1. People-place Relations and Climate Change
2. Climate-related Flood Risks in the Pearl River Delta
3. Livelihood Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
4. A Decade of Disaster Risk Management in India
5. Using UGI to Mitigate Excess Urban Heat: A Framework
6. Disaster and Emergency Management Conference
People-place Relations and Climate Change
This study makes a contribution to the literature on public engagement with climate change in two ways. First, it empirically investigates how climate change attitudes and opinions relate to place attachments at both nearby and distant scales. Second, it explores the relationship between place attachments and ideological beliefs, specifically right wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, and how these influence climate change attitudes and opinions. The study suggests that global place attachment is prevalent amongst Australian adults, second only to national belonging, and significantly higher than attachment at the neighbourhood, city/town and state/territory scales.
My Country or My Planet? Exploring the Influence of Multiple Place Attachments and Ideological Beliefs upon Climate Change Attitudes and Opinions, Patrick Devine-Wright, Jennifer Price and Zoe Leviston, Global Environmental Change, vol. 30, pp. 68-79, January 2015 [589 KB, PDF]
Climate-related Flood Risks in the Pearl River Delta
The paper contributes to the emerging field of climate-related flood risk in coastal urban areas by identifying the climate change trends and associated flood probability in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China. It identifies both the climate impacts which are most likely to trigger a flood occurrence and the vulnerability of this metropolitan area which highlights the weak links in flood responses. The paper discusses the key insights observed in analyzing the climate-impact-risk link for PRD, along with a suggested approach to facilitate the implementation of phase-based measures.
Climate-related Flood Risks and Urban Responses in the Pearl River Delta, China, Liang Yang, Jürgen Scheffran, Huapeng Qin and Qinglong You, Research Group Climate Change and Security, University of Hamburg, 2015 [0.98 MB, PDF]
Livelihood Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
Resilience has become a popular research and policy concept within climate change adaptation and development contexts; necessitating greater attention to human livelihoods to address the limits to adaptation strategies and the development needs of the planet’s poorest and most vulnerable people. The paper argues that linking aspects of human agency, rights and transformation with livelihood approaches can help to overcome the challenges of using resilience thinking to inform improved climate change adaptation options on the issue of human livelihoods.
Livelihood Resilience in the Face of Climate Change, Thomas Tanner et al., Nature Climate Change, vol. 1, January 2015 [644 KB, PDF]
A Decade of Disaster Risk Management in India
India is among the world’s most vulnerable areas to natural hazards, particularly earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, and landslides. This paper reviews India’s vulnerability to the impact of disasters which creates new challenges to risk management. Approaching a decade after the implementation of the Disaster Management Act of 2005, the paper finds answers to the following questions: (1) how far have we been able to manage risk; and (2) how far are we resilient as a country? The paper suggests recommendations based on the experiences in Uttarakhand and Odisha.
A Decade of Disaster Risk Management in India, Malini Nambiar, Economic & Political Weekly, vol. 1, no. 5, January 2015 [subscription required]
Using UGI to Mitigate Excess Urban Heat: A Framework
Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is an important component of any climate adaptation strategy because of the multiple benefits it provides to the community and local urban eco-systems. This paper focuses on the integration of UGI into the public realm to mitigate high urban temperatures and considers the various UGI types and possible locations. The paper quantifies the cooling benefits of four types of UGI: green open spaces (primarily public parks), shade trees, green roofs, and vertical greening systems (green walls and facades), and demonstrates how the framework can be applied using a case study from Melbourne, Australia.
Planning for Cooler Cities: A Framework to Prioritise Green Infrastructure to Mitigate High Temperatures in Urban Landscapes, Briony A. Norton et al., Landscape and Urban Planning, vol. 134, pp. 127–138, 2015 [3.12 MB, PDF]
Disaster and Emergency Management Conference
4th Australian & New Zealand disaster and emergency management conference will take place at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia on the 4th – 5th May 2015. The conference will feature multi-agency presentations (from fire, ambulance, emergency, rescue, volunteer, defence and health sectors) covering all phases of emergency and disaster management – prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
The Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, May 4-5, 2015
For further information, please contact the editor, Dr. Saleem Janjua: muhammadsaleem.janjua@rmit.edu.au
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Professor Darryn McEvoy, Program Leader, RMIT University Climate Change Adaptation Programme
Professor Peter Hayes, Co-founder and Executive Director of Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
Dr. Saleem Janjua, Editor, AdaptNet
AdaptNet is a free fortnightly report produced by RMIT University Global Cities Research Institute’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme, Melbourne, Australia. It is published in partnership with the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability.