the mountains
are themselves still being formed as a result of movements in
the earth’s crust, earthquakes and tremors. In other parts
volcanic activity adds to the hazards. More recently, land degradation
and loss of ground cover are suspected of contributing to an
increased incidence of disasters, compounded by changing climate
patterns that may reduce predictability and negate tried practices
of hazard reduction. The environmental and economic costs of
mountain disasters are immense. Even more than these costs are
the loss of lives and the impact of progress in mountain communities
who work, like the rest of us, towards better futures for their
children.
The more densely
populated the area the greater the disaster in human terms can
be; a small landslide or minor earthquake in a populated area
captures our attention, whereas a much greater event in a remote,
scarcely populated one can occur without notice. The remoteness
of mountain areas often means that mountain people face their
disasters quietly. People are vulnerable in ways unimagined by
those living in the plains. Living in remote scattered hamlets
they have difficult access to safe building technologies or warning
systems, often no way of telling the world that they have been
affected, and even when a large-scale disaster is noted, they
may wait days for relief teams to reach them with aid. Sometimes,
houses must be dug out and landslides cleared by hand, as there
is no way to bring in heavy machinery. Even medical treatment
is an unreachable luxury.
Natural Disasters
and Sustainable Development
The constant threat of disaster impedes development. Newly-built roads and
other structures may be destroyed, electricity supplies disrupted, and roads
to the outside world, that enable products and services to be sold,
broken. Whole tracts of scarce and valuable productive land may be washed away
or covered by sterile debris. Again, after disasters, mountain people are thrown
back on their own resources. For those living on the margin, losses incurred
through disaster can mean the end of hope. If mountain areas are to develop
economically, and remain attractive for people to live in, ways must be found
of reducing the impact of the inevitable physical threats.
The Solutions-Disaster
Reduction Measures in Mountains
Disaster reduction means dealing with both the hazards themselves – the
possibility that a particular phenomenon will occur; the conditions of risk
involved – the socio-economic and extent of people, property, and the
environment being affected; and the vulnerability of the population and landscape – that
is the ability of structures to withstand, and of society to cope with the
effects of, disasters. |
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What can
be done?
In mountains, drainage is often the key to reducing hazards. It can help control
shallow debris and earth landslides (Li and Liu 1982; Li Tianchi et. al 2001),
and remove groundwater to reduce water pressure. Other measures include retaining
walls to help hold back areas where sliding or flow is probable and ripraps
to control landslides on river banks. More recently, attention has been focused
on bioengineering, using appropriate forms of vegetation to stabilise vulnerable
surface areas, for example on slopes adjoining roads. There are two main ways
to reduce actual risks: first by recognising which places are most likely to
be affected by disasters and ensuring that settlements, infrastructure, and
other human activities avoid them; and second by setting up early warning systems
so that imminent disasters can be avoided. Reducing vulnerability is to a great
extent dependent on improving information flow and providing access to mitigation
and relief measures.
But all these
approaches to disaster reduction face difficulties in mountain
areas. The detailed information needed is generally lacking,
and difficult to collect; communication systems are often poor,
slow or inappropriate; and resources are not only limited in
these often poor areas, they are stretched by the scattered habitation,
huge distances, and problems of accessibility. There are often
big constraints in the land area available, sometimes there is
no other possibility than to build a house or road in a position
known to be at risk.
However, much
is being done. Science is being used to elucidate processes through
geophysics, geomorphology, geology, rock mechanics, soil science,
hydrology, seismology, and climatology to provide a basis for
predicting hazards and risks; technology is coming up with the
techniques that facilitate the means to hold back disaster. Across
the world, technicians and engineers are working to reduce the
impact of mountain disasters with activities ranging from fencing
to prevent avalanches in the Alps, to integrated control measures
to prevent debris flows in the HKH for example. Between 1991
and 1994 an integrated system of civil engineering and bioengineering
measures costing only US$ 170,000 were successfully used to stop
a recurring debris flow in the Laogan Ravine in China that had
caused losses of almost US$ 5 million over a number of years
and destroyed or threatened a railway, road, and canal. In 2000,
a monitoring and early warning system and risk mitigation plan
prevented many deaths in China when a landslide dam formed and
breached sending a flash flood 50m high down the Yigong river,
but cross-border communication failed and downstream in India
more than 30 people died.
Scientists
have produced essential information on such diverse topics as
hydrology and landslide mitigation in Switzerland (University
of Bern), mountain risk engineering in India (University of Roorkie),
landslide research in China (Beijing Institute of Geology), avalanches
in Switzerland (Snow and Ice Research Laboratory in Davos, and
debris flows and earthquakes in Japan. Satellites are being used
to obtain information about events in otherwise inaccessible
areas.
