Takako Izumi – författare

Science and Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia: Potentials and Challenges provides both a local and global perspective on how to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Topics demonstrate the advancement of scientific research as it applies to early warning systems, including identifying risk and the strengthening of infrastructure for different types of hazards. Through different major disasters, it has become evident that there must be a balance between hard and soft technology and physical, process and social solutions. This book demonstrates how this has been successfully implemented in Asia, and how these applications can apply on a global basis.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) have played important roles over the years in the disaster field.  Starting from the traditional approach of response and relief, the emphasis has gradually shifted to disaster risk reduction.  From international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to national and local NGOs, all stakeholders have recognized the significance of and need for community-based risk reduction. In their different capacities they have endeavored to establish links to the policy options at the local and national levels.  There still are many issues that remain untouched by CSOs, however, and local CSOs face special challenges in resources in terms of human, financial, and technical issues.  

This book draws upon case studies and practices of different types of DRR involvement by the private sector from all over the world. The book comprises two parts, Part I: Overview and Regional Cases; and Part II: Country Cases. The regional cases include those from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America, and the country cases include ones from India, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Nepal. DRR at the international level is discussed from the perspective of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The perspective of the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is presented in the discussion of DRR at the societal level.

 The private sector is becoming more active in disaster management and plays an important role in distributing relief items and sending search and rescue teams in the response phase. However, once the response stage is over, private sector involvement tends to fade. While a number of disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives by the private sector are documented, they remain limited. The private sector can contribute enormously to DRR by developing business continuity plans, innovating technology for early warning systems, and providing and sharing technical knowledge, skills, and resources in the field of disaster preparedness. To strengthen DRR capacity, it is crucial to involve the private sector as major actors in DRR.

 The primary target groups for this book are students and researchers in the fields of disaster management and DRR studies. Another target group comprises practitioners and policy makers, who will be able to apply the collective knowledge from this work to policy and decision making. The book provides an overview of the current research trends and furnishes basic knowledge on this important topic.

This book presents the advancements in the disaster risk reduction and resilience building in the countries affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami countries. The book includes a few cross-cutting issues related to governance, technology, and communities, with two major parts: (1) cross-cutting issues and (2) regional and country level experiences.

At the threshold of twenty years from Indian Ocean Tsunami, the concept of disaster risk reduction field has evolved significantly in the affected countries as well as around the world. Globally, several mega disasters happened in the last 20 years, and risk landscape has become more complex. In addition, technology, governance, and people’s resilience have gained positive momentum. We had two world conferences on disaster risk reduction, resulting in two global disaster risk reduction frameworks, which aligned with development frameworks as well as climate change agreements. COVID-19 and post COVID risk landscape has brought the new dimension of compound and complex disasters and need for all hazards’ approach.