People and the surrounding environment are affected by development. In striving to improve their livelihoods, people have through their development activities and exploitation of natural resources contributed to the degradation of the environment. The environment is seen as the totality of the biosphere within which anthropological and ecological activities take place. These activities are influenced by forces of nature, and in some events referred to as hazards, which can cause disruption, injury and loss of life. This premise forms the basic concept of disaster, to which people and the environment react from a position of vulnerability. Vulnerability is multi-faceted construct that is primarily associated with social conditions. It relates to concepts of development planning and environmental management from a causal as well as a preventative perspective. Since disaster risk reduction has become the key focus of mankind’s reaction to disasters, the concept of vulnerability has also become a key focus for research, and has linked various research communities, particularly those involved in disaster risk management, climate change adaption and development research in a multi-disciplinary research environment. Socio-economic developments inspired mainly by the Second World War have since the 1940s focused research attention on development planning and disaster risk management. Hazards-based research made way for a focus on vulnerability research so as to reduce disaster risk. At the same time, an increased focus on development planning triggered a shift in philosophy away from a procedural rational planning approach to strategic, communicative planning. Disaster risk reduction along the lines of development planning has seen the emergence of a multi-disciplinary approach to vulnerability research. An apparent increase in disaster-related losses and environmental degradation has nonetheless changed people’s thoughts and alerted them to the unsustainability of the course of development. With the introduction of the Bruntland Report in 1987, the concept of sustainable development was introduced as a long-term environmental strategy. Sustainable development objectives have created a focus on the human–environment system and an understanding of relationships between anthropological and ecological entities. A special interest in spatial patterning and the geographic distribution of organisms has led to the development of landscape ecology as a study of spatial patterns and ecological processes. A need to capture environmental criteria in a computerised spatial database emerged in the 1960s, and gave rise to the development of geographic information systems (GIS) technology. GIS-based thinking about how the real world can be presented in various conceptualisations of data structures, led to the development of GIS science (GIScience). The latter was based on research by Michael Goodchild who seeks to redefine geographic concepts and their use in the context of geographic information systems. Hence GIS should be defined as a data-processing tool, as opposed to the popular view of a map-making tool. By approaching GIS from an information system perspective that includes the development of conceptual, logical and physical data models, a platform is provided for the integration of spatial-based disciplines such as development planning, environmental management and disaster risk management. A synthesis of the theoretical foundation of these three disciplines shows commonalities in terms of a multi-disciplinary approach, as well as a concern for the environment and for social upliftment based on sustainable development principles. They also share a strong spatial orientation, which provides for GIS technology to serve as an entry point for the integration of these disciplines. The aim of the current research was therefore to develop a GIS-based data model that would address the landscape-based relationships between spatial entities from a database design point of view. The model is founded on the principles of database design, specifically the concept of entity-relationship modelling. It also incorporates basic Boolean logic to identify the functioning of an entity in its landscape setting as either acceptable or unacceptable. This concept supports the analysis of environmental sensitivity and disaster risk from the level of small geographic units, thereby enabling vulnerability reduction efforts at a local scale. The research in hand was useful to define and investigate the theoretical grounding of development management, environmental management, disaster risk reduction and geographic information systems, as well as to identify their common focus areas. An analysis of GIS technology and the development of a data model provided a focus on database development as the key for providing an information-based entry point and integration of development management, environmental management, disaster risk management. A case study for an area near Richards Bay, where development affected a wetland by increased vulnerability to flooding, has proven the GIS-based data model to be valuable as a tool that can be implemented to reduce vulnerability through informed and improved planning practices. / PhD (Development and Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. 2015

South Africa, like many other developing countries, faces a growing problem of informal settlements which are mushrooming in and around the major urban centres. Living conditions within these settlements are typically poor with residents facing a range of basic livelihoods challenges, exacerbated by poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Unplanned and rapid urbanisation, from which informal settlements originate, and existing conditions in these areas, heighten risk to disaster and provide the conditions that turn natural and man-made events into major livelihoods disruptions. The most devastating of these disruptions are disasters brought on by uncontrolled fires, extreme wet weather and associated flooding. To forestall disaster, minimise livelihoods disruptions and debilitating loss of assets, and safeguard developmental progress, local governments have increasingly adopted risk reduction approaches to their development planning and implementation. Among some of the critical risk reduction measures adopted is the deployment of communication interventions meant to cultivate a culture of risk avoidance among at-risk communities. While it is largely accepted that developmental losses can be considerably reduced if people are