International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

In 1989, the United Nations created a day to recognize the damage done to humanity by natural disasters and to exhort nations to reduce the risk associated with those disasters.  The day also recognizes that natural disasters, “many of which are exacerbated by climate change, have a negative impact on investment in sustainable development and the desired outcomes.”  In 2009, the UN chose October 13 as its permanent annual recognition of the need for disaster risk reduction.

Floods, like this one in India, are becoming bigger and more frequent (photo by Ceekaypee)

            A twenty-year review of natural disasters by the UN demonstrated the rising costs, both economic and human, of disasters.  Compared to the early two decades, the period from 1998 to 2017 experienced a 151% increase in the economic losses from disasters, rising from $1.3 billion to $2.9 billion, Climate-related disasters accounted for 77% of the total loss (earthquakes and the resultant tsunamis were most of the rest).  The vast majority of climate-related events were floods (43.4%) and storms (28.2%).

Wildfires are also becoming more frequent and larger (photo by Greg Sanders, USFWS NE region)

            While the human costs of these disasters get the most attention, of course, the costs to biodiversity are similarly terrible.  A 2019 report by the National Wildlife Federation described the consequences of several recent events to wildlife.  Record July temperatures in Alaska caused die-offs of pink, sockeye and chum salmon.  Hurricane Irma in 2017 devastated southern Florida, including killing up to 22% of the remaining population of the endangered key deer.  Massive fires in the western U.S., including the 2016 Soberanes Fire, choked streams with sediment and other debris, affecting fish and amphibian species with nowhere else to go.  Floods associated with Hurricane Harvey in 2017 killed almost all of the remaining wild population of the endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chicken (only 12 birds remained alive after the floods).

            Natural disasters always cause losses, of course, but climate change is making these disasters worse.  More water in the atmosphere and warmer temperatures in both the air and water make storms larger, more frequent and more violent.  Weather events are getting more episodic, with higher rainfalls during storms causing bigger floods and longer droughts between storms causing habitat degradation and extreme wildfires.

Key deer, like this one, were severely affected by Hurricane Irma in 2017 (photo by Dan Chapman, USFWS SE region)

            Which brings us back to the United Nations resolve to manage the risks of natural disasters better.  Communities and nations need to make their infrastructure and neighborhoods more resilient in the face of these increasingly violent episodes—that’s what is called climate adaptation.  But, more fundamental to our overall sustainability, is the other needed response:  mitigating climate change.  Mitigation means reducing the amount of greenhouse gases building up in the atmosphere by reducing fossil fuel burning.  Let’s just do it!

References:

NASA Earth Observatory.  2005.  The Impact of Climate Change on Natural Disasters.  Available at:  https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/RisingCost/rising_cost5.php. Accessed February 6, 2020.

National Wildlife Federation.  2019.  Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Wildlife.  Available at:  https://www.nwf.org/-/media/Documents/PDFs/Environmental-Threats/Climate-Change-Natural-Disasters-fact-sheet.ashx.  Accessed February 6, 2020.

UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction.  2018.  UN 20-year review:  earthquakes and tsunamis kill more people while climate change is driving up economic losses.  Available at:  https://www.undrr.org/news/un-20-year-review-earthquakes-and-tsunamis-kill-more-people-while-climate-change-driving. Accessed February 6, 2020.

This Month in Conservation

June 1
US Announced Withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement (2017)
June 2
Rodne Galicha, Philippine Environmentalist, Born (1979)
June 2
Edwin Way Teale, Nature Writer, Born (1899)
June 3
The World’s First Wilderness Area Established (1924)
June 4
Gaylord Nelson, Politician and Conservationist, Born (1916)
June 5
World Environment Day
June 6
Novarupta Volcano Erupted in Alaska (1912)
June 7
Thomas Malthus Published His Famous Essay (1798)
June 8
Bryce Canyon National Park Created (1923)
June 9
Coral Triangle Day
June 10
E. O. Wilson, Father of Biodiversity, Born (1929)
June 11
Jacques Cousteau, Ocean Explorer, Born (1910)
June 12
Frank Chapman, Creator of the Christmas Bird Count, Born (1864)
June 13
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, Born (1944)
June 14
Bramble Cay Melomys Went Extinct (2016)
June 15
Global Wind Day
June 16
Gray Whale Delisted (1994)
June 17
World Day to Combat Desertification
June 18
Alexander Wetmore, Ornithologist and Smithsonian Leader, Born (1866)
June 19
Feast of the Forest, Palawan, Philippines
June 20
Great Barrier Reef Protected (1975)
June 21
World Hydrography Day
June 22
Cuyahoga River Burst into Flames (1969)
June 23
Antarctic Treaty Implemented (1961)
June 23
June 24
David McTaggart, Greenpeace Leader, Born (1932)
June 25
David Douglas, Pioneering Botanist, Born (1799)
June 26
United Nations Chartered (1945)
June 27
Tajik National Park Added to World Heritage List (2013)
June 28
Mark Shand, Asian Elephant Conservationist, Born (1951)
June 29
Mesa Verde National Park Created (1906)
June 30
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Created (1940)
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