Introduction

Abstract

Deadly typhoon, Ash Wednesday in paradise, China’s merciless floods, mass escape from Bonnie, Bangladesh is drowning... When reading the daily headlines, one gets the impression that natural disasters have in the whole world risen dramatically. But nobody really knows whether this is the case or whether the international press and better information channels have just sharpened our awareness; maybe it is a bit of both. However, some problems point at our growing vulnerability to natural disasters. Our environment is degenerating, the global climate is changing, desertification threatens us, the number of species is diminishing, and urbanisation and population growth are common phenomena of our century, above all in developing countries. That much is certain: the damage caused by natural disasters has on a worldwide scale, despite higher spending for preventative measures, increased considerably. Natural disasters have between 1960 and 1970 caused material damage of around US$ 50 milliards. This amount has in the decade following risen to about US$ 70 milliards, and the costs between 1980 and 1990 were reported to have reached US$ 120 milliards. This disturbing trend has accumulated in material damage of US$ 360 milliards in the first half of the current decade (Eikenberg 1998). Damage in industrialised nations is unproportionally higher since their material assets are usually far higher. It has to be kept in mind, however, that the extent of relative economic damage and fatalities is by far the largest in the developing countries, and the majority of natural disasters occur in these countries.

There is no reason why we should wait passively for the next natural disaster to strike. We should mobilize scientific knowledge and technological know-how. We should give a positive response to the strong political interest and commitment of the international community (Boutros-Ghali).