Abstract
Natural Hazard-induced Disasters (NHD) cause a wide range of losses to built and natural environments, the latter often beyond standard measures. Precise accounting and characterisation of the losses can assist in developing effective management policies that help to build resilient communities. This study applies trans-disciplinary approaches to assess total, monetary and non-monetary, NHD-related losses, estimated at AUD 156 million per year (2010–2019 average), for Australia’s Northern Territory where bushfires, cyclones, storms and floods are destructive and frequent events. Non-monetary losses, often overlooked or omitted, were estimated at AUD103 million per year, accounting for two-thirds of total disaster-related losses. Marketable losses, estimated at AUD 53 million per year, were inferred, using standard and non-standard datasets, from the Australian Government’s Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, insurance costs (Insurance Council of Australia database), and other relevant sources. Non-monetary losses were accounted for by the loss of ecosystem services from natural systems caused by cyclones and bushfires only, applying ecological economics approaches, but without considering long-term losses over the duration of recovery. This study informs disaster management policies to invest in collective emergency and environmental management planning for reducing NHD risk and building resilience of local communities to manage and prepare for rapidly changing climates. Such an accounting approach is essential in contexts where NHDs disproportionately affect the lives and well-being of disadvantaged remote communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 479–498 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Natural Hazards |
| Volume | 108 |
| Early online date | 2 Apr 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We acknowledge that due to the lack of opportunities and chronic disadvantage, involvement of local Indigenous people in EM as volunteers is not realistic. Conversely, most Indigenous communities typically support an Indigenous Ranger Program funded by the Commonwealth under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS). Rangers’ skills are generally well-developed which can be readily upgraded to manage emergency situations (Russell-Smith and Sangha ; Sangha et al. , ). Developing feasible opportunities such as part- or full-time employment, or fee-for-service mechanisms for contracting local Aboriginal Corporations or Rangers Groups, to effectively mitigate, adapt and manage NHDs in collaboration with EM agencies, offers long-term solutions not only for managing NHDs but also addressing other environment and development-related issues in remote communities.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
