![]()
Part 1
Africa
![]()
Introduction
Adenrele Awotona
Britainās Overseas Development Instituteās report, The Geography of Poverty, Disasters and Climate Extremes in 2030, declares that poverty and disasters are closely connected and that terminating extreme poverty is contingent upon the governments of the poorest countries coming to terms with their increased risk of natural disasters. This is because there is a very close overlap between the countries that are expected to still have very high levels of poverty in 2030 and those most unprotected from natural vulnerabilities.1
The African Union and the Regional Economic Communities have committed themselves to the goals of poverty alleviation and disaster risk reduction in their core mandates. Nonetheless, over 60 percent of Africans continue to live in abject poverty, in areas that are most at risk for disaster-induced poverty and on a continent that recorded 147 disasters in 2011 and 2012, causing economic losses of US$1.3 billion.2 In 2012 alone, more than 34 million people were affected by drought and extreme temperatures, which compounded other vulnerabilities and hazards such as storms and disease transmission.3
Africans are thus adversely affected by environmental disasters and are very vulnerable to the negative impacts of global climate change, such as declining harvests and suitable land for pasture, food insecurity, land degradation, spread of disease, and decreasing water supplies, and are without an effective central capacity to manage these problems. They therefore suffer from disproportionate numbers of deaths, transpositions, and destruction of infrastructure. With very few assets, a weak social safety net to help them cope with multiple and interdependent forms of vulnerability and catastrophes (hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, droughts, flooding, and biological hazards), and no insurance to cover the loss of their possessions, they are forced to live in locations that are subject to numerous risk factors. These places include unplanned urban areas, substandard informal housing and settlements on the periphery of cities, inaccessible rural areas with little or no effective early warning programs, and locations near infrastructure that is easily damaged when natural disasters strike.
Africa currently has the highest rate of urbanization in the world, with 40 percent of the population living in cities or urban areas; this will increase to 50 percent by 2050.4 However, according to the UNISDR, development strategies are not keeping pace with this exponential physical and demographic development, and most governments have yet to undertake massive national and trans-boundary comprehensive multi-hazard risk assessments to inform their disaster risk programs and to implement effective programs to reduce the underlying risk factors of disasters, in spite of the increasing acknowledgment of the connection between poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters.5 There is also a lack of integration of risk analysis and disaster risk reduction measures into national and local development programs. Governmentsā inability in this regard is a result of inadequate resources and lack of data on vulnerability; lack of political will; fiscal limitations; inadequate technical and operational capacity; absence of a multi-sectoral capacity-development plan for strategic government institutions; ineffective institutional, legislative, and policy frameworks; nonprioritization of disaster risk reduction at both the national and local levels; insufficient or inactive involvement of multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder participation in national platforms; and an inability to engage with relevant non-governmental actors such as civil society organizations, the private sector, and communities at risk to implement local initiatives.
Consequently, in order to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters, reduce risks, diminish poverty, protect economic growth, save livelihoods as well as lives, and decrease the effects of climatological hazards due to climate change, there is an urgent need to improve urban planning, encourage afforestation and water conservation, apply stringent building standards, reinforce social support programs, and develop long-term initiatives to combat climate change. It is also essential to integrate disaster risk reduction into the educational curricula of schools, colleges, and universities. Currently, very few university degree programs exist that have a focus on disaster risk science and sustainable development.6
The chapters in this section focus on some of these issues, especially flood preparedness and response, the assessment of the vulnerability of the rural poor to climate hazards, and capacity-building for sustainable post-disaster reconstruction through public education.
In Chapter 1, Abiodun Olukayode Olotuah and Abraham Adeniyi Taiwo examine how the architectural curricula in Nigerian universities can produce graduates with a strong grounding in sustainable architecture (e.g., environmentally conscious design techniques; affordable, eco-friendly, and sustainable housing designs and construction; and healthier and smarter buildings which are flood-resilient). Similarly, Chapter 2, by Zanzan Akaka Uji, seeks to introduce vulnerable rural communities to technologically appropriate design and construction. The aim is to help create sustainable communities as an effective response to the human-made disasters that result from the incessant crises and conflicts in Nigeria. The ultimate goal is to incorporate these ideas into university curricula and programs in the construction industry and disciplines in order to ensure proper training in building for sustainability in human-made, disaster-prone environments. In Chapter 3, Bernard Tarza Tyubee and Iankaa Aguse focus on disaster preparedness, response and recovery, environmental protection for vulnerable groups in vulnerable places, and climate change adaptation strategies. They investigate major climate hazards, assess the level of vulnerability of rural households to these climate hazards, and define strategies households can use to adapt to climate hazards. In Chapter 4, Daniel Maposa, James J. Cochran, and āMaseka Lesaoana focus on the lower Limpopo River basin of Mozambique, which is characterized by alternating extreme floods and severe droughts: these extreme natural hazards are the major causes of destruction of crops and human lives. Floods and droughts account for about 90 percent of all people affected by all natural disasters, and the purpose of this chapter is to report the results of a flood frequency analysis using flood heights (water levels) data series where the gauging instruments either may not be functioning due to lack of servicing or may simply be unavailable due to budget constraints. This study reveals that in countries where there is a scarcity of quality rainfall and river discharges data series records, flood heights can be used to make important decisions in flood management and risk reduction.
Notes
Bibliography
Environment and Poverty Times. (n.d.). Natural Disasters: āAt the Whim of Natureā ā Between Drought and Flood, No. 1, p. 12. Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://www.grida.no/files/publications/environment-times/poverty%20No1%20-%20page12.pdf
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). (2013, June 6). Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa ā Status Report on the Implementation of Africa Regional Strategy and Hyogo Framework for Action. Executive Summary. Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://reliefweb.int/repo...
