Mapping Climate Services for Disaster Risk Management: A Systematic Review and Research Gaps from a Policy Process Perspective

Climate services (CS) are crucial for mitigating and managing the impacts and risks associated with climate-induced disasters. While evidence over the past decade underscores their effectiveness across various domains, particularly agriculture, to maximize their potential, it is crucial to identify emerging priority areas and existing research gaps for future research agendas. As a contribution to this effort, this paper employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to review the state-of-the-art in the field of climate services for disaster risk management. A comprehensive search across five literature databases combined with a snowball search method using ResearchRabbit was conducted and yielded 242 peer-reviewed articles, book sections, and reports over 2013-2023 after the screening process. The analysis revealed flood, drought, and food insecurity as major climate-related disasters addressed in the reviewed literature. Major climate services addressed included early warning systems, (sub)seasonal forecasts and impact-based warnings. Grounded in the policy processes’ theoretical perspective, the main focus identified and discussed three prevailing policy-oriented priority areas: 1) development of climate services, 2) use-adoption-uptake, and 3) evaluation of climate services. In response to the limitations of the prevalent supply-driven and top-down approach to climate services promotion, co-production emerges as a cross-cutting critical aspect of the identified priority areas. Despite the extensive research in the field, more attention is needed, particularly pronounced in the science-policy interface perspective, which in practice bridges scientific knowledge and policy decisions for effective policy processes. This perspective offers a valuable analytical lens as an entry point for further investigation. Hence, future research agendas would generate insightful evidence by scrutinizing this critical aspect given its importance to institutions and climate services capacity, to better understand intricate facets of the development and the integration of climate services into disaster risk management.

The use of UAVs for landslide disaster risk research and disaster risk management: a literature review

On a global scale,from 2005 to 2019,there were 275 high-magnitude,low-frequency disasters that involved 14,172 fatalities and four million affected people.Similar patterns have taken place during longer periods of time in recent decades.This paper aims to analyse the contribution of the international landslide research community to disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management in reference to the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs)in a literature review.The first section notes the relevance of disaster risk research contributions for the implementation of initiatives and strategies concerning disaster risk management.The second section highlights background information and current applications of drones in the field of hazards and risk.The methodology,which included a systematic peer review of journals in the ISI Web of Science and SCOPUS,was presented in the third section,where the results include analyses of the considered data.This study concludes that most current scholarly efforts remain rooted in hazards and post-disaster evaluation and response.Future landslide disaster risk research should be transdisciplinary in order to strengthen participation of the various relevant stakeholders in contributing to integrated disaster risk management at local,subnational,national,regional and global levels.

Evolution of seismic risk management for insurance over the past 30 years

During the past 30 years, there has been spectacular growth in the use of risk analysis and risk management tools developed by engineers in the financial and insurance sectors. The insurance, the reinsurance, and the investment banking sectors have enthusiastically adopted loss estimation tools developed by engineers in developing their business strategies and for managing their financial risks. As a result, insurance/reinsurance strategy has evolved as a major risk mitigation tool in managing catastrophe risk at the individual, corporate, and government level. This is particularly true in developed countries such as US, Western Europe, and Japan. Unfortunately, it has not received the needed attention in developing countries, where such a strategy for risk management is most needed. Fortunately, in the last five years, there has been excellent focus in developing ＂Insur Tech＂ tools to address the much needed ＂Insurance for the Masses＂, especially for the Asian Markets. In the earlier years of catastrophe model development, risk analysts were mainly concerned with risk reduction options through engineering strategies, and relatively little attention was given to financial and economic strategies. Such state-of-affairs still exists in many developing countries. The new developments in the science and technologies of loss estimation due to natural catastrophes have made it possible for financial sectors to model their business strategies such as peril and geographic diversification, premium calculations, reserve strategies, reinsurance contracts, and other underwriting tools. These developments have not only changed the way in which financial sectors assess and manage their risks, but have also changed the domain of opportunities for engineers and scientists.This paper will address the issues related to developing insurance/reinsurance strategies to mitigate catastrophe risks and describe the role catastrophe risk insurance and reinsurance has played in managing financial risk due to natural catastrophes. Historical losses and the share of those losses covered by insurance will be presented. How such risk sharing can help the nation share the burden of losses between tax paying public, the ＂at risk＂ property owners, the insurers and the reinsurers will be discussed. The paper will summarize the tools that are used by the insurance and reinsurance companies for estimating their future losses due to catastrophic natural events. The paper will also show how the results of loss estimation technologies developed by engineers are communicated to the business flow of insurance/reinsurance companies. Finally, to make it possible to grow ＂Insurance for the Masses - IFM＂, the role played by parametric insurance products and Insur Tech tools will be discussed.

