Bibliographic details:

Bruins, H. J., & Lithwick, H. (Eds.). (2012). The arid frontier: Interactive management of environment and development (Vol. 41). Springer Science & Business Media.

Abstract:

The arid frontier has been a challenge for humanity from time immemorial. Drylands cover more than one-third of the global land surface, distributed over Africa, Asia, Australia, America and Southern Europe. Disasters may develop as a result of complex interactions between drought, desertification and society. Therefore, proactive planning and interactive management, including disaster-coping strategies, are essential in dealing with arid-frontier development.
This book presents a conceptual framework with case studies in dryland development and management. The option of a rational and ethical discourse for development that is beneficial for both the environment and society is emphasized, avoiding extreme environmentalism and human destructionism, combating both desertification and human livelihood insecurity. Such development has to be based on appropriate ethics, legislation, policy, proactive planning and interactive management. Excellent scholars address these issues, focusing on the principal interactions between people and dryland environments in terms of drought, food, land, water, renewable energy and housing.
Audience: This volume will be of great value to all those interested in Dryland Development and Management: professionals and policy-makers in governmental, international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as researchers, lecturers and students in Geography, Environmental Management, Regional Studies, Development Anthropology, Hazard and Disaster Management, Agriculture and Pastoralism, Land and Water Use, African Studies, and Renewable Energy Resources.

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Bruins, H. J., & Bu, F. (2006). Food security in China and contingency planning: the significance of grain reserves. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(3), 114-124.

Abstract:

China is inhabited by ca 20 percent of the world population, but has only 7 percent of global arable land and only 6.6 percent of global freshwater resources. These unfavourable relationships between population size and the basic resources for food production – soil and water – require careful food security and contingency planning by the Chinese authorities. The country has been remarkably successful in raising its food production since 1949 at a faster rate (400 percent) than the increase in its population (240 percent). This has basically been achieved by increasing the yields per unit area with enhanced fertilizer use, as the total size of arable land has been decreasing in recent years. Though China attempts to be largely self‐sufficient in food grain production, two possible contingency scenarios are suggested that might cause grave problems: (1) severe multi‐annual drought; (2) reduced chemical fertilizer manufacturing. If Chinese food production would drop as a result by, say, 33 percent, famine, the dreaded scourge throughout Chinese history, might recur. A shortage of ca 150 million tons of food grains cannot easily be buffered by the volume of food grains annually traded on the world market, ca 240 million tons. Much of this amount tends to be committed already to traditional buyers, as most countries in the world have to import food grains. Cash reserves, therefore, may not guarantee food purchases, because global grain reserves are limited and declining. The formation and maintenance of large internal food grain reserves in China, common in its tradition and ancient history, seem the only realistic contingency planning strategy to avert famine in case of a severe decline in its food production in future crisis years.

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Inbar, M. O. S. H. E., & Bruins, H. J. (2004). Environmental impact of multi‐annual drought in the Jordan Kinneret watershed, Israel. Land Degradation & Development, 15(3), 243-256.

Abstract:

Floods and droughts are the most common of natural disasters, and the number of victims and the economic damage are both greater than those caused by other events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The drought that affected Israel between 1998 and 2001 was of unusual climatic and hydrologic severity; the most serious in the last 125 years in northern Israel. The climatic drought affected the water flow of the Jordan River and the level of Lake Kinneret, which fell to −214·90 m (below sea‐level), the lowest lake level in historical periods. The annual flow of the Jordan River in the drought period was the lowest in the 50‐year hydrological record.

Human interference, water pumping and flow diversion, exacerbated the negative drought impact, causing land degradation such as the drying of wetlands and salinization of freshwater aquifers. The failure to introduce drought contingency planning and sustainable water resources management has so far affected agriculture and nature conservation.

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Kafle, H. K., & Bruins, H. J. (2009). Climatic trends in Israel 1970–2002: warmer and increasing aridity inland. Climatic Change, 96(1-2), 63-77.

