HR: 0800h
AN: U51A-0001    [Abstracts]
TI: Global Mortality Risk Atlas: A comparison of two global disaster risk benchamrking projects
AU: * Mosquera-Machado, S d
EM: mosquera@iri.columbia.edu
AF: International Institute fot Climate Prediction-IRI, International Research Institute for Climate Prediction-IRI The Earth Institute Columbia University. 62 Rt 9W, Monell Building, Palisades, Ny 10964-8000 United States
AB: Natural disasters occur all over the globe due to the impact of a variety of physical phenomena on a vulnerable population. Disaster risk management has become central in socioeconomic research and policy planning in order to ensure sustainable development. This paper provides an overview of two global natural disaster risk benchmarking initiatives: the Disaster Risk Index (DRI) developed by UNEP/GRID for UNDP's global report, Reducing Disaster Risk: a Challenge for Development; and the Global Natural Disaster Risk Hotspots, implemented by Columbia University and the World Bank. The objectives of this paper are three-fold: (1) to summarize current understanding of global mortality disaster risk with reference to geophysical and hydro-meteorological hazards; (2) to help stakeholders, government and the international community to understand how these two risk benchmarking reports and their results can be interpreted individually and in relation to one another; and (3) to produce a forward looking evaluation of the current state of the art, usefulness and complementarity of the methods and results of these analyses. The underlying philosophy of the two reviewed projects is based on the idea that disasters are caused not only by hazardous events, but rather by the interaction between them and infrastructure, economic activities and society. In this conception, these projects are reaffirming the intimate connection between natural disaster causality and the processes of human development. The approach of this paper is to use the two mortality risk indices produced by the projects and to transform it using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in such a way, that the obtained figures facilitate global, inter-country and inter-regional comparisons. The comparison is done in a hazard by hazard basis as well as for the multi-hazards mortality risk. This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of each project and highlights the potential synergies and contributions to holistic risk management.
DE: 6300 POLICY SCIENCES (7964)
DE: 6349 General or miscellaneous
DE: 9800 GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005