Learning from Japan for Possible Improvement in Existing Disaster Risk Management System of Nepal

Nepal and Japan, both are multi-hazard prone countries having experience of devastating disasters. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stop natural hazard events at source. However, the impact can be reduced significantly by preventing them from turning into disasters. The impact of disasters can vary depending on the capacity to handle the situation;and the capacity depends on the level of preparedness and mitigation measures taken in advance. Japan has set example for the rest of the world when it comes to Disaster Risk Management (DRM). Recovery and reconstruction after disasters are not just to develop the area as it was earlier, but it has to be taken as an opportunity for developing better than earlier, which is called as “Build Back Better”. This concept was raised by Japanese Government in UN World conference, Sendai in 2015 [1]. Dynamic, evolutionary and proactive DRM policy and plans with innovation, and the use of science and technology to find solutions, and effective implementation of the policy and plans, coupled with the culture of safety among the citizens, and the spirit of never give up “Nana KarobiYa Oki” (Seven times fall down, Eight times get up), are the unique features that every country should learn from Japan’s DRM mechanism. This paper is an effort to buy-in the good practices from Japan to improve DRM system in Nepal. It is a product of three-month intensive research in the University of Tokyo under a PhD research that consisted of reviewing existing DRM documents and several interactive meetings with stakeholders in Japan.

Global Aspects of Flood Risk Management

Various flood disasters in the last decade have confirmed that the risk from flooding has been increasing significantly worldwide. The driving factors for the risk are the unabated increase in global population, the concentration of people in high-risk areas such as coasts and flood plains, the rise in vulnerability of assets, infrastructure and social systems, and the consequences of climate change. Risk reduction is based on comprehensive risk management from identification of the hazard and assessing the risk to building defenses. To achieve this, general awareness at all levels in a society is key. It is not sufficient merely to be aware of the situation-findings must be acted upon with no significant delay. Flood-related computations have progressed considerably in recent years, but model results can only be as good as their input data. Modeling floods and flood losses is very complex, as model parameters are subject to change during an event and conditions sometimes greatly depend on small-scale factors.

China＇s social security fund risk management and social supervision research

Social security fund is the key of social security system to run the important material. Policy implementation of social security funds, operation supervision of safety and risk prevention and control and management, is to perfect social security system, to realize the sustainable development of the social security system important link. This paper expounds the basic status quo of China＇s social security fund risk control, risk prevention and control, the necessity of fund risk management, and analyzed the social power supervision in the way and the important significance.

Integrated Disaster Risk Management(IDRM):Elements to Advance Its Study and Assessment

This study analyzed the international key literature on integrated disaster risk management(IDRM),considering it a dynamic sociocultural process subjected to the historical process of social formation,offering a closer look at the concept while exploring conceptual elements and ideas to advance IDRM in both national and international contexts.Methodologically,the study adopted a literature review strategy,following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses(PRISMA)approach,combined with qualitative content analysis.This article examines the history of IDRM,discusses current challenges for implementation,looks at some experiences,and proposes avenues for further research.Some findings point out the lack of an overarching IDRM approach,which is characterized by a rather disperse set of ideas and experiences concerning what IDRM is and how it should be operationalized,thereby revealing the need for a more comprehensive theory and methodologies to further advance it.Other findings highlight that IDRM encompasses different kinds and levels of"integrations"that go from internal(that is,disaster risk reduction and management domains)to external(that is,all societal processes such as sustainable development),including temporal and spatial integrations.Hence,we are talking about a multidimensional integration of disaster risk management.In this regard,the article proposes four dimensions for integration:sectoral,spatial/hierarchical,temporal,and externally with other cross-cutting societal challenges,especially climate change and sustainable development.These dimensions cover 29 ideas for indicators or"proto-indicators"to guide the discussion,exploration,and analysis of IDRM in specific contexts.