properly educated and well-prepared for a disaster, it is also widely recognised that current tools and guidelines for communication of disaster risk in developing communities have largely proved inadequate. Among leading criticisms is that the communication interventions implemented neither fully cater for the contemporary proactive and pre-emptive (risk minimising) approach to disaster risk management nor the developmental imperatives of the disaster risk reduction paradigm. This study, therefore, sought to propose a conceptual framework for the reorientation of thinking and improvement of the on-the-ground practice of disaster risk communication in South African municipalities, and to ensure, among other things, that the practice of disaster risk communication in South Africa places participation of at-risk communities at the centre of communication interventions for disaster risk reduction. A literature study was conducted to explore what principles of the participatory approach to development communication could be applicable to a framework for disaster risk communication interventions. Following the literature study, an empirical study into the contemporary disaster risk communication practice in the three study sites of Cape Town, George and uThungulu District was carried out. The field study comprised semi-structured interviews with disaster risk communication managers and other key informants, and focus group discussions with members of informally settled communities in the study areas. Using a hybrid thematic analytic approach, the data gathered empirically were analysed against the salient themes derived from the literature study and those emerging as the empirical study progressed, and from that process a conceptual framework for disaster risk participatory communication for at-risk communities in South African municipalities was developed and proposed. In conclusion, guidance was also given for translation of the conceptual framework into actual practice by disaster risk managers and other disaster risk reduction role-players in South Africa. / PhD (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

People and the surrounding environment are affected by development. In striving to improve their livelihoods, people have through their development activities and exploitation of natural resources contributed to the degradation of the environment. The environment is seen as the totality of the biosphere within which anthropological and ecological activities take place. These activities are influenced by forces of nature, and in some events referred to as hazards, which can cause disruption, injury and loss of life. This premise forms the basic concept of disaster, to which people and the environment react from a position of vulnerability. Vulnerability is multi-faceted construct that is primarily associated with social conditions. It relates to concepts of development planning and environmental management from a causal as well as a preventative perspective. Since disaster risk reduction has become the key focus of mankind’s reaction to disasters, the concept of vulnerability has also become a key focus for research, and has linked various research communities, particularly those involved in disaster risk management, climate change adaption and development research in a multi-disciplinary research environment. Socio-economic developments inspired mainly by the Second World War have since the 1940s focused research attention on development planning and disaster risk management. Hazards-based research made way for a focus on vulnerability research so as to reduce disaster risk. At the same time, an increased focus on development planning triggered a shift in philosophy away from a procedural rational planning approach to strategic, communicative planning. Disaster risk reduction along the lines of development planning has seen the emergence of a multi-disciplinary approach to vulnerability research. An apparent increase in disaster-related losses and environmental degradation has nonetheless changed people’s thoughts and alerted them to the unsustainability of the course of development. With the introduction of the Bruntland Report in 1987, the concept of sustainable development was introduced as a long-term environmental strategy. Sustainable development objectives have created a focus on the human–environment system and an understanding of relationships between anthropological and ecological entities. A special interest in spatial patterning and the geographic distribution of organisms has led to the development of landscape ecology as a study of spatial patterns and ecological processes. A need to capture environmental criteria in a computerised spatial database emerged in the 1960s, and gave rise to the development of geographic information systems (GIS) technology. GIS-based thinking about how the real world can be presented in various conceptualisations of data structures, led to the development of GIS science (GIScience). The latter was based on research by Michael Goodchild who seeks to redefine geographic concepts and their use in the context of geographic information systems. Hence GIS should be defined as a data-processing tool, as opposed to the popular view of a map-making tool. By approaching GIS from an information system perspective that includes the development of conceptual, logical and physical data models, a platform is provided for the integration of spatial-based disciplines such as development planning, environmental management and disaster risk management. A synthesis of the theoretical foundation of these three disciplines shows commonalities in terms of a multi-disciplinary approach, as well as a concern for the environment and for social upliftment based on sustainable development principles. They also share a strong spatial orientation, which provides for GIS technology to serve as an entry point for the integration of these disciplines. The aim of the current research was therefore to develop a GIS-based data model that would address the landscape-based relationships between spatial entities from a database design point of view. The model is founded on the principles of database design, specifically the concept of entity-relationship modelling. It also incorporates basic Boolean logic to identify the functioning of an entity in its landscape setting as either acceptable or unacceptable. This concept supports the analysis of environmental sensitivity and disaster risk from the level of small geographic units, thereby enabling vulnerability reduction efforts at a local scale. The research in hand was useful to define and investigate the theoretical grounding of development management, environmental management, disaster risk reduction and geographic information systems, as well as to identify their common focus areas. An analysis of GIS technology and the development of a data model provided a focus on database development as the key for providing an information-based entry point and integration of development management, environmental management, disaster risk management. A case study for an area near Richards Bay, where development affected a wetland by increased vulnerability to flooding, has proven the GIS-based data model to be valuable as a tool that can be implemented to reduce vulnerability through informed and improved planning practices. / PhD (Development and Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. 2015

