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Climate Change Vulnerability of Pakistan Towards Natural Disasters: A Review

Received: 7 August 2016     Accepted: 17 August 2016     Published: 2 September 2016
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Abstract

The paper in hand is a review of scientific findings focusing on vulnerability of Pakistan in the context of climate change (CC). Since last decade, head to head episodes of natural disasters especially floods, leave the country`s people highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change due to its geographical location and socioeconomic conditions making it susceptible to natural disasters. In this paper we conclude the state of the art research by discussing and clarifying different conceptual definitions of vulnerability and its association with CC. Further the paper highlights vulnerability and exposure of Pakistan towards natural hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones stating that the country is vulnerable to numerous hazards, both natural and human induced due to a direct consequence of the country’s high variability and regional contrast in terms of geology, topography and meteorology. Next, the paper outlines exposure and vulnerability among the poorest by summarizing that in most cases poorest of the poor communities are hard hit by climate change due to their high exposure and low adaptive capacity and the final part of the paper concludes discussion that for Pakistan, as a hazard-prone country, it is the need of time to actively address natural hazards at all scales by engaging local communities and organizations to better withstand natural disasters.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 4, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13
Page(s) 126-132
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Climate Change, Natural Disaster, Flood, Vulnerability, Pakistan

References
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    Wahid Ullah, Nihei Takaaki. (2016). Climate Change Vulnerability of Pakistan Towards Natural Disasters: A Review. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 4(5), 126-132. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13

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    ACS Style

    Wahid Ullah; Nihei Takaaki. Climate Change Vulnerability of Pakistan Towards Natural Disasters: A Review. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2016, 4(5), 126-132. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13

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    AMA Style

    Wahid Ullah, Nihei Takaaki. Climate Change Vulnerability of Pakistan Towards Natural Disasters: A Review. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2016;4(5):126-132. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13,
      author = {Wahid Ullah and Nihei Takaaki},
      title = {Climate Change Vulnerability of Pakistan Towards Natural Disasters: A Review},
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
      volume = {4},
      number = {5},
      pages = {126-132},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160405.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20160405.13},
      abstract = {The paper in hand is a review of scientific findings focusing on vulnerability of Pakistan in the context of climate change (CC). Since last decade, head to head episodes of natural disasters especially floods, leave the country`s people highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change due to its geographical location and socioeconomic conditions making it susceptible to natural disasters. In this paper we conclude the state of the art research by discussing and clarifying different conceptual definitions of vulnerability and its association with CC. Further the paper highlights vulnerability and exposure of Pakistan towards natural hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones stating that the country is vulnerable to numerous hazards, both natural and human induced due to a direct consequence of the country’s high variability and regional contrast in terms of geology, topography and meteorology. Next, the paper outlines exposure and vulnerability among the poorest by summarizing that in most cases poorest of the poor communities are hard hit by climate change due to their high exposure and low adaptive capacity and the final part of the paper concludes discussion that for Pakistan, as a hazard-prone country, it is the need of time to actively address natural hazards at all scales by engaging local communities and organizations to better withstand natural disasters.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
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    AB  - The paper in hand is a review of scientific findings focusing on vulnerability of Pakistan in the context of climate change (CC). Since last decade, head to head episodes of natural disasters especially floods, leave the country`s people highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change due to its geographical location and socioeconomic conditions making it susceptible to natural disasters. In this paper we conclude the state of the art research by discussing and clarifying different conceptual definitions of vulnerability and its association with CC. Further the paper highlights vulnerability and exposure of Pakistan towards natural hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones stating that the country is vulnerable to numerous hazards, both natural and human induced due to a direct consequence of the country’s high variability and regional contrast in terms of geology, topography and meteorology. Next, the paper outlines exposure and vulnerability among the poorest by summarizing that in most cases poorest of the poor communities are hard hit by climate change due to their high exposure and low adaptive capacity and the final part of the paper concludes discussion that for Pakistan, as a hazard-prone country, it is the need of time to actively address natural hazards at all scales by engaging local communities and organizations to better withstand natural disasters.
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Author Information
  • Department of Regional Geography, Faculty of Letters, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

  • Department of Regional Geography, Faculty of Letters, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

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