Mainstreaming Decentralization and Collaboration in Disaster Risk Management:Insights from Coastal Bangladesh

Bangladesh is renowned in disaster risk reduction(DRR)for active involvement of community people and local disaster management institutions in DRR activities.Our study aimed to describe the disaster risk management(DRM)institutions and assess their functioning in six coastal unions across the three coastal zones of Bangladesh.Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used.The study focused on two key local institutions—the Union Disaster Management Committees(UDMCs)and the Cyclone Preparedness Program(CPP)—functioning at the union level in DRM.Such institutions have both horizontal and vertical collaborations with other institutions.However,we argue that the UDMCs'external dependencies in their functioning indicate their limited financial and administrative autonomy,which is a barrier to successfully institutionalizing disaster management.The results show that the CPP is the most successful program,markedly increasing the trust of the people in warning dissemination and evacuation efforts in the event of a cyclone.Although the adoption of decentralized risk management systems has resulted in significant progress in increased rate of evacuation and reduced death rate and damage,lack of funding and equipment,limited coordination between institutions,lack of skilled and knowledgeable workforce,and inappropriate power structures may reduce the effectiveness of DRR activities prior to,during,and following disasters.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM):Developing the Research Field within the Sendai Framework Paradigm

The intersection of health and disaster risk reduction(DRR) has emerged in recent years as a field of critical inquiry.Health is recognized as an outcome and a goal of DRR,and the integration of both fields is essential to ensure the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management(Health-EDRM) has emerged as an umbrella field that encompasses emergency and disaster medicine,DRR,humanitarian response,community health resilience,and health systems resilience.In September 2016,an international group of experts met in Hong Kong to assess the current status and potential of the Health-EDRM research field,a research area that these scholars characterized as underdeveloped and fragmented.Key challenges identified include research overlap,lack ofstrategic research agenda,absence of consensus regarding terminology,and limited coordination between stakeholders.The Sendai Framework provides a useful paradigm within which to shape the research field's strategic development.The WHO Thematic Platform for Health-EDRM Research Group was established to coordinate activities,promote information-sharing,develop partnerships,and provide technical advice to strengthen the Health-EDRM research field.This group will promote the generation of robust and scientific health research to support the meaningful implementation of the Sendai Framework.

An Institutional Model for Collaborative Disaster Risk Management in the Southern African Development Community(SADC) Region

This article presents and argues for a collaborative model for disaster risk management in the Southern African Development Community(SADC).The research employed a qualitative study through a literature review and empirical research through focus group interviews to realize its objectives.As a key theory of multinational collaboration,neoliberal institutionalism—a subset of the international relations theory—was used to develop the SADC institutional collaborative model.The model combined the theoretical,political,and technical dimensions of collaboration to enhance buy-in for the disaster risk management and reduction function of governments.The model demonstrates the need for a multidisciplinary approach to achieving disaster risk management and reduction in the SADC and elsewhere,if the developmental objectives of disaster risk reduction are to be realized without interference in the domestic affairs of the member countries.This model is therefore grounded in seeking consensus and cooperation among cooperating states in a quest to ensure national implementation of the regional framework on disaster risk reduction.

Operationalizing Iterative Risk Management under Limited Information:Fiscal and Economic Risks Due to Natural Disasters in Cambodia

Iterative risk management and risk-sensitive public investment planning are increasingly seen as essential elements of natural disaster resilience. This article assesses the disaster risk facing the hazard-prone Southeast Asian country of Cambodia and discusses its fiscal preparedness and need for proactive disaster risk management.The study provides a bottom-up assessment of flood and cyclone risks to public and private buildings including educational structures, health facilities, and housing and estimates the total direct economic damage to range from approximately USD 304 million for a 5-year return period event to USD 2.26 billion for a 1000-year return period event. These estimates were further analyzed using the fiscal risk due to disasters, which indicates that Cambodia will likely face a resource gap whenever a hazard as large as that of a 28-year return period event strikes. Given the frequent occurrence of disasters and rapid accumulation of capital assets taking place, proactive risk reduction is highly advisable. But interviews with national policymakers also revealed that there are a number of barriers to effective risk reduction and management in Cambodia. The general lack of awareness regarding risk-based concepts and the limited availability of local risk information necessitate a continued and sustained effort to build iterative risk management in Cambodia.