Like everything
else in mountain areas, disaster reduction is a field that attracts
a handful of dedicated people. It is, however, a field so vast
that today, during the UN’s International Year of Mountains,
governments ought to ask themselves if the attention and inputs
they provide are sufficient, particularly in view of the impact
of mountain disaster on water and power supplies in so many areas
of the world, and on the potential for development of mountain
areas.
By G.M. Pennington
and A.B. Murray*
References
- Li, T.;
Liu, Y. (1982) 'Highway Landslide Control'. In Editorial Group
of Road Base Design Handbook, Road Base (pp476-505). Beijing:
People's Communication
Publishing House
- Deoja,
B.B. (994) Sustainable Approaches to the Construction of roads
and Other Infrastructure in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas.
ICIMOD Occasional Paper No.
24. Kathmandu: ICIMOD
- Deoja, B.B.;
Dhital, M.R.; Manandhar, K.C.; Wagner, A. (1991) Mountain
Risk Engineering in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya. Kathmandu: ICIMOD
- Mool, P.K.;
Bajracharya, S.R.; Joshi, S.P.(2001) Inventory of Glaciers,
Glacial Lakes and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods – Monitoring and
Early Warning Systems in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region. Kathmandu:
ICIMOD
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Concrete examples of disaster reduction for sustainable mountain
development |
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Education in disaster reduction
The ICIMOD
(www.icimod.org) began to focus on disaster reduction rather
than disaster relief in 1988.
It made use of the sponsorship and interest of the Commission
of the European Communities (www.europa.eu.int, http://nedies.jrc.it)
to embark on an ambitious mountain risk-engineering (MRE) programme
which produced a nine-week course for engineers on the concept
and
techniques of building mountain infrastructure with a view to
reducing the number of disasters likely to occur. The textbook
of the course
has since been used in universities and engineering colleges
across the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region (Deoja et al.1991). Since
then, ICIMOD
has been involved in training in disaster reduction and produced
a further valuable resource book to support engineers and technicians
in the field (Li Tianchi et al. 2001). The United Nations Environment
Programme (www.unep.org), for example, has sponsored work on
the mapping of potential sites for glacial lake outburst floods
making
use of remote sensing data, undertaken by ICIMOD and completed
for Nepal and Bhutan (Mool et al.2001).The World Meteorological
Organization
(www.wmo.ch) has joined with ICIMOD to develop a regional flood
forecasting system using satellites to facilitate the rapid exchange
of data. |
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Cooperation in disaster reduction in Chamonix, France
Disaster
reduction is and should be multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary
by nature.
The more information to share in disaster planning, the better.
Therefore, many people and institutions must be involved in a wide
variety of
interrelated activities at all levels. Following the 1970 avalanche
in Val d’Isère (in the constituency of Chamonix Mont-Blanc,
France), a special safety commission was created. The commission
is composed of local government officials, local representatives
of the meteorological department, of the railways, of the police,
army and fire fighters, of local business people, and of mountain
professionals such as ski instructors and guides. The commission
produces recommendations which are forwarded to the Mayor and taken
into account in the disaster management planning of this highly
popular ski resort. For further information, please contact: Nadine
Georgel,
University of Grenoble, France, email: nageorgel@netcourrier.com
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Disaster
reduction in the Caucasus
The United
Nations Development Programme (www.undp.org) has been coordinating
disaster
reduction
programmes in the Caucasus since 1997. The countries involved
are Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Caucasus has a history
of
natural disasters among which are earthquakes, mudslides and
landslides.
Given the countries’ political struggle and their degree
of social and economic progress in the post-Cold War era, none
of them
can afford further setbacks in growth and development. The projects
center around the development of early warning systems, disaster
preparedness training and rapid response, as well as research in
the psychological, legal and environmental aspects of disaster
reduction managed by national focal points in each country. |
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The benefits of risk-mapping in disaster reduction - A case in
Austria
In many mountains
areas, avalanche zoning has become quite common. In the case
of Austria, risk planning became part of forestry
law in 1975. A key feature is the identification of avalanche
danger zones (among other mountain hazards). Colour codes define
the different
levels of danger. A red avalanche danger zone may thus not be
used for building whereas yellow danger zones can be zoned for
building
and construction subject to certain conditions, such as the reinforcement
of outer walls, set by the competent local authority. The limit
for the red danger zone was set at the point where the pressure
generated
by an avalanche exceeded 2.5 tons per square metre. But because
a lot of damage still occurred in the border zones between red
and
yellow, the Austrian Government set a new limit at 1 ton per
square meter as the edge of the red zone. Although there are
many more criteria
to take into account in avalanche management, the tightening
of the building zones in avalanche prone areas provides a good
example of
disaster reduction in practice.For more information, please contact:
The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, www.cipra.org |
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The case of Mount Usu in Japan
The volcanic
eruption of Mount Usu in Japan (March 2000) is an ideal showcase
for sound disaster reduction
for three reasons; first of all, the early warning system in
place (which monitored the rapid increase in earthquake tremors)
allowed
for the timely warning of the communities residing close to the
volcano. Second, the coordination between the national government,
the local
authorities and the private sector allowed for a very efficient
information flow and smooth logistical evacuation procedures.
