Risk and planet earth : natural hazards, vulnerability, integrated adaptation strategies : papers from the Conference "Risk and Planet Earth" on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the University of Leipzig, Germany / edited by Anne Dolemeyer, Janek Zimmer, Gerd Tetzlaff ; with contributions from Jorn Birkmann [and nine others].

Format:

• Book
• Conference/Event

Contributor:

• Dölemeyer, Anne, editor.
• Zimmer, Janek, editor.
• Tetzlaff, Gerd, editor.
• Birkmann, Jörn, contributor.
• Universität Leipzig (1991- )

Conference Name:

• Conference "Risk and Planet Earth" (2009 : Leipzig, Germany)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Natural disasters--Congresses.
• Climatic changes--Risk assessment--Congresses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (114 pages)

Place of Publication:

Stuttgart : Schweizerbart Science Publishers, [2010]

Summary:

"Disasters are a major challenge for countries across the globe. Current debates on climate change focus both on extreme weather events that trigger disasters and their long-term variability. Effective disaster prevention requires detailed understanding of and learning from past disasters and the implementation of adaptation strategies in order to mitigate or control disasters resulting from climatic changes already under way. Among them, flood-, hurricane-, heavy rain- and drought-related disasters take a prominent place. Disaster prevention and preventive adaptation strategies present a complex challenge. Predicting climatic changes is not enough: we need scenarios that describe the probable effects of these changes on local climates and sea levels. Just as important is the implementation of technical and organizational changes in order to prevent, or at least mitigate, the impact of disasters. These changes, obviously, must take into account complex aspects of urbanization and socio-technical development. 'Risk and Planet Earth' addresses the complexity and the multidisciplinarity of this challenge. The authors of this collection deal with a wide range of aspects. The volume thus presents an exemplary overview of the breadth of long-term adaptation strategies and applied field research, taking available climate predictions as prominent examples. Being multidisciplinary in its approach, the book addresses researchers concerned with disaster prevention, interested in transcending their own disciplinary boundaries as well as practitioners in the field and the general public."--Publisher's description.

Contents:

• Risk and planet Earth: an introduction / Anne Dölemeyer
• Dealing with climate change and extreme weather events / Irmgard Schwaetzer
• Who?s afraid of planet Earth? / Eduardo F.J. de Mulder
• Future challenges for disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness / Rudolf Seiters
• Five theses on climate change / Nico Stehr
• Changing knowledge about disaster recovery: bridging gaps between research and action in light of Hurricane Katrina and other policy-forcing events / James K. Mitchell
• Global disaster response and reconstruction: stabilization versus destabilization: challenges of the global disaster response to reduce vulnerability and risk following disasters / Jörn Birkmann
• Challenges and opportunities of climate change adaptation in high risk areas using the example of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam / Matthias Garschagen
• Higher education for disaster risk management in developing countries: experiences of German development cooperation / Ria Hidajat
• The geography of urbanization and the evolution of risk: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA / Richard Campanella
• Social vulnerability assessment at county level in Germany concerning river-floods / Alexander Fekete
• Possible changes in flood frequency in an alpine catchment / Christian Dobler
• Estimation of possible damages due to catastrophic flooding for long-term disaster mitigation planning / Saqib Ehsan, Walter Marx, Silke Wieprecht
• Adaptation to flood risks through legal rulemaking: the German Federal Act to Improve Preventive Flood Control (APFC) and the European Flood Risks Directive (FRD) / Wolfgang Köck.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

3-510-65478-1