The implications of global environmental change for human security in coastal urban areas

IHDP Update issue 2, 2007

Catastrophic events have affected societies around the world in recent years and underscore the close linkages between global environmental change, human security, and urbanization. Little attention has been paid so far to multidimensional perspectives capable of providing comprehensive and integrated approaches to better understand those events and help find avenues for adaptation and minimization of their negative consequences. The increasing frequency of natural disasters and their tremendous impact on poor communities confirm that disasters continue to be one of developing world’s unresolved problems and a major challenge for sustainability. Although the majority of the victims of natural disasters have been in poor countries, recent events such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans illustrate the vulnerability of communities in rich countries too.