HEWG: A New AGU Working Group for Hazard Equity
Abstract
Natural hazards have a significant impact on socio-economic development. Moreover, their frequency and severity are projected to increase over the coming decades due to Climate Change. The impact of natural disasters varies with the socio-economic status of communities. Ideally, all communities would have equal access to knowledge and resources required to prepare for, mitigate, and recover from these impacts. However, this is not currently the case, and low-income communities and countries are disproportionately more vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters. How can the network of expertise and experience of AGU members be applied to better address this inequity? It is with this spirit that the Natural Hazards section of AGU founded the HEWG, the Hazards Equity Working Group. Over the past year, HEWG has developed a charter and established subcommittees focused on advancing the core principles of the group: 1. the education of scientists to better integrate equity into their research, 2. open sharing of science outside of the scientific community for uptake across the whole of society, and 3. targeted efforts to increase impact through partnerships between research institutes, grass roots organizations, and NGOs. The first pillar addresses capacity building and educating and providing resources for best practices. The second pillar aims to address the gap between the scientific community and the end users of science (e.g., community members and policy makers), particularly in vulnerable communities with limited access to expensive or inaccessible resources. The final pillar aims to link HEWG and the AGU-NH section to other public, private, governmental, and international organizations to advocate towards more equitable disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Whether a community faces hazards from earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc., the community should be educated and empowered to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from these events. To meet this need, scientists must better understand how to conduct equitable research, provide applicable information, and contextualize it appropriately. HEWG aims to empower scientists and underserved communities to enhance resilience of all to hazards through the skills and expertise within the AGU community.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFMSY25F..09C