scholarly journals Evolution of Japan's flood control planning and policy in response to climate change risks and social changes

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshio Koike
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Flood Prevention ◽  
Climate Change Risks ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Global Goal ◽  
The Common ◽  
Climate And Society

Abstract Building a sustainable society by strengthening disaster resilience is a common goal in the world. It is crucial to promote cooperation between the general public and the science community by sharing data, information, knowledge, experiences, and ideas. Japan has routinely been beset by catastrophic floods caused mainly by destructive typhoons and critically active seasonal fronts. With the turn of the 21st century, changes in climate and society required additional realignment into the standardized procedures that had evolved over the previous half-century. Japan's new policy, ‘River Basin Disaster Resilience and Sustainability by All,’ takes comprehensive measures, mainly consisting of flood prevention, exposure reduction, and appropriate evacuation, response and recovery, aiming to strengthen disaster resilience and achieve sustainability through concerted efforts among all stakeholders. The policy can play a key role in the achievement of the common global goal.

The Environmental Effects of Flood Control in the Yare Basin

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 477-484
Author(s):  
H L Wakeling
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Flood Prevention ◽  
Scenic Beauty ◽  
The North ◽  
Economic Justification ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Improved Pasture

The paper reviews various methods of flood control in the lower Yare Basin which has been subject to serious flooding caused by storm surges in the North Sea and by fluvial floods. This area is known as the Broads and is an area of scenic beauty, includes many sites of scientific interest and is a popular tourist area. The effects of the different flood control options on the environment are discussed. The primary economic justification for flood prevention was found to arise from the conversion of poor quality marsh grazing land to arable or improved pasture once the risk of saline flooding was removed. The consequences of this change in land use on the flora and fauna have aroused much concern among environmentalists.

scholarly journals COVID-19, food insecurity, and diet-related diseases: Can syndemic theory inform effective responses? A case study

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
J. Robin Moon ◽  
Craig Willingham ◽  
Shqipe Gjevukaj ◽  
Nicholas Freudenberg
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Food System ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
The Common ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Syndemic Theory

New York City was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the immediate health burden was devastating, we posit that its long-term impact will be even greater, because the rapid spread of COVID-19 both depended on and exacerbated other deep-seated inequities related to food and broader living conditions. Using the Bronx as a case study, we explore the intersection of the pandemic with two other persistent problems: food insecurity and diet-related diseases, a constellation we label the COVID-Food Syndemic. Syndemic theory focuses on the common causes and biological and social interactions between two or more health problems. We hypothesize that with its focus on the common social causes of ill health, this approach can inform and strengthen the synergies between community-based, activist-driven solutions and municipal government responses, thus reducing the burden of ill health in the Bronx. We suggest that combining these two approaches can more fully mobilize the social changes that are needed in the food system and beyond to interrupt the fundamental drivers of this syndemic and capitalize on the respective strengths of government, civil society, and activists.

scholarly journals A novel framework of deriving joint impoundment rules for large-scale reservoir system based on a classification-aggregation-decomposition approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaokun He ◽  
Shenglian Guo ◽  
Chong-Yu Xu ◽  
Kebing Chen ◽  
Zhen Liao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Nsga Ii ◽  
Decomposition Approach ◽  
Flood Prevention ◽  
Reservoir System ◽  
Upper Yangtze River ◽  
The Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Progressive Optimization

Abstract. Joint and optimal impoundment operation of the large-scale reservoir system has become more crucial for modern water management. Since the existing techniques fail to optimize the large-scale multi-objective impoundment operation due to the complex inflow stochasticity and high dimensionality, we develop a novel combination of parameter simulation optimization and classification-aggregation-decomposition approach here to overcome these obstacles. There are four main steps involved in our proposed framework: (1) reservoirs classification based on geographical location and flood prevention targets; (2) assumption of a hypothetical single reservoir in the same pool; (3) the derivation of the initial impoundment policies by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II); (4) further improvement of the impoundment policies via Parallel Progressive Optimization Algorithm (PPOA). The framework potential is performed on China's mixed 30-reservoir system in the upper Yangtze River. Results indicate that our method can provide a series of schemes to refer to different flood event scenarios. The best scheme outperforms the conventional operating rule, as it increases impoundment efficiency from 89.50 % to 94.16 % and hydropower generation by 7.70 billion kWh (or increase 3.79 %) while flood control risk is less than 0.06.