Disaster Risk Management Through the Design Safe Cyberinfrastructure

Design Safe addresses the challenges of supporting integrative data-driven research in natural hazards engineering.It is an end-to-end data management,communications,and analysis platform where users collect,generate,analyze,curate,and publish large data sets from a variety of sources,including experiments,simulations,field research,and post-disaster reconnaissance.DesignSafe achieves key objectives through:(1)integration with high performance and cloud-computing resources to support the computational needs of the regional risk assessment community;(2)the possibility to curate and publish diverse data structures emphasizing relationships and understandability;and(3)facilitation of real time communications during natural hazards events and disasters for data and information sharing.The resultant services and tools shorten data cycles for resiliency evaluation,risk modeling validation,and forensic studies.This article illustrates salient features of the cyberinfrastructure.It summarizes its design principles,architecture,and functionalities.The focus is on case studies to show the impact of Design Safe on the disaster risk community.The Next Generation Liquefaction project collects and standardizes case histories of earthquake-induced soil liquefaction into a relational database—Design Safe—to permit users to interact with the data.Researchers can correlate in Design Safe building dynamic characteristics based on data from building sensors,with observed damage based on ground motion measurements.Reconnaissance groups upload,curate,and publish wind,seismic,and coastal damage data they gather during field reconnaissance missions,so these datasets are available shortly after a disaster.As a part of the education and community outreach efforts of Design Safe,training materials and collaboration space are also offered to the disaster risk management community.

The Emergence of a Globalized System for Disaster Risk Management and Challenges for Appropriate Governance

Disaster risk management(DRM) is undergoing noteworthy changes, reflecting the broader shifts in global and local levels of governance. At the global level two significant changes are of interest:(1) the shift from monolithic structures of global governance to a wide range of organizations that can be brought together for specific purposes and(2) the emergence of a globalized system of DRM, with technological, organizational, and institutional capacities enhancing DRM’s ability as a unit in near real time across the globe. At the local level there is an increase in ability to govern and develop creative solutions for complex problems that follow rapid urbanization. The importance of getting the global–local interface to work in tandem has been highlighted by recent hazard events, such as the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. From a broad view of global and local shifts, a strategic role is becoming clearer at the national level for enhancing the relationships between the global and local levels. Through the influence of a globalized system of DRM, the local level can significantly improve its capacity without the heavy investment that might have been required to develop these capacities in isolation. One key to achieving this is adiffusion of DRM higher education, supported by an enhanced system of information flow.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management: Five Years into Implementation of the Sendai Framework

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 recognizes health at the heart of disaster risk management(DRM)at the global policy level.Five years on,it has catalyzed the rapid development of the field of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management(Health EDRM)by providing a mandate for building partnerships as well as enhancing scientific research.Key milestones achieved include publication of the World Health Organization’s Health EDRM Framework,development of the WHO Thematic Platform for Health EDRM and the WHO Health EDRM Research Network,and further application of health information principles to DRM.Furthermore,health actors at all levels have continued to engage in the Sendai Framework processes and have had a key role in its implementation and proposed monitoring.There have been significant gains made through the partnership of health and DRM,but the relationship has not been without its challenges.Many national,regional,and global initiatives continue to operate with a lack of consistency and of linkages to respond to the Sendai Framework’s call for embedding health resilience in DRM,and conversely,embedding DRM in health resilience.Overcoming this hurdle is important,and doing so will be a key marker of success of the next 10 years of partnership under the Sendai Framework.

