Social risks and challenges in post-disaster resettlement: the case of Lake Nyos,Cameroon

This paper examines contemporary challenges in post-disaster resettlement in Cameroon. The focus is on the ongoing post-disaster experiences of survivors who were resettled in seven camps after the Lake Nyos Disaster in 1986. Empirical data obtained at the Ukpwa Waindo resettlement camp were used for analysis of impoverishment due to relocation and resettlement. Cameroon’s weak macroeconomic situation that started a quarter century ago had serious consequences for the country’s socio-economic trends, which is partly responsible for the slow recovery of disaster survivors. However, an analysis of social vulnerability using Cernea’s Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction model shows how the involuntary resettlement of disaster survivors has itself created deep seated socio-economic and cultural consequences. By analysing their socio-economic situation, this article shows that resettlement is not merely a housing solution, but a complex, multi-dimensional process, with potentially very high negative impact if not properly planned and implemented. Therefore, the lessons learnt from this resettlement experience can be applied to ensure that resettlement becomes an opportunity to improve resilience and living conditions of the stricken population, and reduce exposure to disaster risk. There is urgent need for the government to tackle these long-term socio-economic problems faced by the disaster survivors, and to develop an effective policy to reconstruct, protect, improve or at least restore the livelihoods of those subject to resettlement.     

Semi-quantitative risk assessment of groundwater resources for emergency water supply

The submitted paper proposes the possible use of integrated semi-quantitative risk assessment of groundwater resources. There are risks resulting from both natural and anthropogenic hazard sources. Activation of these types of hazard sources can cause damage to, or destruction of, particular hydrogeological structures and technological equipment of selected groundwater resources suitable for the emergency drinking water supply of the population. The process of risk assessment is based on the described register of hazards, including semi-quantitative assessment of the frequency with which the assessed sources of hazards are activated, the register of sensitivity together with the semi-quantitative sensitivity assessment of selected threatened elements of the assessed water resource and the determination of their criticality. The semi-quantitative risk assessment should become one of the important criteria for classifying groundwater resources which have been proposed for emergency water supply. The classification carried out on the basis of the above-mentioned principle can contribute to faster selection and effective use of groundwater resources, as well as to the enhancement of emergency and crisis planning systems when the public system is either damaged or destroyed.     

Application of Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) and delineation of natural risk zones in Greater Lisbon,Portugal

Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) was applied to Greater Lisbon (Portugal). Based on the concepts used for the SoVI assessments in the US, 46 variables representing social vulnerability of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon were chosen. Thirty-eight variables were selected after application of correlation tests. They were standardized, and a Principal Component Analysis and a Varimax rotation were applied to them. Seven factors were extracted using the Kaiser criterion, which explain 79.5% of the variance, and the SoVI scores were then mapped using a standard deviation classification. Twelve of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high social vulnerability and 24 of them have a high social vulnerability. The map of SoVI was then integrated with susceptibility maps of earthquakes, floods, flash floods, landslides, tsunami, and coastal erosion, thus delineating risk zones. Twenty-two civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high risk; among them, 17 belong to Lisbon Municipality, four belong to Loures Municipality, and one belongs to Vila Franca de Xira Municipality. Finally, exposed population was considered and combined with risk zones map in order to assess the number of people being potentially exposed to risk and their location.     

城市化与生态环境相互作用系统脆弱性时空变化规律--以黑龙江省东部煤电化基地为例

本文分析了黑龙江省东部煤电化基地城市化与生态环境脆弱性之间的耦合关系,采用SPSS主成分分析的方法对城市化与生态环境脆弱性之间的时空规律进行分析,得出了黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市的综合得分,绘制出黑龙江省东部煤电化基地的时间脆弱性曲线和空间地域分布图,进一步分析了城市化对生态环境脆弱性的时间规律和空间规律,并得出了以下结论：（1）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地的各城市的脆弱性较高,但改善空间较大。（2）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市的脆弱性地域差异较大,其中牡丹江的脆弱性较低。（3）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市应以清洁生产、资源循环利用为主要的循环经济生产模式,大力发展旅游、对外贸易等绿色经济。     

