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PurposeDespite Bangladesh's great strides in formulating disaster management policies following the principles of good governance, the degree to which these policies have successfully been implemented at the local level remains largely unknown. The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to examine the roles and effectiveness of local-level governance and disaster management institutions, and (2) to identify barriers to the implementation of national policies and Disaster-Risk-Reduction (DRR) guidelines at the local community level.Design/methodology/approachBetween January 2014 and June 2015 we carried out an empirical investigation in two coastal communities in Bangladesh. We employed a qualitative research and Case Study approach, using techniques from the Participatory Rural Appraisal toolbox to collect data from local community members as well as government and NGO officials.FindingsOur study revealed that interactive disaster governance, decentralization of disaster management, and compliance by local-level institutions with good governance principles and national policy guidelines can be extremely effective in reducing disaster-loss and damages. According to coastal community members, the local governments have generally failed to uphold good governance principles, and triangulated data confirm that the region at large suffers from rampant corruption, political favoritism, lack of transparency and accountability and minimal inclusion of local inhabitants in decision-making – all of which have severely impeded the successful implementation of national disaster-management policies.Research limitations/implicationsWhile considerable research on good governance has been pursued, our understanding of good disaster governance and their criteria is still poor. In addition, although numerous national disaster management policy and good governance initiatives have been taken in Bangladesh, like many other developing countries, the nature and extent of their local level implementation are not well known. This study contributes to these research gaps, with identification of further research agenda in these areas.Practical implicationsThe study focuses on good disaster governance and management issues and practices, their strengths and limitations in the context of cyclone and storm surges along coastal Bangladesh. It offers specific good disaster governance criteria for improving multi-level successful implementation. The paper deals with International Sendai Framework that called for enhancement of local level community resilience to disasters. Thus, it contributes to numerous policy and practice areas relating to good disaster governance.Social implicationsGood disaster governance would benefit not only from future disaster losses but also from improved prevention and mitigation of natural hazards impact, benefiting society at large. Improvement in knowledge and practice in disaster-risk-reduction through good governance and effective management would ensure local community development and human wellbeing at the national level.Originality/valueThe failure of local-level government institutions to effectively implement national disaster management and resilience-building policies is largely attributable to a lack of financial and human resources, rampant corruption, a lack of accountability and transparency and the exclusion of local inhabitants from decision-making processes. Our study identified the specific manifestations of these failures in coastal communities in Bangladesh. These results underscore the vital need to address the wide gap between national DRR goals and the on-the-ground realities of policy implementation to successfully enhance the country's resilience to climate change-induced disasters.

This publication handles the following topics: Extension of the European space for research to the Mediterranean: Zone; New energies for development; Participation of scientist from the South to international projects: SESAME; From food security to food safety in the Euro Mediterranean space; Fighting the numerical divide; Participation of scientist from the South to international projects: CERN; Desalination of sea water and recycling of waste water; Natural risks in the Mediterranean.

Foreign direct investment and private capital flows are highly concentrated geographically, with almost half of them reaching five top destinations. These flows tend to evade many high-risk countries. Regulatory and contractual risks, particularly in infrastructure, have inhibited investments in many parts of the developing world. A core objective of the World Bank Group (WBG) has been to support the flow of private investment for development; guarantees and insurance have been among the instruments that the WBG has used to pursue this objective. This study examines three main questions: • Should the WBG be in the guarantee business? • Have guarantee instruments in the three WBG institutions been used to their potential as reflected in WBG expectations and perceived demand? • Is the WBG appropriately organized to deliver its range of guarantee products in an effective and efficient manner?

PurposeExamine the usability of rainfall and temperature outputs of a regional climate model (RCM) and meteorological drought indices to develop a macro-level risk transfer product to compensate the government of Central Java, Indonesia, for drought-related disaster payments to rice farmers.Design/methodology/approachBased on 0.5° gridded rainfall and temperature data (1960–2015) and projections of the WRF-RCM (2016–2040), the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) are calculated for Central Java over different time spans. The drought indices are correlated to annual and seasonal rice production, based on which a weather index insurance structure is developed.FindingsThe six-month SPI correlates best with the wet season rice production, which generates most output in Central Java. The SPI time series reveals that drought severity increases in future years (2016–2040) and leads to higher payouts from the weather index structure compared to the historical period (1960–2015).Practical implicationsThe developed methodology in using SPI for historical and projected periods allows the development of weather index insurance in other regions which have a clear link between rainfall deficit and agricultural production volatility.Originality/valueMeteorological drought indices are a viable alternative for weather index insurance, which is usually based on rainfall amounts. RCM outputs provide valuable insights into future climate variability and drought risk and prolong the time series, which should result in more robust weather index insurance products.

