Mette Fog Olwig

Using remote sensing to assess the protective role of coastal woody vegetation against tsunami waves

This paper describes how remote sensing techniques were used to study the effect of mangroves and other woody coastal vegetation as a protective measure against the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Remote sensing made it possible to compare pre‐ and post‐Tsunami images of large areas. A study site was selected based on medium resolution Landsat imagery and existing topographic maps. Selection criteria included substantial damages reported, presence of woody vegetated and non‐vegetated shorelines, homogeneous bathymetry and good coverage of pre‐ and post‐Tsunami satellite imagery. The Pichawaram mangrove, Tamil Nadu, India, matched these criteria. Pre‐ and post‐Tsunami Ikonos and QuickBird images were compared through the visual interpretation of pre‐Tsunami coastal vegetation and post‐Tsunami damage. The results were validated in the field. The analysis showed that mangrove forests and coastal shelterbelts provided protection from the Tsunami. This was concluded from analysing the spatial distribution of damage relative to woody vegetation along the coast as well as transects detailing the amount of damage behind the coastline and the coastal woody vegetation.

Inverting the moral economy: the case of land acquisitions for forest plantations in Tanzania

Governments, donors and investors often promote land acquisitions for forest plantations as global climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration. Investors’ forestry thereby becomes part of a global moral economy imaginary. Using examples from Tanzania we critically examine the global moral economy’s narrative foundation, which presents trees as axiomatically ‘green’, ‘idle’ land as waste and economic investments as benefiting the relevant communities. In this way the traditional supposition of the moral economy as invoked by the economic underclass to maintain the basis of their subsistence is inverted and subverted, at a potentially serious cost to the subjects of such land acquisition.

Is Local Community the Answer?: The Role of “Local Knowledge” and “Community” for Disaster Prevention and Climate Adaptation in Central Vietnam

This article critically examines claims that “local community” and “local/traditional knowledge” are vital contributions to safeguarding socio-economic stability and securing sustainable resource uses in times of stress. The empirical focus is on Central Vietnam, but the argument is relevant in a broader context. The article specifically questions approaches to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation that see “local community knowledge” as a vital means to achieving resilience in socio-ecological systems. We argue that rural villages in Central Vietnam are characterised by highly dynamic local actors who eagerly exploit new income opportunities arising both from internal and external sources. Although a wide range of knowledge is available about how to cope with adverse climate and environmental conditions, this knowledge is hardly “resilience” and “equilibrium” oriented. Rather, it is found to be anthropocentric, externally oriented, sometimes opportunistic, and ultimately oriented towards an urban lifestyle—traits that are strongly rewarded by the Vietnamese state. We conclude that, at present, local aspirations may not necessarily be part of the solution, but may form part of a social and political complex that exacerbates risk, particularly for weaker population segments. Instead, new and non-state actors should play a larger role.

Causal narratives and policy in a warming world

Causal narratives and policy in a warming world Jonas O. Nielsen a , Mette Fog Olwig a , Cecilie Rubow a , Anthony Patt b & Ian Christoplos c a Department of Anthropology, Waterworlds Research Centre, University of Copenhagen, Oster Farimagsgade 5, DK-1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark b International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria c Danish Institute for International Studies, Strandgade 56, DK-1401, Copenhagen K, Denmark Version of record first published: 14 Jan 2013.