Skip to main content
View expanded cover

Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Practice pp 315–333Cite as

Ecosystem-Based Approaches Toward a Resilient Society in Harmony with Nature

Part of the Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research book series (NTHR,volume 42)

Abstract

Ecosystem-based approaches have proven effective and efficient in reducing disaster risks while ensuring continued benefits to people from ecosystem services. In this article, a new concept of Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) for enhancing social-ecological resilience is proposed, based on analysis of several case studies. Field studies in developing countries such as Ghana and Myanmar have shown the benefits of Eco-DRR as implemented by local communities. These projects improve local livelihoods and social-ecological resilience. In Japan, after the massive damage from the 11 March 2011, Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, ecosystem-based approaches were an important element of the national government’s DRR efforts. Analysis of these cases shows that Eco-DRR is a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable tool for DRR that creates new value for a region. It also shows the importance of multi-stakeholder participation in the process of promoting Eco-DRR. It is likely to become even more important in the future, as a means for addressing the increase in disasters resulting from climate and ecosystem change as well as demographic change. The contribution of Eco-DRR to maintaining and restoring ecosystems is particularly valuable for countries where there is reduced capacity for land management, as currently occurring in Japan due to rapid population decline and aging.

Keywords

  • Geophysical and meteorological hazards
  • 11 March 2011
  • Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami
  • Multi-stakeholder engagement
  • Social-ecological resilience

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_14
  • Chapter length: 19 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-319-43633-3
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Fig. 14.1
Fig. 14.2
Fig. 14.3
Fig. 14.4
Fig. 14.5
Fig. 14.6
Fig. 14.7
Fig. 14.8
Fig. 14.9
Fig. 14.10
Fig. 14.11
Fig. 14.12

References

  • Alliance Development Works (2014) World risk report. UNU-EHS, Bonn

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, Farber SC, Maxwell J (1989) The valuation and management of wetland ecosystems. Ecol Econ 1:335–361

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, d’Arge R, de Groot R et al (1997) The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253–260

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, Mitsch WJ, Day JW (2006) A new vision for New Orleans and the Mississippi delta: applying ecological economics and ecological engineering. Front Ecol Environ 4(9):465–472

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Dudley N, Buyck C, Furuta N et al (2015) Protected areas as tools for disaster risk reduction. A handbook for practitioners

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrella M, Saalismaa N (2013) Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR): an overview. In: Renaud FG, Sudmeier-Rieux K, Estrella M (eds) The role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction. United Nations University Press, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Forestry Agency of Japan (2012) Future restoration of coastal disaster-prevention forest. http://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/j/press/tisan/pdf/120201-01.pdf Accessed 25 Apr 2015

  • Guha-Sapir D, Below R, Hoyois P (2015) EM-DAT: International Disaster Database – www.emdat.be – Université Catholique de Louvain – Brussels

  • IFRC (2002) Mangrove planting saves life and money in Viet Nam. International Federation of Red Cross. IUCN, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability: summary for policy makers. International Panel on Climate Change WGII (report) Available online at http://ipcc-wg2.gov

  • Jasaw GS, Saito O, Takeuchi K (2015) Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) butter production and resource use by urban and rural processors in Northern Ghana. Sustainability 7:3592–3614

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Lolig V, Donkoh SA, Obeng FK et al (2014) Households’ coping strategies in drought- and flood-prone communities in Northern Ghana. J Disast Res 9(4):542–553

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • MLIT – Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, Japan (2014) National land grand design plan 2050

    Google Scholar 

  • MOEJ – Ministry of the Environment, Japan (ed) (2012) National biodiversity strategy of Japan 2012–2020

    Google Scholar 

  • MOEJ – Ministry of the Environment, Japan (ed) (2013) Annual report on the environment, the sound material-cycle society and the biodiversity

    Google Scholar 

  • Post-Nargis Joint Assessment – Myanmar (2008) Tripartite Core Group: Government the Union of Myanmar, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, United Nations country team in Myanmar http://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmar-post-nargis-joint-assessment Accessed 7th May 2015.

  • Otsuki K, Jasaw GS, Lolig V (2014) Framing community resilience through mobility and gender. J Disast Res 9:554–562

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Saito O, Shibata H (2012) Satoyama and satoumi, and ecosystems services: a conceptual framework. In: Duraiappah AK et al (eds) Stoyama-satoumi ecosystems and human well-being. Springer, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawai N, Kobayahsi K, Takara K et al (2014) Impact of climate change on River Flows in the Black Volta River. J Disast Res 9:432–442

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw D, Scully J, Hart T (2014) The paradox of social resilience: how cognitive strategies and coping mechanisms attenuate and accentuate resilience. Glob Environ Chang 25:194–203

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sudmeier-Rieux K, Jaquet S, Derron M-H et al (2013) A neglected disaster: landslides and livelihoods in Central-Eastern Nepal. Glob Environ Chang 4:169–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Tachie-Obeng E, Hewitson B, Gyasi EA et al (2014) Downscaled climate change projections for Wa District in the Savanna Zone of Ghana. J Disast Res 9:422–431

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi K (2015) Annual implementation report 2014 of SATREPS project “Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa: an Integrated Approach”, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development, Environment and Energy (Global-scale environmental issues). http://www.jst.go.jp/global/kadai/pdf/h2302_h26.pdf. Accessed 24 Nov 2015

  • Takeuchi K, Elmqvist T, Hatakeyama M et al (2014) Using sustainability science to analyze social-ecological restoration in NE Japan after the Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. Sustain Sci 9:513–526

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • UNISDR (2015) Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction 2015. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2015/en/home/index.html Accessed 7 May 2015

  • USGS (2015) Earthquake glossary – ring of fire. U.S. Geological Survey http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=Ring%20of%20Fire Accessed 25 Apr 2015

  • Walker B, Holling CS, Carpenter S, Kinzig A (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 19:2

    Google Scholar 

  • Wamsley TV, Cialone MA, Smith JM et al (2009) Nat Hazards 51:207–224

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2010) Convention solutions to an inconvenient truth: ecosystem-based approaches to climate change. World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Takeuchi

  2. IR3S, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Takeuchi

  3. Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoki Nakayama & Hiroaki Teshima

  4. Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Takemoto & Nicholas Turner

Authors
  1. Kazuhiko Takeuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naoki Nakayama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroaki Teshima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kazuhiko Takemoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nicholas Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naoki Nakayama .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environment and Human Secu, United Nations University, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Fabrice G. Renaud

  2. Commission on Ecosystem Management, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland

    Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

  3. Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva, Switzerland

    Marisol Estrella

  4. Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT), TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Köln, Germany

    Udo Nehren

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Takeuchi, K., Nakayama, N., Teshima, H., Takemoto, K., Turner, N. (2016). Ecosystem-Based Approaches Toward a Resilient Society in Harmony with Nature. In: Renaud, F., Sudmeier-Rieux, K., Estrella, M., Nehren, U. (eds) Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Practice. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_14

Download citation