Disasters and climate change threaten the very existence of a special group of developing states- Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This research tackles the problem of limited uptake of integrated approaches to address risk in practice- in particular through disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA). The benefits of these approaches are so significant that they can be considered to be investments in development. Focusing on Barbados, a SIDS, this research therefore seeks to identify the prospects for establishing an integrated disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (DRR-CCA) development decision-making framework. It also seeks to understand the policy implications for other SIDS. In addressing the research problem, a risk governance framework and mixed methods approach is proposed for identifying the prospects for DRR-CCA. This allows for the challenges and the potential in actor networks, institutions, and the various dimensions of risk decision-making to be identified. The specific SIDS DRR-CCA risk governance framework utilised to generate the prospects is identified from literature. Data from documents, surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 representatives from 20 organisations operating at different levels were gathered on DRR and CCA risk governance in Barbados from November, 2014 to May 2015. Analysis was carried out using document analysis, thematic analysis; social network analysis, and descriptive statistics. The research identifies that SIDS require an enhanced risk governance framework for DRR-CCA. This framework has a systemic approach at the core, as well as an explicit development approach supported by a joined-up governance approach. Furthermore, risk assessments should include assessments of adaptive capacity. Existing potential for DRR-CCA risk governance was identified in highly dense networks, established disaster management networks, and a unique polycentric network that engages intraregional partners in national governance. Notwithstanding, challenges related to cohesion within and across institutions and sectors; missing community and socio-economic participation; as well as issues connected to unadjusted mind-sets to address the DRR paradigm shift in practice, and limited development-socio-ecological systems approaches, meant that the prospects identified mainly addressed these shortcomings. A spatial methodology for DRR-CCA seemed feasible. This research contributes a framework for conceptualising DRR-CCA risk governance in SIDS which could be applicable to others. It offers a Caribbean SIDS perspective and practical suggestions for DRR-CCA that are relevant to SIDS practitioners and donors. Further research should focus on testing the prospects across the varying governance contexts of SIDS.

With an increase in the number of people living in proximity to active volcanic centres worldwide, there is a greater need to provide effective and engaging education and outreach programmes to reduce vulnerability and prepare exposed communities for potential future volcanic eruptions. The finalisation of the Sendai Framework (UNISDR, 2015a) has also cemented the need for disaster risk managers to engage at-risk communities with education and outreach programmes, to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by volcanic eruptions worldwide. Education and outreach programmes are already commonplace for disaster risk reduction, with many taking the form of traditional presentations, maps, diagrams, TV and radio broadcasts. In recent years, there has been a shift towards the use of more creative media to communicate volcanic hazards and engage populations in outreach activities. These have included films, comic strips, puppet shows, board games and video games. However, to-date there is little empirical evidence for the use of these media with at-risk communities. This research seeks to address this issue by providing evidence for the effective use of creative media for volcanic hazard education by adopting the use of video games (or serious games). To assess how effective serious games could be as an education tool, a bespoke video game (St. Vincent’s Volcano) was developed collaborative with disaster risk agencies and communities on the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent and then trialled with adults and students from across the island. A range of outreach sessions were adopted to compare and contrast the applications of the game and to identify the most effective method of its delivery. These sessions included a traditional outreach presentation used as a control, and a group of UK students for a cohort comparison. Data were collected through a mixed-methods approach. Overall the results of the study demonstrate how successful the game can be as an education tool, promoting knowledge improvement in players. The results also demonstrate how the role of the outreach instructor is important to encourage engagement and can result in higher levels of overall positive engagement exhibited by the students. The game was also successful at promoting knowledge gain and engagement with adult participants. The results also demonstrated promise for games in promoting longer-term knowledge retention and for improving awareness of existing outreach materials. This research provides a foundation for the increased integration of emerging technologies within traditional education sessions. The work also shares some of the challenges and lessons learnt throughout the development and testing processes and provides recommendations for researchers looking to pursue a similar study or to adopt the use of serious games.