Abstract:

Climatic trends in Israel during the period 1970–2002 were studied in detail on the basis of three parameters: average annual temperature, annual precipitation and the annual aridity (humidity) index P/PET (P = Precipitation; PET = Potential Evapotranspiration). Significant warming is evident in all 12 evaluated meteorological stations, situated in different parts of Israel. Along the Mediterranean coast, the average annual precipitation and P/PET values remained more or less at the same level. However, more inland, both eastward and southward, precipitation and P/PET trends are declining, indicating increased aridity. Eilat, Beer Sheva and Sedom Pans, situated in the desert, showed the most significant increase in aridity among the 12 meteorological stations we investigated. The relationship between changes in temperature and precipitation showed a negative correlation in all cases except for Eilat, the southernmost and driest part of Israel. The negative correlations for Negba, Kefar Blum, Har Kena’an, Beer Sheva and Sedom Pans are statistically significant. In conclusion, the climate in Israel has become more arid in most regions, except for the coastal plain.

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Shmueli, D., Ben Gal, M., Segal, E., Reichman, A., Feitelson, E. 2019. “Earthquake readiness in volatile regions: the case of Israel”, Natural Hazards 98(2), 405-423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-019-03698-x

Abstract:

The Jordan Rift Valley is a high-risk low-occurrence zone for earthquakes, with documented incidences within the last millennium causing widespread destruction. This research examines the implications of the immediate risks for earthquake readiness. Due to data availability, we focus on Israel’s readiness for earthquakes and compare our findings with a cursory review of readiness in the proximate countries. Readiness refers to mitigation and preparedness (before), response (during) and recovery (after). The immediate and palpable threats in the region are wars and terrorism, and our hypothesis is that governance culture in this volatile region is geared toward capacities and expertise  which have been developed to address national security threats, characterized by emphasis on quick response. We expect to see a bias toward immediate response with regard to earthquake readiness as well, with attention also paid to preparedness. Accordingly, we hypothesize that other aspects of readiness, such as retrofitting of buildings and infrastructure in the mitigation category, lag behind in countries surrounding the Jordan Rift. To test this, we develop and apply a regulatory system scan and assessment methodology to the Israeli case. The methodology includes structured mapping and evaluation of the relevant regulatory system as well as actual policy outputs. The process includes inputs from policy makers, experts, and stakeholders. Findings show that the country’s earthquake readiness regime is indeed heavily biased toward immediate response which is continually advancing and improving, managed by security-related bodies. In contrast, mitigation efforts are deficient and little is being done to improve the situation. A survey of readiness efforts of other countries along the Jordan Rift points to a similar situation.

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Depietri, Y., & Orenstein, D. E. (2018). Tradeoffs between regulating and cultural services as a sources of fire risk in Haifa. In Conference Proceedings–Long Paper (Barcelona).

Abstract:

Urban areas are increasingly at risk of several natural hazards. In the Mediterranean area, the risk of forest fires at the wildland-urban interface are generating increasing losses.

However, green areas in and around the city have traditionally been considered as a source of fresh air, recreational, as well as for educational and aesthetic purposes. Tradeoffs can then arise between the desire to preserve nature around cities for cultural ecosystem services and the need to manage the forest to reduce the risk of fires. Most of the literature on ecosystem services’ tradeoffs has concentrates on provisioning versus cultural and regulating services. The potential tradeoffs arising from managing nature for recreational, spiritual, mental benefits and for hazard regulating functions in urban and peri-urban areas have rarely been explored. In this paper we assess cultural services and fires risk in the peri-urban forest of the city of Haifa (Israel) using participatory GIS mapping. We interviewed two groups regarding the spatial extent of these services and the management strategies to reduce risk: users of the green areas of Haifa and forest fire experts. We identified tradeoffs between cultural and regulating services for fire control in the green areas of the city. Green space users promoted the idea of a pristine nature and its conservation, mainly for recreational purposes, while experts suggested that improving fire regulating services would require intensive forest management with changes in the  landscape such as the removal of pine trees and the creation of buffers around the urban core. We conclude that the tradeoffs between cultural and regulating services can generate sources of risk and must be reconciled when considering addressing it.

