Albris et al. (2020). Disaster Knowledge Gaps: Exploring the Interface Between Science and Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction in Europe.
Bibliographic details:
lbris, K., Lauta, K.C. & Raju, E. Disaster Knowledge Gaps: Exploring the Interface Between Science and Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction in Europe. Int J Disaster Risk Sci 11, 1–12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-020-00250-5
Abstract:
Expert scientific knowledge is fast becoming an integral part of disaster management, and, in the process, is changing the role of science for the reduction of disaster risks at the policy level. Yet science and policy operate in different domains between which there are often competing interests and modes of valuing knowledge. Based on research done as part of the research project Enhancing Synergies for Disaster Prevention in the European Union (ESPREssO), we discuss three major issues facing European Union member states with respect to the interface between science and policy for disaster risk reduction: knowledge transfer, disaster expertise, and risk awareness. In doing so, we hone in on three gaps: an epistemological gap, an institutional gap, and a strategic gap. We argue that these gaps can help explain underlying systematic challenges for the integration between science and policy for disaster risk reduction. These gaps need to be addressed by focusing on changes at the governance level.
Webpage: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13753-020-00250-5
Garfin et al (2020). The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences by media exposure.
Bibliographic details:
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2020). The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences by media exposure. Health Psychology.
Abstract:
The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) has led to a serious outbreak of often severe respiratory disease, which originated in China and has quickly become a global pandemic, with far-reaching consequences that are unprecedented in the modern era. As public health officials seek to contain the virus and mitigate the deleterious effects on worldwide population health, a related threat has emerged: global media exposure to the crisis. We review research suggesting that repeated media exposure to community crisis can lead to increased anxiety, heightened stress responses that can lead to downstream effects on health, and misplaced health-protective and help-seeking behaviors that can overburden health care facilities and tax available resources. We draw from work on previous public health crises (i.e., Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks) and other collective trauma (e.g., terrorist attacks) where media coverage of events had unintended consequences for those at relatively low risk for direct exposure, leading to potentially severe public health repercussions. We conclude with recommendations for individuals, researchers, and public health officials with respect to receiving and providing effective communications during a public health crisis.
Mika Aaltola (2020). Covid-19 – a trigger for global transformation? Political distancing, global decoupling and growing distrust in health governance.
Bibliographic details:
Mika Aaltola (2020). Covid-19 – a trigger for global transformation? Political distancing, global decoupling and growing distrust in health governance. Finnish Institute of international affairs, FIIA working paper 2020.
Abstract:
Since late 2019, the world has sought – frantically at times – to appropriate policies for responding to the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). This Working Paper reviews the political significance of Covid-19 in order to understand the ways in which it challenges the existing domestic order, international health governance actors and, more fundamentally, the circulation-based modus operandi of the present world order. The analysis begins with the argument that contagious diseases should be regarded as complex open-ended phenomena with various features; they are not reducible to biology and epidemiology alone. In particular, politics and social reactions – in the form of panic and blamecasting, for example – are prominent features with clear historical patterns, and should not, for the sake of efficient health governance, be treated as aspects extraneous to the disease itself. The Working Paper further highlights that when a serious infectious disease spreads, a “threat” is very often externalized into a culturally meaningful “foreign” entity. Pandemics tend to be territorialized, nationalized, ethnicized, and racialized. This has also been the case with Covid-19.
United Nations Secretary General (2020). Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.
Bibliographic details:
United Nations Secretary General (2020) Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. Report.
Abstract:
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core, claiming lives and people’s livelihoods. The potential longer-term effects on the global economy and those of individual countries are dire. This report calls on everyone to act together to address this impact and lessen the blow to people. The report describes the speed and scale of the outbreak, the severity of cases, and the societal and economic disruption of COVID-19.
Webpage: https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Covid19.pdf
Davidsson, Å. (2020). Disasters as an opportunity for improved environmental conditions.
Bibliographic details:
Davidsson, Å. (2020). Disasters as an opportunity for improved environmental conditions. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 101590.
Abstract:
This paper presents case studies where disasters provided a window of opportunity for change that included social action with (potentially) positive effects on the environment. The research literature was screened for empirical cases in support of societal changes with a focus on environmental issues, and a more in-depth case study of the extensive tree felling after the storm Gudrun in Sweden 2005 was also conducted. The case study is explored through available research as well as “grey” literature to identify societal actions taken after the storm that had – or not – an effect on environmental conditions. With the help of the framework presented by Birkmann et al. (2010), the study aims to characterise the nature of these anthropic changes. The framework was modified to focus specifically on societal actions implemented because of an “open window”, and the environmental effects of the actions. This enabled identifying changes with a positive/negative and intended/unintended effect on the environment, as well as determining if a change was based on formal or informal decisions. Several cases identified in the literature provide empirical support for the theory that disasters can generate a window of opportunity for positive environmental change. However, open windows are not always exploited, as is apparent in the case of the storm Gudrun.
