Suchergebnisse

Full text of Agenda 21, the plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. Agenda 21 was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992.

The Beijing +5 Outcome Document strengthened commitments to eradicate harmful traditional practices, including so called 'honour killings', forced marriages and female genital mutilation. Among other things, it also called upon governments to eliminate gender discriminatory legislation by 2005 and create greater access to affordable treatment and care for women and girls living with HIV and AIDS.

At the World Summit for Social Development, held in March 1995 in Copenhagen, Governments reached a new consensus on the need to put people at the centre of development. It pledged to make the conquest of poverty, the goal of full employment and the fostering of social integration overriding objectives of development.

Earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms are natural hazards, but unnatural disasters are the deaths and damages that result from human acts of omission and commission. Every disaster is unique, but each exposes actions-by individuals and governments at different levels-that, had they been different, would have resulted in fewer deaths and less damage. Prevention is possible, and this book examines what it takes to do this cost-effectively.It looks at disasters primarily through an economic lens. Economists emphasize self-interest to explain how people choose the amount of prevention, insurance, and coping. But lenses can distort as well as sharpen images, so the book also draws from other disciplines: psychology to examine how people may misperceive risks, political science to understand voting patterns, and nutrition science to see how stunting in children after a disaster impairs cognitive abilities and productivity as adults much later. Peering into the future, it shows that while urbanization and climate change will increase exposure to hazards, vulnerability can be reduced if cities are better managed.This book will be of interest to government officials, urban planners, relief agencies, NGOs, donors, and other development practitioners.