Third, a pilot
project instigated by the Asian Disaster Reduction Center and
the National Space Development Agency of Japan allowed for the
live observation
of the disaster, as it was unfolding, via satellite. The voice
and motion picture data was made accessible on the Internet.
A disaster
expert was thus able to give instructions for the efficient management
of the event. Less disaster specialists needed to go onsite and
the live satellite coverage allowed for a better overall observation
of the situation.For more information, please contact the Asian
Disaster
Reduction Center: email: rep@adrc.or.jp or www.adrc.or.jp |
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Disaster reduction in history
The Incas living
in the Andes between the thirteenth and fifteenth century took
great care to create terraces
on steep slopes to conserve the scare soil and water necessary
for their crops. Many of these terraces remain today, as do similar
constructions
maintained for over a thousand years in the mountain provinces
of Indonesia and the Philippines. |
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Technical
assistance for disaster reduction in India
The 1999 earthquake
(6.8 Richter
Scale) in the Chamoli region of the Central Hymalayas,
Uttaranchal, India, was the second earthquake of this magnitude
in the region in a decade. It caused the damage of around 65000
houses.
The event brought about the necessary political commitment to
act so as to avoid similar occurrences in the future. A loan
was approved
by the Asian Development Bank for a Technical Assistance project
to the state of Uttaranchal to be administered by the Asian Disaster
Preparedness Center. A Disaster Mitigation and Management Center
was created. Politicians were briefed by a concept paper and
study tours, the technological communications’ infrastructure was
reviewed and disaster resilient systems were designed. Reforms
in the earthquake engineering curricula were developed and local
community
residents were given educational material and courses on disaster
management planning. By the time the project is fully implemented,
it will represent an effective disaster reduction module to be
repeated in other earthquake prone areas.For more information,
please contact:
www.adpc.org |
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Disaster
reduction Europe-wide
The European
Union (www.europa.eu.int) funds numerous disaster reduction
projects Europe-wide. One of them,
entitled “DAMOCLES”, contributes to advancing the technologies
for the quantitative assessment of debris flow and rock fall hazard
in order to disseminate these techniques to the end-users.For more
information, please contact: www.europa.eu.int or www.nedies.jrc.it |
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The economics
of disaster reduction in Latin America
MERCOSUR, the
economic union of the Southern
Cape of the Americas comprises Argentina,
Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It was founded
in 1995 and faces the need to find cost-effective ways to use
Chile’s
Pacific Ocean ports as a link to East Asia and the Western ports
of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But the geomorphologic
structure of South America challenges the above. The Andes offer
very few East-West passages which increases the risks and the costs
of trade. With the launch of MERCOSUR, the most accessible East-West
passages became bottlenecks, very difficult to manage due to the
increase in overland shipping (the Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores
pass, which links Chile to Argentina is a trade route servicing 200
million people) and the inability of the regional alliance to build
the infrastructure and provide the maintenance needed to counter
the challenges of dangerous mountain passes. The risks posed by natural
hazards have therefore also increased significantly. The “Central
Bi-Oceanic Corridor” is the passage way of around 70% of MERCOSUR
trade. The Andean section of the Central Bi-Oceanic Corridor, called
the Andean Corridor is the only mountain pass with the infrastructure
and services needed to handle such a trade volume and is of strategic
importance for the flow of goods and services between the Atlantic
and the Pacific. Given that snow storms or landslides have blocked
mountain passes for up to 10 days, and therefore cost the business
sector very high losses, improving the infrastructure of the Andean
corridor and adopting newer and more effective technologies have
become the joint responsibility of the governments of Chile and Argentina.