The intensifying nature and extent of disasters together with the associated devastation and astronomical costs required to manage the rippling effects of disasters, enunciates the national and international focus on disaster risk reduction. Further the ever evolving and complex dynamics of risk as the decisive contributor to disasters has heightened the urgency to pursue effective disaster risk assessment as a prerequisite to inform the disaster risk management planning and disaster risk reduction intervention processes. A structured and systematic approach to disaster risk assessment assists in maintaining rigour thus promoting the quality and validity of the process and its outcomes. Appropriate models serve as valuable tools in enabling this methodological perspective to undertake disaster risk assessment. The nonexistence of an appropriate disaster risk assessment model in South Africa has initiated the emphasis and purpose of this study thereby underscoring the critical need for the development of an effective, holistic and integrated disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. In spear heading the process towards the development of an appropriate disaster risk assessment model, the research commenced with establishing and asserting the fundamental link between disaster risk assessment and disaster risk reduction as an avenue to contextualise and ground the key issues in effective disaster risk reduction. The exploratory analysis engaged in presenting a theoretical construct of disaster risk assessment examined the core components informing the disaster risk assessment process. This discussion led to the comparative review of three disaster risk assessment models viz the Community-Wide Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA) Model, the Community-Based Risk Reduction Model and the South African Disaster Risk Assessment Model interrogating the significant characteristics, structure and application of the models. The results of the comparison of the above three models provided the necessary insight for the development of the disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. Further influenced by the outcomes of the applied research on the critical analysis of the current disaster risk assessment practice within the four selected municipalities representing local government in South Africa; viz eThekwini Metropolitan, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan, Bojanala District and Stellenbosch local Municipalities. Through the data coding, classification and interpretive process, constructive and correlated research findings were immanent guiding the final development of the integrated disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The intensifying nature and extent of disasters together with the associated devastation and astronomical costs required to manage the rippling effects of disasters, enunciates the national and international focus on disaster risk reduction. Further the ever evolving and complex dynamics of risk as the decisive contributor to disasters has heightened the urgency to pursue effective disaster risk assessment as a prerequisite to inform the disaster risk management planning and disaster risk reduction intervention processes. A structured and systematic approach to disaster risk assessment assists in maintaining rigour thus promoting the quality and validity of the process and its outcomes. Appropriate models serve as valuable tools in enabling this methodological perspective to undertake disaster risk assessment. The nonexistence of an appropriate disaster risk assessment model in South Africa has initiated the emphasis and purpose of this study thereby underscoring the critical need for the development of an effective, holistic and integrated disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. In spear heading the process towards the development of an appropriate disaster risk assessment model, the research commenced with establishing and asserting the fundamental link between disaster risk assessment and disaster risk reduction as an avenue to contextualise and ground the key issues in effective disaster risk reduction. The exploratory analysis engaged in presenting a theoretical construct of disaster risk assessment examined the core components informing the disaster risk assessment process. This discussion led to the comparative review of three disaster risk assessment models viz the Community-Wide Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA) Model, the Community-Based Risk Reduction Model and the South African Disaster Risk Assessment Model interrogating the significant characteristics, structure and application of the models. The results of the comparison of the above three models provided the necessary insight for the development of the disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. Further influenced by the outcomes of the applied research on the critical analysis of the current disaster risk assessment practice within the four selected municipalities representing local government in South Africa; viz eThekwini Metropolitan, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan, Bojanala District and Stellenbosch local Municipalities. Through the data coding, classification and interpretive process, constructive and correlated research findings were immanent guiding the final development of the integrated disaster risk assessment model for local government in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This essays main focus will be on emergency shelters in disasters, and their understanding in gender awareness, by focusing on the way gender is constructed and seen. This dissertation will examine documents from Australian Red Cross and IASC (Inter Agency Standing Committee) in order to explore how they work with gender and shelter related issues. The objective is to examine and with help from these documents see how gender is constructed. The method and theory is based on Carol Bacchis; What’s the problem represented to be approach? (WPR-approach). This means that the essay have a discourse analysis basis, which the essay is built on. This was chosen because Bacchis approach interrogates the documents and therefore it is easier to get different views of how gender is constructed. Which way it is constructed and what is not constructed as a problem. The main research question is: How is the construction of gender perspective in the documents that are intended to steer the planning of the emergency shelters?   The questions will be; What or which problems seem to represent these documents, regarding gender understanding in emergency shelters? Are there any assumptions behind these formulated problems? If so, what are they? During the review of the documents, is there anything left that is seen as a non-problem, not problematized? Are there any gap or invisibility or can the problem be seen as something else? This essay will show how gender is constructed based on power imbalance. The way gender is constructed is complex and difficult. One thing is clear and that is that the way gender is constructed and how gender is represented, matters in emergency shelters. Gender is still also a topic for crisis management to integrate.

