Chapter 15 Integrating disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation: Recent initiatives in South Asia

Abstract

South Asia, home to one-fifth of humanity, perennially has been a disaster-prone region. In 2007, for instance, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) reported that out of the top five countries in the world hit hardest by natural disasters, the first two were Bangladesh and India, while Pakistan occupied the fourth position (CRED Crunch, 2008). This was not an exceptional year but generally has been the trend, which highlights the comparative vulnerability of the region to disasters. Two-thirds of the disasters the region experiences are climate related and there have been phenomenal increases in their frequency, severity, and unpredictability in recent times. The severest impacts have been in terms of sea-level rise leading to submergence of low-lying coastal areas and depletion of Himalayan glaciers, threatening the perennial rivers that sustain the food, water, energy, and environmental security of the region. Climate change is surely creating grounds for newer and more severe risks of disasters in the region in the coming years.

Citation

Dhar Chakrabarti, P.G. (2010), "Chapter 15 Integrating disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation: Recent initiatives in South Asia", Shaw, R., Pulhin, J.M. and Jacqueline Pereira, J. (Ed.) Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: Issues and Challenges (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 325-347. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2010)0000004021