The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center's video: Boundary Spanning Opportunities Panel: Dr Lori Peek

Monday, June 11, 2018 SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS UNDER STRESS When Systems Shatter: Disaster Trend Lines and Increasingly Turbulent Times Dr. Lori Peek Each year, there are hundreds of disasters around the world. These events kill and injure thousands of people, directly affect millions, and cost billions in economic losses. And even while disaster risk reduction is a key concern and priority for global institutions, as well as national governments, the costs and consequences of disasters continue to rise. This presentation will discuss trends that help explain this pattern of amplified loss, with a specific focus on population growth, population concentration in hazardous areas, rising social and economic vulnerability, environmental degradation, poor land use planning practices, rollbacks in building code enforcement and environmental regulations, and climatic changes. Any one of these trends in isolation would likely lead to an increase in natural hazards losses. When taken together, they illuminate the forces driving the mega-catastrophes that have marked the new century.