Topic 7: Disaster recovery and sustainable development
Case Study: Hurricane Mitch: Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, 1998
Soil erosion and deforestation are contributing factors to the depletion of the Guatemalan ecosystem which is evident from these aerial views of mountains in the Quiche province.
Source: UN Photo/John Olsson; 01 January 1997; Quiche, Guatemala; Photo #106680 www.unmultimedia.org/photo/detail.jsp?id=106/106680 accessed September 2010.
View the video and complete Activity 7.2
“Sustainable economic practices consider both social and environmental issues. They enhance the welfare of individuals while simultaneously considering environmental resource limitations” (Oviatt & Brett, 2010, p.57).
The interrelatedness of disciplines means that connections can be drawn across a wide variety of fields and disciplines which may, at first glance, appear to be quite dissimilar. We will examine the relationship between Psychology and Sociology in Topics 8 and 9, and in Topic 12 we will look at a variety of others, such as Engineering and Town Planning.
Here in Topic 7 I hope you are beginning to make connections between disaster recovery, the management of the environment and your own discipline.
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What activities would you find at the intersections between the three broad areas of Environmental Management, Community Recovery and related disciplines? 
Figure 7.1 Interrelatedness between disciplines |
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Figure 7.2 A high Level of sustainable development means an increase in resilience
A young girl at Tzabal stands in front of firewood which will be taken to other villages and sold. The over-consumption of firewood, which is primarily used as fuel for cooking, has been a principal contributor to the depletion of the Guatemalan ecosystem.
Source: UN Photo/John Olsson; 01 January 1997; Tzabal, Guatemala; Photo #106679 www.unmultimedia.org/photo/detail.jsp?id=106/106679 accessed September 2010.
Reference
Oviatt, K., & Brett, J. (2010). The intrinsic link of vulnerability to sustainable development. In B. D. Phillips, D. S. K. Thomas, F. A. & L. Blinn-Pike (Eds.), Social vulnerability to disasters (pp. 51-71). Boca Raton: CRC Press.