scholarly journals Telling the boiling frog what he needs to know: why climate change risks should be plotted as probability over time

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Change Risks ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Over Time

Abstract. Humanity's situation with respect to climate change is sometimes compared to that of a frog in a slowly boiling pot of water, meaning that change will happen too gradually for us to appreciate the likelihood of catastrophe and act before it is too late. I argue that the scientific community is not yet telling the boiling frog what he needs to know. I use a review of the figures included in two reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to show that much of the climate science communicated to policymakers is presented in the form of projections of what is most likely to occur, as a function of time (equivalent to the following statement: in 5 min time, the water you are sitting in will be 2 ∘C warmer). I argue from first principles that a more appropriate means of assessing and communicating the risks of climate change would be to produce assessments of the likelihood of crossing non-arbitrary thresholds of impact, as a function of time (equivalent to the following statement: the probability of you being boiled to death will be 1 % in 5 min time, rising to 100 % in 20 min time if you do not jump out of the pot). This would be consistent with approaches to risk assessment in fields such as insurance, engineering, and health and safety. Importantly, it would ensure that decision makers are informed of the biggest risks and hence of the strongest reasons to act. I suggest ways in which the science community could contribute to promoting this approach, taking into account its inherent need for cross-disciplinary research and for engagement with decision makers before the research is conducted instead of afterwards.

The Catholic Church and the Closed Corporate Community During the Guatemalan Revolution, 1944-1954

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Blake D. Pattridge
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
The Common ◽  
Corporate Community ◽  
Revolutionary Period ◽  
The Catholic Church ◽  
The Revolution

Scholars have debated the effects of the Guatemalan Revolution (1944-1954), i.e. the political and social changes carried out during the decade, on the closed corporate community. Many scholars, including the anthropologists Carol Smith and Ralph Beals, have looked at the political pressures and changes during the Revolution in attempts to explain the decline of the traditional community during the decade. Meanwhile, the historian Jim Handy has challenged the common political explanations for the downfall of the community and questioned the degree to which the communities are “closed” and “corporate.” Most scholars agree, however, that the revolutionary period witnessed a breakdown in the traditional village structures.

Impact of the Three Gorges Reservoir Flood Prevention Dispatching Tohydrologic Information and Disaster Information in Dongting Lake Area

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 3652-3661
Author(s):  
Jing Bao Li ◽  
Ying Chao Guo ◽  
Zhong Hua Zhao ◽  
Hong Shuai ◽  
Lei Xie
Keyword(s):  
Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Dongting Lake ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
Flood Prevention ◽  
The Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
Dongting Lake Area ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
Disaster Information

Use the flood years (1998、2010) the data of the hydrologic information and disaster information, comparative analysis the impact on hydrologic information and disaster information in Dongting Lake area of the Three Gorges Reservoir flood prevention dispatching .The results show that: the inflow of lake into Jingjiang Sankou reduces about 242.61 × 108 m3,the flood level of Hukou Chenglingji lowers 0.82m, the daily average increasing rate of flood peak level slows 0.23m, the over-warning water level duration time reduces 62d; both have saved a great deal of flood control emergency rescue and disaster relief material consumption, manpower input, namely RMB 0.638 x 108yuan, and reduce the lake area flood damage 19.983 x 108yuan; in the process of 5 times flood prevention dispatching of the Three Gorges Reservoir, three times in July to alleviate flood control operation regime, disaster in Dongting Lake area the contribution of the largest, flood control operation effect is not very sensitive in June, and the impound floodwater sums to 80.7×108m3, not only of the lake area is no sense of flood control, but also because the flood retention of reservoir is more, the water of Sankou into the lake is greatly reduced, and Hunan sishui has begun to enter withered period, total amount into the lake gradually reduce, make the Dongting Lake water into withered period early; the ability of the Three Gorges Reservoir flood prevention dispatching operation to the flood prevention function is very limited, from the overall and long-term ways ,to enhance their ability of flood prevention and disaster alleviation of Dongting Lake area is still an important and comprehensive affairs.

