Natural and Environmental Disasters

Beth | 27 Jul 2011
The National Civil Protection and Fire Service was established with the power to coordinate national activities in the event of natural disasters, but that service lacks the technical, material and human resources to effectively and efficiently carry out its functions when a serious natural or environmental disaster occurs. Due to its geographical location, its geological formation, size and island nature, Sao Tomé e Principé is considered fragile and vulnerable to possible...
Beth | 26 Jul 2011
Cape Verde submitted its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) to the UNFCCC in 2007. Cape Verde is prone to variability in rainfall patterns that result in frequent droughts and extreme weather events such as devastating floods and sudden changes in temperature. These episodes are occurring with increased frequency. Torrential rains, an increasingly frequent phenomenon in Cape Verde, lead to great loss of human life in addition to loss of agricultural soils, animal life, and...
Beth | 26 Jul 2011
In 2006, the UNDP released a Disaster Risk Profile report on the Maldives. This was followed by a national strategy in 2009, entitled Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation 2010-2020, presented to the UNISDR. The frequency of natural disasters in the Maldives is low, and a national strategy was only formulated after the 2004 Tsunami. However, global climate change is expected to increase the incidence and severity of natural and environmental...
Beth | 25 Jul 2011
Government bodies have set up both a National Protection Service and a National Commission for Natural Disaster Management to monitor threats and respond to natural and environmental disasters. Although natural disasters in Guinea-Bissau tend to occur in the form of droughts and epidemics, it is recognized that the geographic position of the country creates the possibility of oil spills, tsunamis and earthquakes, and thus a need to prepare for these hazards as well. Major environmental...
Beth | 25 Jul 2011
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is included in the Comoros Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and is also institutionalized into the policies of the Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications and Tourism; Ministry of Health, Solidarity and Gender; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Industry, Craft and Environment; Ministry of National Education, Research, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports; and the Ministry of Land-Use Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Energy. Natural Risk and...