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Geographies of Vulnerability

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Title: Geographies of Vulnerability


1
Geographies of Vulnerability
  • Kathryn Besio
  • Dept. of Geography
  • 1/27/06

2
Outline
  • Geographies of Vulnerability
  • Example South Asia Quake
  • Social Historical Context
  • Gender Concerns
  • Specific Concerns to Pakistan

3
Geographies of vulnerability
  • Sara Ahmed states (2004, 1) ,
  • disasters unfold in varying geographic,
    political, socioeconomic and cultural contexts
    and peoples ability to respond, cope with or
    adapt reflects unevenly distributed patterns of
    vulnerability.

4
Geographies of vulnerability
  • Keep in mind differences in
  • Livelihood strategies
  • Location
  • Skills, education, survival and recovery
    resources
  • Access to information

5
Geographies of vulnerability
  • There are sets of unequal access to
    opportunities and unequal exposure to risks which
    are a consequence of the socio-economic (and
    increasingly, political) system it is more
    important to discern how human systems themselves
    place people in relation to each other and to the
    environment than it is to interpret natural
    systems
  • (Cannon (1994) cited in Ahmed 2004, 1)

6
Geographies of vulnerability
  • In this framework for looking at disasters,
    rather than concentrate on the characteristics of
    the event, geographers may examine the social
    context in which the event occurs.
  • This means understanding geographies of
    vulnerability and thinking about vulnerability
    as a bundle of resources which are available to
    people.
  • People who live in marginal environments
    flood plains, tectonically active regions, etc.
    may have smaller vulnerability bundles, and
    these bundles will vary within the population.
  • Age, gender, class, ethnicity all influence
    difference within vulnerable populations.

7
Geographies of vulnerability
  • The recent South Asian earthquake exemplifies
    differences in the vulnerability bundles of
    residents in Pakistan.
  • The situation in Kashmir is complex, historically
    and socially.

8
October 8, 2005
  • 7.6 earthquake in Pakistan
  • Epicenter is in Kashmir, a region that spans the
    Pakistani-Indian border
  • Quake is felt from Afghanistan to India

9
Terrain Surrounding Epicenter
10
Pakistan Earthquake
  • The quake was felt from Islamabad the urban
    capital of Pakistan to the Afghan border.
  • Variations in building construction, slope, and,
    importantly, accessibility by road.

11
Pakistan Earthquake Numbers
  • 73, 338 people dead
  • 69, 412 injured
  • 2.8 million people left homeless
  • Sources USAID, GOP, IOM

12
Pakistan Earthquake
  • Relief Efforts hampered by damaged infrastructure
  • Provision of shelter adequate for mountainous
    region, with very cold weather
  • Food and medicine for those who are homeless
  • Inadequate international response

13
Azad Kashmir Jammu-Kashmir
  • Earthquake highlights the longstanding
    geopolitical dispute between Pakistan and India
    in the region.

14
Kashmir
  • Kashmir was a princely state with a predominantly
    Muslim population, administered by a Hindu
    maharajah.
  • Kashmir remains in dispute by India and Pakistan.
  • Border tensions between India and Pakistan have
    resulted in two wars and an ongoing skirmish in
    the Karakoram mountains.
  • Chronic disinvestment in infrastructure by both
    countries.
  • Roads, medical facilities and schools

15
Recall vulnerability bundles
  • Livelihood strategies
  • Semi-subsistence
  • Location
  • Urban rural, but mountain population hit
    hardest
  • Skills, education, survival and recovery
    resources Literacy rates in Pakistan are low, 57
    males 81 of females, although survival
    resources may be high.
  • Access to information
  • Linguistic differences, access to media

16
Gender Concerns
  • Ensuring the needs and concerns of women and
    men, girls and boys as well as ensuring their
    equal participation in shaping the response
    should be identified and mainstreamed in all
    aspects of emergency response
  • IASC Taskforce on Gender and Humanitarian
    Assistance, November 2005 (www.humanitarianinfor.o
    rg/iasc/gender)

17
Concerns Specific to Pakistan
  • 1. Womens access to relief supplies
  • 2. Concerns for womens safety
  • 3. Depression and drug abuse

18
Six Principles for Engendered Relief
  • 1. Think Big
  • 2. Get the Facts
  • 3. Work with Grassroots Organizations
  • 4. Resist Stereotypes
  • 5. Take a Human Rights Approach
  • 6. Respect and Develop Capacities of Women

19
Summary
  • Natural disasters human dimensions are
    complicated by social and historical context.
  • Every event must be evaluated with this
    complexity in mind.
  • By doing so, the diversity of affected
    populations becomes more apparent, and their
    varying vulnerability bundles may be better
    assessed for relief efforts.
  • Keep in mind that an engendered assessment
    means women and men, girls and boys.

20
Useful Websites
  • IASC Taskforce on Gender and Humanitarian
    Assistance www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/gender
  • Gender and Disaster Network http//online.northumb
    ria.ac.uk/geography_research/gdn/
  • Gender Equality and Disaster Risk Reduction
    Workshop 2004 www.ssri.hawaii.edu/research/GDWweb
    site/pages/proceeding.html
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