Is inequality within countries relevant for global climate policy? Most burden-sharing proposals for climate mitigation treat states as homogenous agents, even those that aim to protect individual rights. This can lead to free riders in some large emerging economies and expose the poor to mitigation burdens in others. Proposals that incorporate an exemption for the poor can avoid these outcomes, but do not account for the role of internal policies on the poor’s actual emissions and mitigation burdens. This will create moral hazards in the design of such agreements and risk the misallocation of mitigation costs when implemented. To ensure equitable outcomes at the individual level, international agreements would need to build in additional provisions to encourage benefiting states to reduce emissions and target exemptions to the poor. But such agreements will face political conflicts over sovereignty and the burdensomeness of such provisions.

Owing to globalization, the potential impacts of climate change/sea-level rise in one country/region are likely to affect and be felt elsewhere. Such indirect impacts could be significant but have received a limited analysis. This deficiency is addressed here using the indirect impacts on coastal infrastructure for the UK as an example. National opportunities and threats are identified. Potential indirect national threats include disruption of supply chains, security threats due to forced migration, a decline in national prestige, and impacts on the finance and insurance industries. Potential opportunities include export of world-leading coastal hazard and management expertise, and benefits to national prestige conferred by a strong response to climate change. Such opportunities and threats depend on several distinct dimensions of change, especially the magnitude of climate and socio-economic change, and the success/failure of appropriate responses. Promoting adaptation and climate mitigation is important to exploit the opportunities and address the threats. Adaptation should deal with more than the effects of climate change and link to the wider development agenda. These lessons are transferable to other developed countries and, indeed, many of the actions will be strengthened by collective action. Policy relevance National-level measures to address these indirect impacts will make a positive contribution to the global effort in addressing climate change (e.g. supporting emissions reductions). Countries should include the indirect effects of climate change in national assessments so that the national context and useful responses can be identified. Cooperation between nations is also important; countries must act together to more effectively address the direct and indirect effects of climate change (e.g. promoting a widespread adaptation response). International initiatives (such as the Belmont Forum initiative on Coastal Vulnerability) should be promoted and global environmental change research shared (e.g. within multilateral institutions).

'Economic losses from natural disasters totaled 92 billion in 2015.' Such statements, all too commonplace, assess the severity of disasters by no other measure than the damage inflicted on buildings, infrastructure, and agricultural production.

This study, Indus basin of Pakistan: the impacts of climate risks on water and agriculture was undertaken at a pivotal time in the region. The weak summer monsoon in 2009 created drought conditions throughout the country. This followed an already tenuous situation for many rural households faced with high fuel and fertilizer costs and the impacts of rising global food prices. Then catastrophic monsoon flooding in 2010 affected over 20 million people, devastating their housing, infrastructure, and crops. Damages from this single flood event were estimated at US dollar 10 billion, half of which were losses in the agriculture sector. Notwithstanding the debate as to whether these observed extremes are evidence of climate change, an investigation is needed regarding the extent to which the country is resilient to these shocks. It is thus timely, if not critical, to focus on climate risks for water, agriculture, and food security in the Indus basin of Pakistan.

This book's prime audience is government policy-makers. It provides a policy framework for governments to increase micro, small and medium enterprises' access to financial services?one which is based on empirical evidence from around the world. Financial sector policies in many developing countries often work against the ability of commercial financial institutions to serve this market segment, albeit, often unintentionally. The framework guides governments on how to best focus scarce resources on three things: ? developing an inclusive financial sector policy; ? building healthy financial institutions; and ? investing in information infrastructure such as credit bureaus and accounting standards. The book provides examples and case studies of how such a strategy has helped to build more inclusive financial institutions and systems in many countries.