scholarly journals Research on the Multi-Objective Cooperative Competition Mechanism of Jinsha River Downstream Cascade Reservoirs during the Flood Season Based on Optimized NSGA-III

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaokuan Ni ◽  
Zengchuan Dong ◽  
Wei Xie ◽  
Wenhao Jia ◽  
Changgui Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Jinsha River ◽  
Flood Prevention ◽  
Cascade Reservoirs ◽  
Control Power ◽  
Flood Season ◽  
Competitive Relationship ◽  
Cooperative Competition

This paper analyzes the complex relationship among flood control, power generation and ecological maintenance for the four cascade reservoirs located on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, China. A weighted flood control index is incorporated and a constraining method consisting of the combination of a constrained corridor and a penalty function is proposed. A comprehensive utilization model is established in this paper based on the objectives of flood prevention, power generation, and ecological maintenance of the downstream cascade reservoir group of the Jinsha River during flood season. In addition, based on the coalescent selection of reference points and vector angles, an optimized non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (VA-NSGA-III) is proposed. The algorithm is applied to the constructed model to define the cooperative competition mechanisms among these three targets, resulting in a set of non-inferior scheduling schemes with more uniformity and better convergence acquired with VA-NSGA-III. The scheduling program shows that there is a non-linear competitive relationship between the power generation and ecological effects of the cascade reservoirs during flood season, and the competitiveness weakens as the power generation increases. Furthermore, when the flood control is at low risk, there exists a complex coupling relationship between competition and coordination of the flood control, power generation, and ecological maintenance. While the risk appears high, there is a competitive relationship between flood control and power generation, with flood control being in synergy with ecological maintenance.

Planning for disaster resilience in rural, remote, and coastal communities: Moving from thought to action

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda L. Murphy, PhD ◽  
Gregory S. Anderson, PhD ◽  
Ron Bowles, PhD ◽  
Robin S. Cox, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Planning Framework ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Bridging Organization

Disaster resilience is the cornerstone of effective emergency management across all phases of a disaster from preparedness through response and recovery. To support community resilience planning in the Rural Disaster Resilience Project (RDRP) Planning Framework, a print-based version of the guide book and a suite of resilience planning tools were field tested in three communities representing different regions and geographies within Canada. The results provide a cross-case study analysis from which lessons learned can be extracted. The authors demonstrate that by encouraging resilience thinking and proactive planning even very small rural communities can harness their inherent strengths and resources to enhance their own disaster resilience, as undertaking the resilience planning process was as important as the outcomes.The resilience enhancement planning process must be flexible enough to allow each community to act independently to meet their own needs. The field sites demonstrate that any motivated group of individuals, representing a neighborhood or some larger area could undertake a resilience initiative, especially with the assistance of a bridging organization or tool such as the RDRP Planning Framework.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE METRICS: APPLICATION OF THE HOLISTIC METHOD WITHIN THE LATVIAN CONTEXT

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksims Feofilovs ◽  
Francesco Romagnoli ◽  
Rasa Vaiškūnaitė
Keyword(s):  
Community Resilience ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Quantitative Metrics ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Resilience Index ◽  
Total List ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Open Issues

Enhancing and building resilient cities represent a contemporary approach on which scientists and policy makers are strengthening cooperation; however, so far quantitative metrics and standards for measuring resilience are still open issues. This must be aimed toward diminishing society’s vulnerability and reducing the likelihood of disasters (both manmade and natural) and their possible effects. The evaluation of metrics within the crisis management should be able to provide a useful tool and enable stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of resilience strategies and their added value is a key factor for building resilient sound communities and infrastructures. Several frameworks and models have been created and proposed to assess and evaluate the resilience of critical infrastructures (CIs) as well as the evaluation of community resilience. Nevertheless, their application is limited to specific case studies, thus showing lack of a robust link with the decision making dimensions. This study examines infrastructure and community resilience to natural hazards in six regions of Latvia: Riga, around Riga region, Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Latgale and Zemgale. The aim of this study is to create a Community disaster resilience index (CDRI) with the application of a holistic indicatorbased model. Based on the literature-based research an initial total list of 86 indicators has been selected for a model representing social, economic, physical, human and environment capital (or resources to be potentially mobilized) and linked by their relevance to the main phases of the disaster resilience dynamics: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

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