Sammanfattning Bakgrund: Resiliens är ett begrepp som används i allt större utsträckning inom risk och katastrofforskningen för att beskriva samhällets motståndskraft mot, förmåga att återhämta sig från samt utvecklas positivt efter större naturhändelser. Forskning visar på vikten av att involvera alla nivåer i samhället för att skapa resiliens vilket även uttrycks i internationella ramverk för katastrofriskreducering, klimatanpassning och hållbar utveckling. Det är framförallt på den lokala nivån som konsekvenserna av extrema naturhändelser manifestera och måste hanteras vilket innebär att allmänheten anses vara viktig att involvera i det katastrofriskreducerande arbetet för en ökad resiliens. Detta innebär ett så kallat ”bottom-up” sätt att arbeta. En faktor som enligt forskningen påverkar risken för katastrofer är olika sårbarheter i samhället. Hur sårbart ett samhälle är påverkas bland annat av ekonomiska, ekologiska och sociala faktorer och hur resurser är fördelade. Vissa grupper i samhället pekas ofta ut som mer sårbara, och ett led i att skapa resiliens är att tillgodose dessa gruppers specifika behov i relation till katastrofrisker. Teorier och modeller gällande samhällets resiliens mot katastrofer är ofta framtagna med fokus på miljöer med mer frekventa och dramatiska naturhändelser, och samhällen som präglas av en högre grad av socioekonomiska skillnader än vi har i dagens Sverige. Ett förändrat klimat och andra globala processer påverkar även det svenska samhället. Svenska staten och dess myndigheter påtalar allt mer vikten av att arbeta utifrån ett resiliensperspektiv i samhällsbyggandet. I den svenska kontexten ligger ett stort ansvar gällande risk och krishantering på den kommunala nivån, samt även på den enskilda individen, vilket kan tänkas borga för att involvera allmänheten i katastrofriskreduceringen och tillika skapa ett resilient lokalsamhälle. Syfte: Syftet med studien är trefaldig. Primärt syftar den till att få en övergripande förståelse för hur personer som är verksamma inom risk och krishantering på lokal nivå i en svensk kommun ser på att involvera allmänheten i det katastrofriskreducerande arbetet utifrån ett resiliensperspektiv. Sekundärt syftar studien till att undersöka hur man förhåller sig till olika gruppers behov i arbetet utifrån ett sårbarhetsperspektiv samt att undersöka relevansen av ett befintligt teoretiskt ramverk för community resilience i en svensk kontext. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ explorativ fallstudie av Örebro kommun med en abduktiv ansats. Genom en kombination av strategiskt urval och snöbollsurval har nyckelpersoner som är verksamma inom kommunal verksamhet samt frivilligorganisationer inkluderats i studien. Datainsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer som transkriberats och vidare analyserats genom kvalitativ textanalys. För att stärka studiens validitet har även kommundokument studerats för att möjliggöra en triangulering. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån teorier om resiliens, risk-governance och sårbarhet för katastrofer samt ett teoretiskt ramverk för community resilience. Resultat: Resultatet visar på: 1) en positiv syn hos respondenterna på att involvera allmänheten, framförallt som en resurs i den akuta krishanteringen genom att nyttja frivilliga, 2) möjligheter med att involvera allmänheten genom relationsbyggande nätverk och ökad samverkan med civilsamhället för att få information om hur människor upplever sin verklighet och vilka behov allmänheten har gällande information och stöttning, 3) hinder avseende kommunikation och samverkan mellan kommun och allmänhet vilket delvis kopplades till att det saknas användbara verktyg och att ny teknik inte nyttjas fullt ut, 4) brist på kontinuitet i samverkan mellan civilsamhället och kommunen och låg frekvens av större händelser, 5) ett bristande engagemang från allmänhetens sida. Resultatet pekar även på att resiliensramverket är relevant i den svenska kontexten. / Summary Background: Resiliens is a concept that is increasingly used in risk- and disaster research to describe society's resistance to, ability to recover from and to develop positively after major natural events. Research shows the importance of involving all levels of society in order to create resilience against disasters and is expressed in international frameworks for disaster risk reduction, climate change and sustainable development. Since the consequences of extreme natural events primarily manifests at the local level, they need to be locally managed. The importance of involving the public in disaster risk reduction, also called the “bottom-up approach” with the aim of building resilience is thus highlighted. One factor affecting societal disaster risk is vulnerability. How vulnerable a society is to disasters is influenced by economic, ecological and social factors and the distribution of resources. Certain groups in society are often