29 April 2014

Highlights from the joint Wittgenstein Centre/IUSSP International Seminar

3 days, 9 sessions, 22 presentations, 1 roundtable discussion, 40 participants at the seminar on demography and climate change in Kao Lak, Phang Nga 23-25 Apr 2014

© Andres Ignacio

© Andres Ignacio

Under the title Demographic Differential Vulnerability to Natural Disasters in the Context of Climate Change Adaptation, 40 researchers from different disciplines discussed demographic and socio-economic differentials to the benefit of the international risk, vulnerability and climate change community. The seminar was organized jointly by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change, the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok), and IIASA's World Population Program.

Some of the key points raised at the conference include:

  • Vulnerability to natural hazards depends not only on where you are (exposure) but also who you are. Within the same community or households, the impacts of natural disasters are not distributed evenly among demographic groups.
  • We have been adapted to the changing environment throughout the human history, but capacity to adapt varies with demographic characteristics.
  • Stakeholders who participated in the Roundtable discussion said that they need scientific evidence from demographic experts in order to implement disaster risk reduction measures considering population change in their community.

The seminar program is available online on the IUSSP website.

© Andres Ignacio
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Presentations

Wolfgang Lutz
Thematic introduction to the conference

Session 1: Differential impacts of natural disasters: Mortality
Martin Flatø, Andreas Kotsadam
Droughts and gender bias in infant mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Zhongwei Zhao, Yuan Zhu, J. Zhao, Ed Tu
Who have been more vulnerable to extreme temperature? Observations made in Taiwan 1971-2007

Emilio Zhagheni, Raya Muttarak, Erich Striessnig
The differential impact of meteorological disasters on mortality: Evidence from death registration systems

Session 2: Differential impacts of natural disasters: Loss and damage, response and recovery
Kees van der Geest, Koko Warner
Vulnerability, coping and loss and damage from climate events

Dani Alfah, Roni Hermoko, Wayan Suriastini, Bondan Sikoki
Demographic differentials in vulnerability and resilience in a disaster-prone community: Evidence from the longitudinal study of Merapi 2012

Yuzhu Liu
Rural-urban differential vulnerability and its impact on post-disaster recovery: Evidence from western China

Session 3: Differential risk perceptions and coping strategies
Jacqueline Meijer-Irons
Who perceives what? A demographic analysis of environmental risk perception in rural Thailand

Chandrashekhar and Bornali Dutta
Livelihood strategies in response to drought and its socio-economic determinants in Andhra Pradesh, India

Joan Urquiola, Leonardo  Florece, Juan Pulhin,  Victoria Espaldon
Social vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and extremes at northern Barangays of Puerto Princesa city, Philippines

Session 4: Migration as coping and adaptation strategies
Charles Teller, Teshome Desta, Dula Etana, Yordanos Seifu
Migratory patterns and differential vulnerability as adaptation to climate variability: Case studies of rural youth outmigration in Ethiopia

Caroline Zickgraf, Nathalie Perrin, François Gemenne 
Assessing how demographic differentials affect migration patterns under extreme climate scenarios

Session 5: Case study of differential vulnerability in Thailand and Phang Nga province
Nopphol Witworapong, Raya Muttarak, Wiraporn Pothisiri
Social participation and disaster risk reduction behaviours: Case study of tsunami-risk areas in southern Thailand

Thanyaporn Chankrajang, Raya Muttarak
Who is concerned and does something about climate change? Gender and education divide among Thais

Raya Muttarak, Wolfgang Lutz, Wiraporn Pothisiri
Where would you build your new house? Demographic differentials in adaptation

Elke Loichinger, Samir KC
4-D population scenarios for future adaptive capacity in Phang Nga

Session 7: Vulnerability and risk assessment: Micro-level perspective
Andres Ignacio, Grace Cruz, Sabine Henry
Assessing the efficacy of social vulnerability measurements through the impacts of disasters

Chukwuedozie Ajaero, Arinze  Mozie
Socio-demographic differentials in vulnerability to flood disasters in rural southeastern Nigeria

Session 8: Vulnerability and risk assessment: Global-level and comparative perspective
Stefan Kienberger, An Notenbaert, Joost Vervoort, Demian Snel
Crystal ball or future pathways: Opportunities and constraints for spatially explicit vulnerability scenarios to climate change impacts

Danan Gu, Patrick Gerland, Kirill Andreev, Nan Li, Thomas Spoorenberg, Gerhard Heilig
Risks of exposure of world’s cities to natural hazards

Mark Montgomery, Samir Souidi, Deborah Balk
Extreme-Event Risks and Adaptation: What Can We Learn from Guatemala?

Session 9: Projecting vulnerability through the lens of human capital
Erich Striessnig
Future differential vulnerability to natural disasters by level of education

Jesus Crespo Cuaresma, Wolfgang Lutz
The demography of human development and climate change vulnerability: A  projection exercise


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Last edited: 09 May 2016

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Raya Muttarak

Principal Research Scholar Migration and Sustainable Development Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313