As a result of climate change, ocean temperatures are warming and sea levels are rising. Natural disasters have been increasing in frequency and ferocity. Yet, over six decades, Cuba has developed a world-leading model for disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba: Management and Adaptation discusses the island's ongoing resilience against the impacts of climate change. Its commitment to disaster preparedness and management are lauded by international bodies, such as the United Nations and World Health Organization, and by governments from across the globe. Comprised of research from leading scholars, policy makers, and activists, this comprehensive, multidisciplinary analysis of Cuba's model explores why Cuba's approach to emergency disaster response is such a success and the aspects that make it so distinct, while also informing readers about the much-needed improvement of international approaches and policies. Scholars of communication, environmental studies, and Latin American studies will find this book particularly interesting.
Emily J. Kirk is research fellow in the Department of International Development Studies and adjunct professor at Dalhousie University. Isabel Story is senior lecturer in visual communications at Nottingham Trent University. Anna Clayfield is a senior lecturer in Spanish and Latin American studies at the University of Chester, UK.
Table of Contents List of Acronyms Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Disaster Preparedness and Management: What Makes the Cuban Approach Different? Emily J. Kirk Chapter 2: Disaster Management in Cuba: Formal, Semi-Formal, and Informal Procedures Jessica Hirtle Chapter 3: First and Last Bulwark against Natural Disasters: Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces Hal P. Klepak Chapter 4: Cuba-Russia Cooperation: The History of Fraternal Disaster Management Collaboration Isabel Story Chapter 5: Bastion: the Shaping of a Pueblo Combatiente and Natural Disaster Management Anna Clayfield Chapter 6: Meteoro: The Impact of Education on Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction Emily J. Kirk Chapter 7: Post-graduate Education ConcerningNatural Disasters and Climate Change in the Cuban Health Sector Guillermo Mesa Ridel Chapter 8: People Power: Cuba's Path to Effective Disaster Management Lauren Collins Chapter 9: Cuba's Tarea Vida: Sustainable Development and Combating Climate Change Helen Yaffe Chapter 10: International Collaboration on the Environment and Marine Conservation in Cuba: Reflections from Environmental Defense Fund Valerie Miller Chapter 11: Agroecology, Food and the Climate Crisis: Transition, Adaptation and Building Resilience in Cuba Margarita Fernandez, Leidy Casimiro Rodriguez, Luis L. Vazquez and Giraldo Martin Martin Chapter 12: The Quest for Energy Alternatives in post-1959 Cuba Helen Yaffe Chapter 13: The Foundation, Evolution and Significance of Law as Part of Cuba's Adaptive Governance of Hazard Response Shawn H.E. Harmon and Emily J. Kirk Chapter 14: Timeline: Important Events in Cuban Disaster Management and Climate Change Adaptation Jessica Hirtle Conclusion About the Authors