Bibliographic details:

Depietri, Y., & Orenstein, D. E. (2019). Fire-regulating services and disservices with an application to the Haifa-Carmel region in Israel. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7, 107.

Abstract:

In the Mediterranean region, and in other fire-prone areas of the globe, human and economic losses due to forest fires have increased in the past decades, particularly at the urban-wildland interface. To counter this trend, economic and human resources are generally invested to combat and suppress wildfires, with much less invested to adapt through ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem services for fire regulation are rarely accounted for in the literature and are generally excluded from ecosystem service classifications. This gap causes fire-regulating services to be overlooked in socio-ecological assessments and in economic valuations, potentially further hampering the design and implementation of ecosystem-based approaches. We review the literature on fire risk reduction related to ecosystem management to define and characterize fire-regulating services and disservices. We then suggest indicators for the assessment of these services and disservices, and we propose a conceptual framework linking fire risk, ecosystem services, and ecosystem management practices. In the second part of the paper, we apply these concepts to the historical development of the social-ecological system of the Haifa-Mount Carmel region in Israel, including pre- and post-fire forest management practices. To inform the case study we investigate reports, relevant scientific articles, and policy documents, all corroborated with information from expert lectures on the topic. We conclude by suggesting that human capital should become an integral part of the description and definition of fire-regulating services and disservices, especially for highly modified urban and peri-urban environments.

Bibliographic details:

Aitsi-Selmi, A., Murray, V., Wannous, C., Dickinson, C., Johnston, D., Kawasaki, A., ... & Yeung, T. (2016). Reflections on a science and technology agenda for 21st century disaster risk reduction. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 7(1), 1-29.

Abstract:

The first international conference for the post-2015 United Nations landmark agreements (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement on Climate Change) was held in January 2016 to discuss the role of science and technology in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. The UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 aimed to discuss and endorse plans that maximize science’s contribution to reducing disaster risks and losses in the coming 15 years and bring together the diversity of stakeholders producing and using disaster risk reduction (DRR) science and technology. This article describes the evolution of the role of science and technology in the policy process building up to the Sendai Framework adoption that resulted in an unprecedented emphasis on science in the text agreed on by 187 United Nations member states in March 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in June 2015. Contributions assembled by the Conference Organizing Committee and teams including the conference concept notes and the conference discussions that involved a broad range of scientists and decision makers are summarized in this article. The conference emphasized how partnerships and networks can advance multidisciplinary research and bring  together science, policy, and practice; how disaster risk is understood, and how risks are assessed and early warning systems are designed; what data, standards, and innovative practices would be needed to measure and report on risk reduction; what research and capacity gaps exist and how difficulties in creating and using science for effective DRR can be overcome. The Science and Technology Conference achieved two main outcomes: (1) initiating the UNISDR Science and Technology Partnership for the implementation of the Sendai Framework; and (2) generating discussion and agreement regarding the content and endorsement process of the UNISDR Science and Technology Road Map to 2030.

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Tiernan, A., Drennan, L., Nalau, J., Onyango, E., Morrissey, L., & Mackey, B. (2019). A review of themes in disaster resilience literature and international practice since 2012. Policy Design and Practice, 2(1), 53-74.

Abstract:

This paper reviews the practice and research trends in disaster resilience and disaster risk reduction literature since 2012. It applies the rapid appraisal methodology to explore developments in the field and to identify key themes in research and practice. In particular, the paper examines how the emerging themes of disaster risk reduction from the Sendai Framework are being integrated into health risk management and disaster governance paradigms. The research findings identify three important emerging themes: socialization of responsibility for resilience; ongoing interest in risk management with an emphasis on public private partnerships as enabling mechanisms; and a nuanced exploration of the concept of adaptive resilience.

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks: Readiness for 2030: Proceedings of a Workshop.

https://doi.org/10.17226/25391.

Abstract:

In November 2018, an ad hoc planning committee at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine planned two sister workshops held in Washington, DC, to examine the lessons from influenza pandemics and other major outbreaks, understand the extent to which the lessons have been learned, and discuss how they could be applied further to ensure that countries are sufficiently ready for future pandemics. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from both workshops.

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