Knowledge Base highlights and editors' picks

Top stories and editors' picks from the most recent additions. Explore the whole Knowledge Base.

Every week the PreventionWeb team of editors selects the latest news and research, reports and publications on disaster risk reduction – here is their selection of the latest must-read content.

Countryside landscape, tree standing in a field.

Research briefs

15 April 2022

A perennial grass could mitigate climate change in the Midwest

Researchers lead effort to find natural option to protect crops.

National Science Foundation

Path through the RCA Pier Park, NJ, in front of the Philadelphia skyline

Research briefs

25 August 2021

Environmental privilege: How recovery and rebuilding after climate disasters favors the wealthy

Recovery and rebuilding after climate disasters can exacerbate inequality. The climate crisis forces us to consider what makes ecological sense and is socially equitable. Building resilient property is not the same as building a resilient society.

Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

Farmer preparing his field for seedlings in South Africa

Update

24 March 2022

Final Report: Climate change threatens sub-Saharan food supplies, but action now could avert shock and dramatically increase yields, modelling finds

Crop failures, economic shocks and loss of livelihoods will intensify in sub-Saharan Africa due to climate change. However, with climate-smart policies, crop production can increase by over 500%, with positive results for food security and livelihoods.

University of Leeds

Research briefs

14 April 2022

Groundwater level threatens to fall in Germany due to climate change

Groundwater levels in Germany threaten to fall in the next decades, due to climate change. This is the result of a study made by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Workers return to a damaged road after floods in Durban

Update

13 April 2022

Local knowledge adds value to mapping flood risk in South Africa’s informal settlements

A geographical information system on its own is not able to explain human factors behind flood vulnerability. South Africa’s laws make provision for using indigenous knowledge in reducing flood risk. But the use of this approach is still relatively low.

Conversation Media Group, the

Research briefs

11 April 2022

How “push-pull” companion crops help manage the devastating fall armyworm pest

Adopting a novel planting technique known as “push-pull farming” can help massively reduce crop losses to pests and improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa, new research has found.

Keele University

Community announcement

13 April 2022

GP2022: Reminder to register

Registration for the GP2022 is still open. The organizers call on everyone wishing to take part in the conference to register as soon as possible.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Update

18 January 2022

Sweden climate resilience policy indicator

From 1961-1990 to 1991-2016, Sweden’s annual average temperature rose 1°C, and it is projected to continue rising by another 2-7°C. Extreme heat events are becoming more common and are expected to happen even more frequently in the future.

International Energy Agency

Update

18 January 2022

Slovak Republic climate resilience policy indicator

Slovak Republic’s average annual temperature increased almost 2°C between 1881 and 2016, and the temperature rise is expected to continue. Warming is expected to change energy demand patterns, boosting power demand for cooling and reducing it for heating.

International Energy Agency

Update

18 January 2022

Poland climate resilience policy indicator

Poland’s average temperature rose by just over 2°C from the 1951-1960 period to 2011-2020, significantly outpacing the world average increase over the past two decades. Continuously rising temperatures could boost summer electricity demand.

International Energy Agency