chapter 4 - DRK

Strictly under embargo until Wednesday 22 September at 00:01 GMT (02:01 Geneva time)feedback have all been used to help changebehaviour.Activities focus primarily on:digging paths to evacuate stagnant waterregular maintenance of drainage channelsdisinfecting stagnant water, in associationwith the national hygiene departmentplacing sandbags to help inhabitants getabout within the neighbourhood itself.The authorities use local labour for some drainageworks and women’s groups are involvedin awareness-raising activities to combat diarrhoeaand measures to be taken to prevent malariaand other diseases. NGOs work closelywith the state’s decentralized structures (healthand sanitation departments, fire brigade, etc.)to raise awareness and change the population’sbehaviour.The social distribution of climate change riskSocial factors account for a large proportion of the variability in vulnerability to climatechange impacts. Firstly, poverty and marginality are key contributors to vulnerability.Exposure to climate risk is particularly evident for households and communitiesliving in sites that are exposed to storm surges, flooding and landslides and which lackthe resources and options to modify these effectively. Low-income urban residents areparticularly vulnerable to climate change for a variety of reasons, including:greater exposure to hazards (e.g., through living in makeshift housing on unsafesites)lack of hazard-reducing infrastructure (e.g., roads allowing emergency vehicleaccess)less adaptive capacity (e.g., inability to move to less dangerous sites or access savingsor insurance)less state provision of assistanceless legal and financial protection.Secondly, climate change is expected to exacerbate pre-existing gender dimensionsof vulnerability. On top of the well-documented and disproportionate impact ofdisasters on women’s morbidity and mortality, climate change will impact women’slivelihoods by reducing economic opportunities and will increase the burden ofreproductive labour, for example, through a growing burden of child disease (seeTable 6.2).Thirdly, age greatly shapes vulnerability to the consequences of climate change. Childrenhave higher susceptibility to diseases caused by poor sanitation or spread by vectors.Climate change may reduce availability of potable water, both through absolutescarcity and through increased spread of bacterial diseases, and vectors such as mosquitoesmay expand their range due to rising temperatures. In addition, very young childrenhave less capacity to cope with high temperatures and less ability or knowledge torespond rapidly to disaster events, and can suffer long-term damage to their cognitiveWorld Disasters Report 2010 – Focus on urban risk121