The first to examine and compare country-specific and regional approaches to the emergency management of disasters, this book illustrates how initiating long-term regional collaborations on disaster-risk reduction and risk management help build resiliency and adaptability and reduce the impact of natural disasters. It takes stock of current disaster management systems across regions and countries, promotes an integrated approach, and offers ideas to foster new synergies and partnerships between governments. Written by a host of international experts, this book provides a platform to discuss future needs and priorities in an effort to strengthen and improve regional responsiveness.

Table of Contents

Foreword; Jane E. Rovins Section I:The Americas Forging Partnerships within Geopolitical Regions of the United States for Mutual Aid and Mass Prophylaxis Intervention; Kathleen O. Vito Network Governance in Emergency Management in the Caribbean; Philip Duku Osei Game Approach to Disaster Loss Reduction in Caribbean Multicultural Societies: The Disaster Awareness Game; Virginia Clearveaux and Balfour Spence Rebuilding a Regional Tourist Image in the Aftermath of Disaster: New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina; Mark Hutter and DeMond S. Miller Addressing the Future Urban Water Crisis in Southern Ontario: An Ethnographic Look at the Promise of Expert--Lay Collaboration in Water Management Research; Benjamin W. Kelly Section II: Africa and the Middle East Critique of Stakeholder Participation and Decision-Making Processes Affecting the Design and Implementation of Transboundary Water Governance Projects Bordering Vulnerable/High Risk States: Lake Chad and Basin, Danube and Tisza River Basin; Filip Aggestam and Stephanie Hodge Global Food Crisis and African Response: Lessons for Emergency Response Planning; Sheryl L. Hendriks and Scott Drimie Faith-Based Humanitarian Assistance in Response to Disasters: A Study of South African Muslim Diaspora; Sultan Khan Analysis of the Interorganizational Cooperation in the Jewish and the Arab Sector in Israel; Alex Altshuler Role of Schools in Rebuilding Communities after Disaster; Beryl Cheal Section III: Europe Citizen Seismology: How to Involve the Public in Earthquake Response; Remy Bossu, Sebastien Gilles , GillesaMazet-Roux, and Frederic Roussel Social Capital: The Missing Link in Coping with Environmental Disaster; Sotiris Chtouris and Flora Tzelepoglou Supporting State Agencies in Providing Early Warning Services: A Case Study from Ireland; Ioannis M. Dokas, John Feehan, Stephen Fortier, Franclin Foping, and Syed Imran Section IV: Asia and the Pacific NGO and Community-Oriented Disaster Response: Lessons from the Humanitarian Response to the Asian Tsunami in India and the Jogyakarta Earthquake in Indonesia; Patrick Kilby and Kim Williamson Analysis of the Emergency Response by Business, Government, and the Public During and After a Sour Gas Well Blowout; Chuansheng Jiang and Yunfeng Deng Section V: Global Challengesaand Next Steps for the Twenty-First Century Collaborative Leadership in Global Health Partnership Strategies of Canadian Research Universities; Anatoly Oleksiyenko Conclusion: Future of Regional Collaboration Afterword; J. Steven Picou Index

About the Author

DeMond Shondell Miller is a professor of sociology and director of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Institute for Research and Community Service at Rowan University (Glassboro, New Jersey). He has worked as principal investigator to facilitate research projects involving natural and technological disasters, environmental issues, and community satisfaction. His primary area of specialization is environmental sociology (disaster studies and the study of the social construction of place), community development and community organizing, and social impact assessment. He is currently engaged in research on international environmental policy, coastal and maritime sustainable tourism, and the ongoing social impacts of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Jason David Rivera is a research associate in the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. His research focuses on social vulnerability to natural and manmade disasters with an emphasis on minority experiences. Additionally, his research highlights institutional structures that have historically perpetuated social vulnerability within minority and low income communities. These research findings have been incorporated into policy recommendations that make mitigation, response, and recovery more efficient.