Geographies of Vulnerability

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Geographies of Vulnerability

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

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Outline

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

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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.

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Geographies of vulnerability

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

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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

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Terrain Surrounding Epicenter
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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.

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Pakistan Earthquake Numbers

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

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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

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Azad Kashmir Jammu-Kashmir

• Earthquake highlights the longstanding
  geopolitical dispute between Pakistan and India
  in the region.

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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

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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

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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)

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Concerns Specific to Pakistan

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

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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

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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.

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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