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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042471/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document touches upon the increasing climate change risks facing Asia’s coastal cities. The author assesses the extent to which climate change produces risks for urban settings, particularly mega cities, and then outlines several measures for mitigating these risks. Climate change-related dynamics, such as sea level rise and increases in the intensity of tropical cyclones, are likely to contribute to rising flood risks in Asian coastal cities. Rapid population growth further augments such risks. These coastal cities not only face increasing vulnerability as a result of physical hazards but also due to increasing exposure to hazards with the expansion of human settlements in flood-prone, low-lying coastal zones. In order to mitigate climate change-related risks, the author contends that these cities must form comprehensive climate risk-reduction strategies, develop the institutional capacity to implement and enforce adaptation measures, and mobilize necessary resources (p.5). Despite this outline of measures to address the risks presented by climate change, there are a number of barriers to urban adaptation to climate change in Asian coastal megacities. These include: (i) urban officials’ lack of awareness regarding the magnitude of the risk of coastal flooding; (ii) the need to cope with the immediate problems of housing, transportation, and poverty; (iii) budgetary constraints; (iv) governance issues such as the lack of institutional mechanisms to coordinate relevant activities over the range of activities, and the lack of necessary scientific, technical, and managerial capacity. In the last part, the author examines the tasks of raising risk awareness, coastal flood risk prediction and mapping, stakeholder involvement, communicating risk and vulnerability, developing flood protection works, warning systems and evacuation planning, land use and spatial planning, controlling land subsidence, disaster response and relief, and developing governance structures and capacities. The author calls for greater action within the scientific community and more political leadership. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Subject:
- Climate Change ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Fuchs, R. J. (2010). Cities at risk: Asia’s coastal cities in an age of climate change. The East-West Center.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- The contents of this paper may be reproduced for personal use. single copies may be downloaded from the Center's website. Copies are also available for $2.50 plus shipping. for information or to order copies, please contact: Publication Sales Office East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96848-1601. Tel: 808.944.7145 Fax: 808.944.7376 EWCBooks@EastWestCenter.org EastWestCenter.org/asiapacificissues
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042471
15220966 ( issn )
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