Both countries have launched action plans in capacity building, land
use and preventive disaster management and are coordinating their
actions through bilateral protocols with the overall aim to ensure
the sustainability of the Corridor and its trade in the new international
environment. Although the case of the Andean Corridor is not completed
yet, it underlines the fact that the need for sound disaster reduction
policies and actions can be at the heart of international cooperation
initiatives. Further, once put in a strict economic context, disaster
reduction can show its costs and benefits fast and obviously. For
more information, please contact Ms Nelly Gray de Cerdán,
Director, Centre of MERCOSUR Territorial Strategies of Cuyo University,
Argentina, email: nelgray@spsarg.com |
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The case of Africa
The African continent
covers about 20 percent of the Earth’s land surface and houses nearly 500 millions
people. About 10 percent of Africa’s surface area is made of
highlands, mountains or steep sloping areas. About 50 percent of
the countries in Africa contain mountains or have steep land problems.
The number of people affected by mountain problems is about 20 percent
of Africa’s population and a further 30 percent, or 150 million
people, depend on water resources originating in mountain systems.Although
mountains are generally perceived as areas where the conditions
of human life are difficult, African mountains and highlands have
been
very attractive for human land use. As a consequence, the average
population density in African mountains is more than double the
density of the lowlands. Since more than 70 percent of the African
workforce
is engaged in agriculture, problems of degradation affect African
people more seriously than people in other mountain systems of
the world. Floods and drought are therefore the most common hazards
in
African mountains, resulting from changes in the water regime due
to long-term soil erosion and soil degradation. Controlling population
growth and the introduction to and management of environmentally
sound farming techniques are key to reverse these trends. For information
on disaster reduction projects in Africa, please contact Dr Ailsa
Holloway, Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme,
University of Cape Town, South Africa Email: Holloway@enviro.uct.ac.za For more information on issues related to African mountains, please
check: www.mountain-portal.co.uk |
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A Word on Disaster Statistics:
The general trend is: more and more disasters, less deaths, but
more affected populations and increased economic losses.
It is challenging to attempt a compilation of global statistics
in the field of natural disasters. The insurance and re-insurance
sectors are a popular source of data, and frequently used. But
their figures need to be treated with caution, as they tend to
be linked to insurance claims in developed countries and often
do not represent the cost of the disaster in terms of percentage
of a given country’s Gross National Product (GDP). The
social and economic cost of disasters is difficult to estimate.
Additionally,
the remoteness of many communities in mountain areas means that
disaster losses will often not be recorded at all. In some cases,
disaster statistics are more precise on a smaller scale, at the
national or regional level. However, this is not the case in
all regions, notably in Africa where the lack of coherent data
means
that the impact of disasters is highly underestimated. Below
is an example of the impact of major catastrophes in the 20th
century.
MunichRe looked at the trend of economic losses and insurance
costs over a 50-year period linked to what it calls “great
natural catastrophes”. There were 20 of these, costing the
world US$ 38 billion (at 1998 values) between 1950 and 1959. However,
between 1990 and 1999, there were 82 such major disasters and the
economic losses had risen to a total of US$ 535 billion. That is,
disasters had multiplied fourfold but economic losses were 14 times
higher. And in each decade in between, both the number of great
disasters and the economic loss involved had risen steadily. The
global trend is that disaster impacts are on the rise, even if
losses in 2000 and 2001 were down.
These are absolute figures of economic loss, most of them to
be found in developed and industrialised countries. But seen
as losses
by percentage of GDP, it is developing countries that loose most
in relative terms, as shown in the graphic below (based on figures
provided by MunichRe). For example, the economic losses of the
United States from the 1997-98 El Niño event were estimated
to US$ 1.96 billion or 0.03 per cent of GDP. The economic losses
in Ecuador were 2.9 billion US$, but this represented 14.6 per
cent of GDP (ECLAC 2000).
Developing countries deserve the urgent attention of the international
community. Twenty-four of the 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
still face high levels of disaster risk. At least six of them have
been hit by between 2 and 8 major disasters per year in the last
15 years, with long-term consequences for human development (UNDP
2001).
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How YOU Can
Get Involved
At the local
level
- Discuss
the issue of disaster reduction at work, at home, in the professional
organizations, clubs, schools, universities you belong to.
- Organize
information sessions with local specialists and the media,
identify what
the problems and the solutions are in your area.
- Organize
special events on the International Day for Natural Disaster
Reduction
on the 9th of October 2002. Have social events, rallies,
picnics, tours of vulnerable areas, liase with the local authorities
and
the professionals involved in disaster reduction.
- Organize
fundraising events in your area to help finance disaster reduction
projects
in your area.
At the national
level
- Get in
touch with the ISDR National Platform in your country (the
information can be obtained by contacting the ISDR
Secretariat) and find out about their
activities and projects as well as special events for the International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.
- Study past
disasters in your country and contact relevant institutions
dealing with disaster reduction (the ISDR
Secretariat can give you information).
At the international
level
A number of events are organized as part of the International Year of Mountains
and as part of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Information on
these events can be found on the IYM website (www.mountains2002.org), on the
ISDR
website (www.unisdr.org).
- Get
involved in the issues and follow the debates
- Organize
information sessions on the international conference
- Adopt the
global agendas to the needs in your area.
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Useful Contacts
For any requests
on material or sources in this booklet, please contact the ISDR
Secretariat.
The contact
list below, composed of the members of the Inter-Agency Task
Force for Disaster Reduction, offers valuable further sources
of information in the disaster reduction field.
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Some of the greatest mountain systems are listed below.
The Alps
Mountain system, S central Europe. The Alps extend in a crescent
about 750 mi (1,200 km) from the Mediterranean coast between
France and Italy to Vienna, and cover more than 80,000 sq mi
(207,000 sq km). Several peaks rise above 10,000 ft (3,000 m);
the highest is Mont Blanc. The Alps form a divide between the
Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, and give rise
to several major European rivers, incl. the Rhône, Danube,
and Po. Glaciers cover about 1,500 sq mi (3,900 sq km), mostly
at elevations above 10,000 ft (3,000 m). The St. Gotthard Pass
is one of the Alps' notable tunnels. Grenoble, Innsbruck, and
Bolzano are major alpine cities.
The Andes
Mountain system, W S. America. One of the great natural features
of the globe, the Andes extend north-south about 5,500 mi (8,850
km). They run parallel to the Caribbean coast in Venezuela before
turning southwest and entering Colombia. There they form three
distinct massifs: the Cordilleras Oriental, Central, and Occidental.
In Ecuador they form two parallel cordilleras, one facing the
Pacific and the other descending toward the Amazon basin. These
ranges continue southward into Peru; the highest Peruvian peak
is Mt. Huascarán, at 22,205 ft (6,768 m), in the Cordillera
Blanca. In Bolivia, the Andes again form two distinct regions;
between them lies the Altiplano. Along the Chile-Argentina border,
they form a complex chain that includes their highest peak, Mt.
Aconcagua. In S Chile part of the cordillera descends beneath
the sea, forming innumerable islands. The Andes are studded with
numerous volcanoes that form part of the Ring of Fire. They also
are the source of many rivers, incl. the Orinoco, Amazon, and
Pilcomayo.
The Atlas
Mountain system, NW and N Africa. It extends some 1,200 mi (2,000
km) from Cape Dra, Morocco, to Cape Bon, Tunisia. It comprises
several ranges, incl. the High Atlas in Morocco, the Maritime
or Tell Atlas from Morocco to Tunisia, and the Saharan Atlas
in Algeria. Its highest peak is Morocco's Mt. Toubkal, at 13,665
ft (4,165 m).
The Himalayas
Mountain system, S Asia. It forms a barrier between the Tibetan
Plateau to the north and the plains of the Indian subcontinent
to the south. It constitutes the greatest mountain system on
earth and includes 30 mountains rising to heights above 24,000
ft (7,300 m), incl. Mt. Everest. The system extends some 1,500
mi (2,400 km) from east to west and covers about 230,000 sq mi
(595,000 sq km). It is traditionally divided into four parallel
ranges: from north to south, the Trans-Himalayas, the Great Himalayas
(incl. the major peaks), the Lesser Himalayas (incl. peaks of
7,000-15,000 ft, or 2,000-4,500 m), and the Outer Himalayas (incl.
the lowest peaks). Between the E and W extremities of the broad
Himalayan arc lie several Indian states and the kingdoms of Nepal
and Bhutan. It acts as a great climatic divide, causing heavy
rain and snow on the Indian side but aridity in Tibet, and represents
at many points a virtually impassable barrier, even by air. The
mountains' glaciers and snows are the source of 19 major rivers,
incl. the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra.
UNESCO,
within the framework of its intergovernmental programmes,
has prepared a CD-ROM entitled "UNESCO in the Mountains
of the World" providing information and site descriptions
on all UNESCO mountain biosphere reserves recognized
under the Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB), all
mountain world heritage sites listed under the World
Heritage Convention, and all on-going mountain projects
under the International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
and the International Geological Correlation Programme
(IGCP).
The CD-ROM is based on a global mountain map produced
by UNEP-WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre) in
electronic format. The CDrom is also accessible on http://www.unesco.org/mab/IYM.htm |
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