Webpage: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S****************#!
Bailey et al. (2020) Peacebuilding and recovery in the culture in city reconstruction and recovery (CURE) framework: Technical notes. World Bank Group.
Bibliographic details:
Bailey, Laura E.; Wrobel, Robert. 2020. Peacebuilding and Recovery in the Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery (CURE) Framework : Technical Notes (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.
Abstract:
In 2018, the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) jointly issued a position paper on Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery (CURE), reflecting the shared commitment of these two organizations to place culture at the forefront of the reconstruction and recovery of cities in post-conflict, post-disaster, and urban distress situations. The paper presented a new approach, the CURE Framework, intended to help practitioners integrate culture and cultural heritage into post-crisis recovery processes. The CURE Framework draws from existing frameworks and tools for reconstruction and recovery in urban settings. It seeks to knit together people-centered and place-based approaches to produce integrated policies that share a common cultural thread. This technical note provides background information, checklists, and entry points based on the relevant CURE guiding principles, of which the framework provides seven principles that are applied through the implementation of four phases.
Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) (2020). Disaster Recovery Framework Guide, Revised version
Bibliographic details:
Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) (2020). Disaster Recovery Framework Guide, Revised version, March 2020. World Bank Group.
Abstract:
A revised and updated version of the Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF) guide that was originally issued in 2015 has been published in March 2020. The guide is intended as a practice-based, results-focused tool to assist governments and partners in planning for resilient post-disaster recovery following a large-scale disaster. It provides key planning and decision-making processes for the development of recovery policies and programs. It is intended primarily for stakeholders involved with preparedness, planning and management of recovery and reconstruction activities within government systems. The updated DRF guide provides new and improved examples of recovery experience, focusing on results. Two new areas have been added, one focusing on the specificities of disaster recovery at the local level, and one on recovery in conflict and post-conflict contexts.
Webpage: https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/DRF%20Guide.pdf
Caballero-Anthony, M. (2005). SARS in Asia: crisis, vulnerabilities, and regional responses.
Bibliographic details:
Caballero-Anthony, M. (2005). SARS in Asia: crisis, vulnerabilities, and regional responses. Asian Survey, 45(3), 475-495.
Abstract:
This article examines lessons learned from the recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome crisis in East and Southeast Asia, arguing that the wide-ranging impact of infectious diseases makes it imperative for states to treat these diseases as security concerns. ““Securitizing”” infectious diseases provides urgency for mobilizing resources and strengthening regional cooperation. Adding infectious diseases to the security agenda allows for better handling of sudden outbreaks that endanger lives and threaten the survival of nation-states; this is also in line with the region's concept of comprehensive security.
Aengus Collins (2020) COVID-19: A risk governance perspective
Bibliographic details:
Aengus Collins (2020) COVID-19: A risk governance perspective. Spotlight on risk, IRGC (International Risk Governance Center). EPFL, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 crisis has required policymakers to take high-stakes decisions under conditions of uncertainty and compressed timescales. In this article we use our risk governance framework to outline the key stages of the evolution of the crisis, and ask what lessons might be learned for the immediate future.
Webpage: https://www.epfl.ch/research/domains/irgc/spotlight-on-risk/
OECD (2020), Common Ground Between the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework: Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
Bibliographic details:
OECD (2020), Common Ground Between the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework: Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3edc8d09-en.
Abstract:
Countries are faced with the growing challenge of managing increasing risks from climate change and climate variability, putting development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at risk. The adoption in 2015 of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on climate change provides a clear mandate for increased coherence in countries’ approaches to climate and disaster risk reduction. Countries increasingly recognise the benefits of improved coherence between the two policy areas, exemplified by the number of countries that either have developed joint strategies or put in place processes that facilitate co-ordination.
Informed by the country approaches of Ghana, Peru and the Philippines, in addition to a review of relevant literature, this report examines the potential for increased coherence in approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction across levels of government and sectors. It identifies ways in which government officials, development co-operation and other stakeholders can support efforts to further enhance coherence between the two policy areas, not only in the three case study countries, but also those in other countries as well as providers of development co-operation.