Disaster Prevention Policies

Stakes related with disaster prevention have never been higher during the history of Humankind. Therefore, it makes sense to find a wide range of international research programs and a huge amount of already existing academic production on DRR policies. Yet, a common and disturbing paradox arises from this huge amount of knowledge available on disaster and DRR policies. According to this paradox, the more we know, the more we manage, and yet, the more we are supposed to lose. This book presents and investigates in-depth this famous paradox, proposing solutions helping to understand and to reconsider its existence. The authors also discuss conditionings behind this paradox. This helps understanding the existing solutions and suggests how to reduce limitations DRR policies still meet today. The book will offer a different look on the assessments currently available on disaster and DRR policies. It will display why DRR policies are necessary and necessary limited, and why it makes sense not to stress on limitations only. The book will grasp on methodological, epistemological and practical conditionings of DRR policies on the basis of examples taken from Latin American, Asian and European cases. One of the main findings states that a situated and politically rooted analysis of disaster research and DRR policies allows giving sense to the repeated paradox that stems from most of disaster prevention policies outlooks.