Disaster justice book draws on CRC research

The policy, legal and practical implications within the emerging field of disaster justice have been captured in a new book that draws on Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC research.

Dr Anna Lukasiewicz (Australian National University), alongside Prof Claudia Baldwin (University of the Sunshine Coast), has edited a new book called Natural hazards and disaster justice: challenges for Australia and its neighbours. The book uses real world case studies of floods, bushfires, heatwaves and earthquakes in Australia and Asia, revealing geographic, social and structural inequities that lead to increased risk and vulnerability to natural hazards.

Dr Lukasiewicz’s book is part of the Policies, institutions and governance project at the CRC, with chapter contributions from several other CRC researchers – Prof Stephen Dovers (Australian National University), Prof Alan March (University of Melbourne), Dr Jess Weir (University of Western Sydney), Stephen Sutton (Charles Darwin University), A/Prof Michael Eburn (Australian National University) and A/Prof Janet Stanley (University of Melbourne).

This book is an outcome of a disaster justice workshop, funded by the CRC, which took place in 2018 at the ANU in Canberra. It is available to purchase via Palgrave Macmillan.

For further information, contact Dr Lukasiewicz at anna.lukasiewicz@anu.edu.au.

Here is some praise for the book:

"I congratulate the editors and contributing authors for a comprehensive, insightful, diverse and provocative book. In an age of unprecedented opportunity to shape our future whilst at the same time creating unprecedented risks that threaten to destroy our existence, disaster justice must play a key role in striking the balance for a safer, prosperous, equitable and sustainable world. This book represents some of the most dynamic thinking in the relationship between disaster justice and resilience, risk reduction and climate. It provides great appeal for all public and private policy makers, strategists and tacticians to escalate disaster justice as a central ethical consideration. It is a must read for everyone." Mark Crosweller, Former Director General, Emergency Management Australia, and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC board member. 

"Natural hazards and disaster justice is a timely and notable contribution to an immensely significant and generally neglected area of research. The neglect is surprising given that injustice features so prominently in disaster preparedness, prevention, response and recovery, with huge social, economic and political consequences. This important book not only usefully describes many of the theoretical underpinnings of these consequences, but also incorporates studies from within Australia and the Indo-Pacific region to illustrate how they play out in practice. Its cogent conclusions are particularly relevant in the era of climate change, which is greatly increasing the frequency and severity of hazards and, as a consequence, amplifying disaster injustice." Robert Glasser, Visiting Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and former United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction