IPCC Report.pdf - Adam Curry

Chapter 8Toward a Sustainable and Resilient FutureBox 8-2 | Children, Extremes, and Equity in a Changing ClimateThe linkages between children and extreme events have been addressed through two principal lenses.1. Differentiated Impacts and VulnerabilityThe literature estimates that 66.5 million children are affected annually by disasters (Penrose and Takaki, 2006). Research on disasterimpacts among children focuses on short- and long-term physical and psychological health impacts (Norris et al., 2002; Bunyavanich etal., 2003; del Ninno and Lindberg, 2005; Balaban, 2006; Waterson, 2006; Bartlett, 2008). Vulnerability to these impacts in part is due tothe less-developed physical and mental state of children, and therefore differential capacities to cope with deprivation and stress intimes of disaster (Cutter, 1995; Bartlett, 2008; Peek, 2008).Most literature points toward higher mortality and morbidity rates among children due to climate stresses and extreme events (Cutter,1995; Bunyavanich et al., 2003; Telford et al., 2006; Waterson, 2006; Bartlett, 2008; Costello et al., 2009). This is especially acute indeveloping countries, where climate-sensitive health outcomes such as malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria are already common andcoping capacities are lowest (Haines et al., 2006), although research in the United States found relatively low child mortality fromdisasters and considerable differences across age groups for different types of hazard (Zahran et al., 2008).Recent studies conducted in Bolivia, Indonesia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, the Philippines, and Vietnam provide evidence of howextensive (low impact/high frequency) disasters negatively affect children’s education, health, and access to services such as water andsanitation, an issue of critical importance given the importance of primary education for human and long-term economic development.In areas in Bolivia that experienced the greatest incidence of extensive disasters, the gender gap in primary education achievementwidened, preschool enrollment rates decreased, and dropout rates increased. Equivalent areas in Nepal and Vietnam saw, respectively,reduced primary enrollment rates and a drop in the total number of children in primary education. Extensive disasters also led to anincreased incidence of diarrhea in children under five years of age in Bolivia, an increased proportion of malnourished children underthree in Nepal, an increased infant mortality rate in Vietnam, and an increase in the incidence of babies born with low birth weight inMozambique. This study also found evidence of negative impacts in terms of access to water and sanitation in Mexico and Vietnam(UNISDR, 2011).These studies underpin the need for resources for child protection during and after disaster events (Last, 1994; Jabry, 2003; Bartlett,2008; Lauten and Lietz, 2008; Weissbecker et al., 2008). These include protection from abuse, especially during displacement, social safetynets to guard against withdrawal from school due to domestic or livelihood duties, and dealing with psychological and physical healthissues (Norris et al., 2002; Keenan et al., 2004; Evans and Oehler-Stinnett, 2006; Waterson, 2006; Bartlett, 2008; Davies et al., 2008;Lauten and Lietz, 2008; Peek, 2008).2. Children’s Agency and Resource AccessRather than just vulnerable victims requiring protection, children also have a critical role to play in tackling extreme events in the contextof climate change (Tanner, 2010). There is also increasing attention on child-centered approaches to preventing, preparing for, copingwith, and adapting to extreme events (Peek, 2008; Tanner, 2010).While often centered on disaster preparedness and climate change programs in education and schools (Wisner, 2006; Bangay and Blum,2010), more recent work emphasizes the latent capacity of children to participate directly in disaster risk reduction or adaptation supportedthrough child-centered programs (Back et al., 2009; Tanner et al., 2009). This emphasis acknowledges the unique risk perceptions andrisk communication processes of children, and their capacity to act as agents of change before, during, and after disaster events (seecollections of case studies in Peek, 2008; Back et al., 2009; and Tanner, 2010). Examples demonstrate the ability to reduce risk behaviorat household and community scales, but also to mobilize adults and external policy actors to change wider determinants of risk andvulnerability (Mitchell et al., 2008; Tanner et al., 2009).455