基于土地利用变化的辉南县生态脆弱性时空变化分析

山区平原过渡地带因其地质、地貌的特殊性而担负着自然地域界面的作用,并表现出更高的生态环境脆弱性,研究其脆弱性变化对山区平原生态安全预警非常重要。特别是从土地利用方式改变评价其生态脆弱性,对于土地利用方式调整和规划具有重要指导意义。本文以地处山区平原过渡区的辉南县为例,在分析其土地利用变化基础上,参照生态价值评估体系并结合周围生态环境敏感因子,建立生态脆弱性综合评价指标,对研究区1986年以来环境脆弱性的时空变化进行评价和分析。评价结果如下：（1）从不同用地类型看,生态综合指数大小顺序依次为林地、草地、水域、未利用地,其次是耕地和建设用地。（2）脆弱性时间变化特征：由于土地利用变化,特别是林地减少和耕地、建设用地增加,导致生态贡献指数、生态稳定性指数和生态综合指数显著下降,分别由1986年的2.999、3.324和6.322减小为2006年的2.828、3.032和5.861。（3）空间变化特征：全区范围内生态环境综合指数下降显著,表现为低值区域范围扩大,高值区域范围明显减小。高值区范围由1986年的33217.95ha缩小为2006年的1283.40ha,而低值区的范围则由1986年的86550.87ha扩大为2006年的98084.83 ha。（4）地区差异性：虽然三个生态指数在整体上呈现下降,但是不同子流域其变化表现出显著的差异性,总体上呈现东南山区减小,而西北平原区呈现不明显的增加特点。本文研究结果表明,导致研究区生态脆弱性的主要原因为林地减少和耕地增加。从保护生态环境角度,控制耕地增加和林地减少是有效防范措施。     

人口对生态环境脆弱性影响的相关分析——以陕西榆林为例

在西部许多地区人口发展对生态环境脆弱性变化影响很大。以陕西省榆林市为例,运用统计学方法从定量方面探讨了人口变动对生态环境脆弱性的影响,同时,对人口与生态环境脆弱性变化进行了综合评价。     

Modelling international tourism demand and volatility in small island tourism economies

Small island tourism economies (SITEs) vary in their size, land area, location, narrow resource bases, economic development, overwhelming reliance on tourism and consistent inflow of foreign direct investment for economic growth. Small island tourism economics differ in their ethnic diversity, political systems, economic and environmental vulnerability, ecological fragility and the risks facing investors. Owing to natural disasters, ethnic conflicts, crime and the threat of global terrorism, there have been dramatic changes in the arrivals of international tourists to SITEs. These variations in international tourism demand to SITEs, particularly the conditional variance (or volatility) in international tourist arrivals, have not previously been analysed in the tourism research literature. An examination of the conditional volatility of international tourist arrivals is essential for policy analysis and marketing purposes. This paper models the conditional mean and conditional variance of the logarithm of monthly international tourist arrivals and the growth rate (or log‐difference) in the monthly international tourist arrivals for six SITEs, namely Barbados, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, Maldives and Seychelles. Diagnostic checks of the regularity conditions of the logarithm of monthly international tourist arrivals and their growth rates suggest that the estimated univariate models of trends and volatility are statistically adequate. Therefore, the estimated models are appropriate for purposes of public and private sector management of tourism. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

脆弱性分析和制图系统在中国扶贫项目的应用

介绍了联合国世界粮食计划署在选择粮食援助项目受援地区和人群时,采用的脆弱性分析和制图系统（Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping）及其在中国扶贫项目区选择中的应用,特别是在确定了项目县后,通过脆弱性分析,进一步进行了项目乡镇的选择,对于提高扶贫资源的效率、扶助最需要帮助的人群起到了重要的作用。     

石油城市经济系统脆弱性发生过程、机理及程度研究——以大庆市为例

石油城市作为资源型城市的一种,具有许多有别并严重于其它综合性城市的脆弱性问题。其中,石油资源主导下的经济系统脆弱性尤为突出并亟待调整规避。以石油城市为研究对象,探讨其经济系统脆弱性发生的过程、机理和特征。从人口、资源、环境与发展四方面分析了石油城市经济系统的特殊发展条件;指出石油城市经济系统脆弱性发生的四个过程,即:城市形成期——脆弱性产生、城市成长期——脆弱性增强但具有隐蔽性、城市成熟期——潜在脆弱性巨大、城市转型期——脆弱性接近最大化。认为"刚性的产业结构、接续产业发展不完善、替代产业不发达、产业转型困难、石油资源日益枯竭"是石油城市经济系统脆弱性发生的主要因素。构建脆弱性评估指标体系和评估模型,并以大庆市为例进行脆弱性程度评估,进而得出大庆市经济系统脆弱性呈逐步降低趋势,但是仍处在中等脆弱水平的结论。