This article presents the limitations of current climate-related disaster risk reduction policies that do not incorporate the underlying conditions in urban areas like Mumbai. It argues that climate risks exist at the intersection of changing nature of extreme events due to changes in climate (physical risk); presence of people, infrastructure, and resources in locations where these events are occurring (exposure); and the inability of exposed communities to reduce these losses or cope with them (vulnerability) due to simultaneous socioeconomic and political stresses. Hence, the article concludes that it is critical to apply a broader approach to understand the workings of underlying processes that affect all components and contribute to the production of risk and vulnerability in society.
本文呈现目前的气候相关灾害风险降低政策未能纳入如同孟买等城市地区条件的局限。本文主张, 气候风险存在于下列因素的交错: 气候变迁造成的极端灾害本质的改变 (实质风险); 这些事件发生地点中的人类、基础建设与资源 (爆发); 以及受侵袭的社区因为同时发生的社会、经济与政治压力而无力减低这些损失或处理这些问题 (脆弱性)。因此, 结论中本文主张, 应用更广阔的方式理解影响所有元素并导致社会的风险与脆弱性生产的潜在过程是至关重要的。
Este artículo se refiere a las limitaciones que tienen las actuales políticas para la reducción de riesgos por desastres relacionados con el clima, que no incorporan las condiciones subyacentes en áreas urbanas, como en el caso de Mumbai. En el artículo se sostiene que los riesgos climáticos se presentan en la intersección de la naturaleza cambiante que exhiben eventos extremos debido a cambios en el clima (riesgo físico); a la presencia de gente, infraestructura y recursos en las localidades donde están ocurriendo estos eventos (exposición); y a la inhabilidad de las comunidades expuestas para reducir estas pérdidas o sobrellevarlas (vulnerabilidad), debido a simultáneos estreses socioeconómicos y políticos. Con base en esto, el artículo concluye que es crucial aplicar un enfoque más amplio para entender los engranajes de los procesos subyacentes que afectan a todos los componentes y que contribuyen a la producción de riesgo y vulnerabilidad en la sociedad.
Figure 2. Patterns of vulnerability in lower Mithi River Narrow lanes (Photograph C), inadequate or constrained drainage (Photograph A), and clusters of minority, impoverished, and marginalized populations that suffer the same risk of floods during monsoon as their more advantaged neighbors. Note: Photographs 1 and 2 present the panoramic view along the lower Mithi River that shows different types of structures built in this area that are all at risk of inundation during monsoon season. The area includes formal low-lying residential neighborhoods such as Kapadia Nagar (Photograph 3), the International Airport (Photograph B), business districts that house corporate headquarters of transnational companies, and development authority main offices that are built of concrete material. All of these formal structures have modest population densities, developed drainage systems, and access to adequate transportation, communication, and critical infrastructure. The area also contains informal settlements with very high population and building densities.