This report examines the motivation and willingness of Village Civil Protection Committees (VCPCs) and communities to mobilize resources at community level for Disaster Risk Management (DRM). To do this, a participatory action research (PAR) approach was utilized, facilitated by SWOT analyses, in combination with focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). The findings revealed that communities had prepositioned resources to prepare for disaster response as part of risk reduction. Participants identified their ability to mobilize themselves as a community; to mobilize funds and food; well trained and knowledgeable structures, good agricultural practices, and good governance as major strengths. Opportunities for resource mobilization included enterprise, piece work (ganyu), irrigation farming, access to safety net programs, and youth participation. Weaknesses included the disorganization of some community structures, lack of support or political will from community leaders and the government, lack of accountability from VCPC members, and reluctance to adopt improved agricultural practices. Community-based early warning systems, although available, are insufficient to provide effective risk reduction for natural disasters. There is a lack of documentation concerning indigenous early warning systems, which impedes the development of effective and contextual strategies for risk reduction. The recommendations include increasing awareness among traditional leaders, defining resource mobilization structures, documenting guidelines and transactions for transparency, investing in early warning infrastructure and capacity building, documenting indigenous early warning signs, and intensifying watershed restoration and conservation to increase disaster preparedness.

Challenges and Solutions of Climate Impact on Agriculture explores issues arising from the changing climate for agricultural plants, with a soil-focused approach. Addressing the impacts on a range of important global food crops, it looks at issues of water and temperature and their impact on soil quality for production. Presented by a global team of experts, this book will be important for researchers seeking to understand specific challenges, and means of addressing those challenges effectively and efficiently. The agriculture sector is arguably one of the most sensitive to changes in the climate. Because the climate of a region determines the nature and characteristics of vegetation and crops, any change in the mean seasonal temperature and decrease in effective precipitation can reduce productive periods for crops, risking outbreaks of pests and disease and negatively affecting global food security. - Explains the impact of climate change on soil properties, productivity, and microbial diversity - Provides detailed information regarding the impact of climate change on yields of cereal grains and other crops - Enables agricultural scientists to design policies and management strategies for sustainable agriculture

The earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004 devastated coastal communities in 12 countries in the Indian Ocean region, with Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia the hardest hit. This report sets out the findings of the UNEP Asian Tsunami Disaster Task Force, set up to help national environmental authorities in the affected countries with their assessment and response to the environmental impact of the disaster. It summarises the interim findings from ongoing assessments in Indonesia, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Yemen, including evidence of environmental concerns that require immediate action. The short term clean-up programme must be coupled with policy development and strengthened institutions, and the recovery agenda will require the clean-up of contamination hotspots, and rehabilitation of critical livelihoods and ecosystems.

Titles of volumes are: V.1 - United Nations; V.2 - Africa; V.3 - Americas, V.4 - Asia & Oceania; V.5 - Europe; V.6 - World Leaders.

The World Today Series: Africa provides students with vital information on all countries on the African continent through a thorough and expert overview of political and economic histories, current events, and emerging trends. Each country is examined through the following sections: Basic Facts; Land and People; The Past: Political and Economic History; The Present: Contemporary Issues; and The Future. In addition to country chapters, the book features extended essays on Africa’s Historical Background and the Colonial Period. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students. The content is thorough yet perfect for a one-semester introductory course or general library reference. Available in both print and e-book formats and priced low to fit student and library budgets.

This book is about the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ñ one of the multilateral agreements that came out of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. UNCCD is based on a conceptualization of international relations that transcends to a large extent the traditional notions of inter-governmental treaties. Such policy concepts are known under the framework of Global Governance as they allocate political action rather to the horizontal level ñ implying multi-actor-networks and the civil society ñ than to vertical or top-down processes. The study first shows that ñ inspired by the Brundtland Report and the emerging process of globalization ñ Rio was the peak season for Global Governance concepts that found their way into treaties and triggered structural reform, thus shaping a different reality of multilateral cooperation. In a second step, the book shows that the Convention to Combat Desertification is the most Global Governance oriented of all of UNCEDís outcomes. Its legally binding text contains a number of pertinent elements, ranging from a stringent cross-over of environment and development issues, via the 'bottom-up approach', to a mix of policy tools such as mainstreamed national action programmes and partnership agreements.