Contents

#### **Preface XI**


#### **Section 3 Climate Change and Reconstruction of Natural Hazard Events 85**

Chapter 6 **Towards the Reduction of Vulnerabilities and Risks of Climate Change in the Community-Based Tourism, Namibia 87** Selma Lendelvo, Margaret N. Angula, Immaculate Mogotsi and Karl Aribeb

Preface

ronmental damage that they cause.

ous rainfall conditions, for example.

EEA member countries.

their resilience.

and reduce vulnerability; and for that there are no borders.

world should prepare for greater losses in the future.

At a time when human and material losses caused by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, and wildfires, are intensifying throughout the world, it is imperative to evaluate these events to mitigate the social, economic and envi‐

It is also of paramount importance to raise awareness of hazards, develop possible actions, procedures, and measures to curb the growing number of increasingly devastating events,

It is something to bear in mind that natural hazards occur in all parts of the world across different time and area scales, although some regions are more vulnerable to certain hazards than others. Earthquakes, tsunamis, flash floods, landslides, and avalanches are short-lived, violent events, affecting in general relatively small regions. Others, such as prolonged rain‐ fall, lead to floods lasting for weeks or months. Still others, such as droughts, develop slow‐ ly, but can affect entire countries for months or even years. In addition, a single-type disaster may develop into a compound disaster, as may be the case under extreme continu‐

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) Technical Report No. 13/2010, be‐ tween 1998 and 2009 a total of 928 natural hazards and technological accidents recorded in Europe caused nearly 100,000 fatalities and, overall, a loss of about EUR 150 billion in the 32

Based on data from the Swisse Re Institute (http://www.sigma-explorer.com/) on global dis‐ asters from 1970 to 2017, collected in May 2018, the following graphs show the increase in the number of events and growth in economic loss. It seems clear from these trends that the

In addition to the increase in the number of disasters and economic loss, the growing trend in greenhouse gas emissions (to say nothing of its current value) and the consequent in‐ crease in the global temperature of our planet make it difficult to reverse the trends shown in those graphs, as many studies have shown. We must also keep in mind that human liveli‐ hoods will be affected by the chain effects of climate change, which will inevitably lead to irreversible conditions of unsustainability, especially in the second half of this century.

Therefore, on the one hand, it is urgent and essential to predict, plan, and reduce disaster risks to more effectively protect people, communities, and countries, as well as people's live‐ lihoods, health, cultural heritage, socioeconomic assets, and ecosystems, and thus strengthen

