Forces of nature, acts of Man

Wijkman, Anders; Timberlake, Lloyd

doi:10.4324/9780429351969-1

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Disasters have a growing influence on human use systems worldwide (Wijkman and Timberlake, 2021). Every year, significant disasters (such as floods) kill and injure thousands of people, costing billions of dollars in economic losses (Alrehaili, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying obstacles encountered at different stages of the disaster management cycle (DMC) and its implications for rural flooding in Pakistan

Shah

Ullah

Khan

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The world has seen a number of natural hazards, but among them, floods are perhaps the most frequent devastating natural hazard, resulting in more human causalities and financial losses. Rural inundation has become an issue of concern in various parts of the world, including Pakistan. Over the past few decades, it has been hard for local institutions and rural populations to recover from the trauma inflicted by these events. The disaster risk management cycle is a well-known tool for coping with disasters and their consequences. Yet, the DRM cycle efficacy has been questioned in various rural settings. Thus, this paper applied a programmatic strategy to understand the challenges disaster management authorities and communities face in managing flood risks through the conventional disaster management cycle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The study objective was accomplished by using both qualitative and exploratory research designs. Four communities (namely, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, and Dera Ismail Khan) with a historical record of flooding were chosen for focus group discussion (32 in total) using a purposive sampling method. Additionally, 31 key informant interviews were undertaken from pertinent local disaster risk management institutions. We employed a thematic analysis to classify responses and obstacles into the various stages of the disaster management cycle. The findings of this study from interviews and focus groups provided some new insight into the conventional DRM cycle. The issues and challenges encountered by institutions and the community members were divided into four stages: 1-mitigation, 2-preparedness, 3-rescue and relief (R&R), and 4-rehabilitation and recovery (R&R). Based on the findings, it seems that local disaster management institutions still rely on reactive strategies and deal with flood hazards on an ad hoc basis. Poor governance and a lack of responses for present development trajectories were also highlighted as reasons why flood risk management is still challenging. There is an urgent need to perform susceptibility and risk assessments for multiple hazards and develop specialized plans that follow disaster risk reduction principles and adaptation to climate change. This study recommends incorporating resilience and adaptation to climate change into the current disaster management cycle to prevent or reduce future hazards and risks in rural areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying obstacles encountered at different stages of the disaster management cycle (DMC) and its implications for rural flooding in Pakistan

Shah

Ullah

Khan

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…That was the predominant approach at that time, (and remains so for some actors who benefit from blaming “nature” rather than social construction of disasters). There was other work going on against that “naturalist” approach (for example, Ken Hewitt, Phil O'Keefe, Ken Westgate, Anders Wijkman and Lloyd Timberlake and others) (Hewitt, 1983; Westgate and O’Keefe, 1976; Wijkman and Lloyd, 1984). A lot of researchers who focused on individual types of hazard perceive them as natural events and did not understand the social construction of a disaster that was “triggered” by the hazard.…”

Section: “At Risk” Publication: Its Genesismentioning

confidence: 99%

DRR Interview with Terry Cannon: disaster studies: why is class being ignored?

Cannon

2024

DPM

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PurposeThe transcript is of one from a number of interviews with disaster risk reduction (DRR) “pioneers” carried out in 2022 as a part of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) project to record the history of the field. It aims to enable one of the “pioneers” to explain his role in the emergence of disaster studies and provide critical commentary on what he considers is wrong with current DRR approaches.Design/methodology/approachTerry Cannon was interviewed to explain the beginnings of his involvement in disasters research and to comment on his views on progress in the field of disaster risk reduction since his early work in the 1980s. The transcript and video were developed in the context of the UNDRR project on the history of DRR.FindingsThe interview provides an account of the origins of the book “At Risk” and why it was considered necessary. This is put into the context of how the field of DRR has emerged since the 1980s. It elicits opinions on what he considers the gaps in both his early work (especially in the book “At Risk” of which he was a co-author) and in the field of DRR recently.Originality/valueIt provides historical context on how early disaster research developed the alternative framework of “social construction” of disasters, in opposition to the idea that they are “natural”. It challenges some of the approaches that have emerged as DRR and has been institutionalised, including its increasing difficulty in supporting the ideas of social construction.

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“…The definition of disaster by the UNDRR does not make reference to such effects concentrating on direct impacts. The debate on the ripple effects was the basis of the discussion started 40 years ago on disasters and development (Wijkman and Timberlake, 1984), but this has not been taken up on or resolved satisfactorily even to date.…”

Section: Towards a New Paradigm For Systemic Risk Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

The social construction of systemic risk: towards an actionable framework for risk governance

Maskrey¹,

Jain

Lavell

2023

DPM

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PurposeThis paper explores the building blocks of risk governance systems that are equipped to manage systemic risk in the 21st century. Whilst approaches to risk governance have been evolving for more than a decade, recent disasters have shown that conventional risk management solutions need to be complemented with a multidimensional risk approach to govern complex risks and prevent major, often simultaneous, crises with cascading and knock-on effects on multiple, interrelated systems at scale. The paper explores which risk governance innovations will be essential to provide the enabling environment for sustainable development that is resilient to interrelated shocks and risks.Design/methodology/approachThis interdisciplinary literature review-based thought piece highlights how systemic risk is socially constructed and identifies guiding principles for systemic risk governance that could be actionable by and provide entry points for local and national governments, civil society and the private sector. particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), in a way that is relevant to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This considers preparedness, response and resilience, but more importantly prospective and corrective risk control and reduction strategies and mechanisms. Only when systemic risk is framed in a way that is relevant to the political agendas of countries will it be possible to begin a dialogue for its governance.FindingsThe paper identifies opportunities at the global, national and local levels, which together draw up a viable framework for systemic risk governance that (1) embraces the governance of sustainability and resilience through a strengthened holistic governance framework for social, economic, territorial and environmental development; (2) improves managing conventional risk to ultimately manage systemic risks; (3) fosters the understanding of vulnerability and exposure to gain insight into systemic risk; (4) places a greater focus on prospective risk management; (5) manages systemic risk in local infrastructure systems, supply chains and ecosystems; (6) shifts the focus from protecting privatized gains to managing socialized risk.Originality/valueThe choices and actions that societies take on the path of their development are contributing intentionally or unintentionally to the construction of systemic risks, which result in knock-on effects among interconnected social, environmental, political and economic systems. These risks are manifesting in major crises with cascading effects and a real potential to undermine the achievement of the SDGs, as COVID-19 is a stark reminder of. This paper offers the contours of a new risk governance paradigm that is able to navigate the new normal in a post-COVID world and is equipped to manage systemic risk.

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Forces of nature, acts of Man

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Identifying obstacles encountered at different stages of the disaster management cycle (DMC) and its implications for rural flooding in Pakistan

Identifying obstacles encountered at different stages of the disaster management cycle (DMC) and its implications for rural flooding in Pakistan

DRR Interview with Terry Cannon: disaster studies: why is class being ignored?

The social construction of systemic risk: towards an actionable framework for risk governance

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