Farmers’Demand for Informal Risk Management Strategy and Weather Index Insurance:Evidence from China

In the absence of formal risk management strategies,agricultural production in China is highly vulnerable to climate change.In this study,field experiments were conducted with 344 households in Heilongjiang(Northeast China)and Jiangsu(East China)Provinces.Probit and logistic models and independent sample T-test were used to explore farmers’demand for weather index insurance,in contrast to informal risk management strategies,and the main factors that affect demand.The results show that the farmers prefer weather index insurance to informal risk management strategies,and farmers’characteristics have significant impacts on their adoption of risk management strategies.The variables non-agricultural labor ratio,farmers’risk perception,education,and agricultural insurance purchase experience significantly affect farmers’weather index insurance demand.The regression results show that the farmers’weather index insurance demand and the influencing factors in the two provinces are different.Farmers in Heilongjiang Province have a higher participation rate than those in Jiangsu Province.The government should conduct more weather index insurance pilot programs to help farmers understand the mechanism,and insurance companies should provide more types of weather index insurance to meet farmers’diversified needs.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) in Remote Ethnic Minority Areas of Rural China:The Case of a Flood-Prone Village in Sichuan

Remote,rural ethnic-minority communities face greater disaster-related public health risks due to their lack of resources and limited access to health care.The Ethnic Minority Health Project(EMHP) was initiated in 2009 to work with remote,disaster-prone ethnic-minority villages that live in extreme poverty.One of the project's aims is to develop and evaluate bottom-up health risk reduction efforts in emergency and disaster risk management(HealthEDRM).This article shares project updates and describes field intervention results from the Yi ethnic community of Hongyan village in China's Sichuan Province,an area that experiences recurrent floods.It was found that 64% of the village respondents had never considered any form of disaster preparation,even with the recurrent flood risks.Health intervention participants showed sustained knowledge retention and were nine times more likely to know the correct composition of oral rehydration solution(ORS) after the intervention.Participants also retained the improved knowledge on ORS and disaster preparedness kit ownership12 months after the intervention.

The Sustainable Procedure Framework for Disaster Risk Management: Illustrated by the Case of the EU Floods Directive in Sweden

How can the concrete meaning of the ambiguous and theoretical concept of sustainable development(SD) be defined and implemented, without losing sight of its fundamental principles? This study introduces a theoretical framework that supports studies of SD implementation in the context of strategic disaster risk management, by defining what SD implies with regard to planning procedures. The framework is based on the procedural SD principles of participation and integration. It was originally developed for,and has shown great value in, the field of water resource management. In-depth interviews with senior risk management researchers indicate that the framework is also applicable to and valuable for disaster risk management studies.To illustrate the application of the framework, a study of the EU Floods Directive in Sweden is summarized with the framework as the basis for the analysis.

Assessing Capacity and Implementation Status of the Disaster Risk Management Strategy for Health and Community Disaster Resilience in Malawi

Floods are among the most frequently occurring natural hazards in Malawi,often with public health implications.This mixed methods study assessed the capacity for and implementation status of the disaster risk management(DRM)strategy for the health sector in Malawi,using flooding in the Nsanje District as a case.Data were collected using desk review and a workshop methodology involving key officials from government ministries,national and international development partners,and the academia.The results show that Malawi had recently strengthened its DRM institutional frameworks,with a pronounced policy shift from reactive to proactive management of disasters.Health sector personnel and structures were key contributors in the design and implementation of DRM activities at all levels.Development partners played a significant role in strengthening DRM coordination and implementation capacity.Lack of funding and the limited availability,and often fragmented nature,of vulnerability and risk assessment data were identified as key challenges.Limited human resource capacity and inadequate planning processes at district level impeded full implementation of DRM policies.These findings call for community-level interventions for improved coordination,planning,and human resource capacity to strengthen community disaster resilience and improve public health.The approach used in this study can serve as a model framework for other districts in Malawi,as well as in other low-and middle-income countries in the context of Sendai Framework implementation.

Barriers to Insurance as a Flood Risk Management Tool:Evidence from a Survey of Property Owners

By using risk-adjusted price signals to transfer responsibility for property-level flood protection and recovery from governments to property owners,flood insurance represents a key tenet of the flood risk management(FRM)paradigm.The Government of Canada has worked with insurers to introduce flood insurance for the first time as a part of a broader shift towards FRM to limit the growing costs of flooding.The viability of flood insurance in Canada,however,has been questioned by research that disputes the utility of purchasing coverage by property owners.This study tested this assumption by drawing on public opinion survey data to assess factors that influence decisions about the utility of insurance.The findings reveal that Canadians have limited knowledge of flood insurance coverage,exhibit a low willingness-to-pay for both insurance and property-level flood protection measures,and expect governments to shoulder much of the financial burden of flood recovery through disaster assistance.