Mountain Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and water-induced disasters. This fragile mountain region is under tremendous stress from climate change and land-use degradation that has accelerated flash floods, river-line floods, erosion, and wet mass movements during the monsoon period and drought in the non-monsoon period. Against the backdrop of intensifying disasters and in the absence of a focused documentation of disaster risk reduction issues in the HKH region, this volume presents a comprehensive body of knowledge. The main purpose and objective of this publication is to connect existing data, research, conceptual work, and practical cases on risk, resilience, and risk reduction from the HKH region under a common analytical umbrella. The result is a contribution to advancing disaster resilience and risk reduction in the HKH region. The book will be of special interest to policy makers, donors, and researchers concerned with the disaster issues in the region.

Hari Krishna Nibanupudi

Hari Krishna Nibanupudi has over 18 years of experience in disaster diplomacy, governance, leadership development & institutional building. He is certified Trainer on water diplomacy from Tufts University and is a recipient of Mary Fran Myers (MFM) award (2013) for contributions to disaster risk reduction. He currently serves at International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) as a Senior DRR Specialist. Earlier, he worked with World Bank Institute, Oxfam, IIMA & IRMA. He has commissioned and coordinated over 30 humanitarian research projects and published over a dozen of disaster risk reduction tool kits, handbooks, training manuals and videos. Many of these research studies were aimed at providing real time research and evaluation support to on going programs in South Asian countries.

Rajib Shaw

Rajib Shaw is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of Kyoto University, Japan. He worked closely with the local communities, NGOs, governments and international organization, including United Nations, especially in the Asian countries. He is currently the Chair of the United Nations Asia Regional Task Force for Urban Risk Reduction, and the President of Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster Management (AUEDM). His research interests are: community based disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, urban risk management, and disaster and environmental education. He has published several books in the field of disaster and environmental management. He is also the Chief Editor of Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management.