Latest additions to the knowledge base

The Oxfam-AusAID 'Safer Communities Project' has selected 11 villages in North-eastern Mindanao, based on hazard maps, to be pilot communities as part of a disaster risk management project...

Authors Anthony Bergin and David Templeman recommend three broad measures to make Australia more resilient to disasters: education and public awareness on potential hazards and community safety planning; improved land-use management and better national leadership in emergency management policy and practice...

'Wetlands in the Basin are already under intense pressure from past and current management practices, including water allocations, and a current period of drought,' said Max Finlayson, 'Climate change is expected to exacerbate all these issues and further complicate how we manage our wetlands...'

'Events like the 2009 tsunami that devastated Samoa and Tonga, and floods that submerged Fiji’s Western Division in January 2009, are constant reminders that people and governments must be prepared to deal with natural disasters at a moment’s notice' said Mosese Sikivou, SOPAC DRR Programme...

The facility, officially launched last Thursday by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, aims to combine scientific monitoring and construction technologies with a community-based training and outreach programme to minimize the potential impact of natural disasters in Indonesia...

A new mathematical model using seismic wave recordings to accurately map earthquakes and underground fault lines has been discovered by Australian seismologists. According to ABC News, scientists say the discovery could help save lives and property...

Environmental scientists are calling on policy-makers to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, rather than focus resources on reducing carbon emissions alone. 'The effort and money spent on mitigation is enormous compared to adaptation,' said Andrew Ash, of the climate adaptation flagship...

Conference chairs Professor Jean Palutikof and Dr Andrew Ash said the conference was the first to focus solely on practical adaptation measures. 'Adaptation is about preparing for climate change in order to minimise its impact on our natural, built and social environment' said Dr Ash...