referred to as more vulnerable and one part of building resilience against disasters is to cater to the specific needs of these groups in relation to disaster risks. Theories and models of societal resilience against disasters are often developed with focus on environments with more frequent and dramatic natural events and societies that are characterized by a greater degree of socio-economic differences than that of today's Sweden. But a changing climate and other global processes also affect the Swedish society. The Swedish state and its authorities increasingly emphasize the importance of taking a resilience perspective on societal development. The responsibility for risk and crisis management in Sweden is primarily focused at the municipal level, as well as on the individual, which could warrant the involvement of the public in disaster reduction in order to build a resilient local community. Purpose: The purpose of the study is threefold. It primarily aims at gaining an overall understanding of the views of individuals, involved in risk and crisis management at local level in Sweden, upon involving the public in disaster risk reduction from a resilience perspective. Secondarily, the study aims at investigating how the needs of different groups in the community is incorporated into the work, based on a vulnerability perspective, and thirdly to investigate the relevance of an existing theoretical framework for community resilience in a Swedish context. Method: The study was designed as a qualitative exploratory case study of Örebro municipality with an abductive approach. Through a combination of strategic selection and snowballing, key people working in the local council and non-governmental organizations have been included in the study. The data collection consisted of semistructured interviews that were transcribed and further analyzed through qualitative text analysis. In order to strengthen the validity of the study, municipal documents were studied to enable triangulation. The results were discussed through theories of resilience, risk governance and disaster vulnerability as well as a theoretical framework for community resilience by Norris et al. (2008). Results: The results show: 1) a positive view upon involving the public, primarily as a resource in emergency crisis management by using volunteers, 2) opportunities for involving the public through relational networking and enhanced cooperation with civil society, in order to gain information and knowledge on how people perceive their reality and the needs of the public regarding information and support, 3) communication and cooperation barriers between the municipality and the public are linked to the lack of useful tools and that new technologies are not fully utilized, 4) a lack of continuity in civil society and municipality collaboration, low frequency of major events, and lack of widespread commitment among the public. The result indicates that the resilience framework is also relevant in the Swedish context.

The aim of this thesis is to provide theoretical evidence that a disaster risk reduction perspective within peacebuilding programmes, particularly in countries where disasters and conflict overlap, can contribute positively to the transformation of conflict into sustainable peace. An increasing number of disasters in fragile states and countries affected by armed conflict has brought the attention to know in which way disasters and conflicts collide when they come to occur in the same area, and how disasters can influence on-going peace processes. In order to demonstrate that argument the thesis draws the evolution of the disaster risk management models and peacebuilding frameworks along the last decades and make use of a comprehensive theoretical background to support the subsequent analysis. This thesis contributes to the academic literature and humanitarian reports of studies describing the relation between disasters and conflict but, more concretely, it aims to fill the gap in research studying the links between a disaster risk reduction strategy and peacebuilding programmes. The conclusions of the thesis are that disaster risk reduction initiatives contribute positively in several ways to the different key areas of peacebuilding programmes either as concrete initiatives or as a crosscutting issue. / El objeto de esta tesis es proporcionar sustento teórico a la idea de que una perspectiva de reducción de riesgos de desastre en el marco de programas de construcción de paz puede contribuir positivamente a transformar el conflicto en una paz sostenible, particularmente en países donde desastres naturales y conflicto confluyen. Un número creciente de desastres naturales que acontecen en estados frágiles o países afectados por conflicto armado atrae la atención de profesionales y académicos del ámbito humanitario con el fin de conocer mejor el modo en que conflicto y desastre natural se influyen mutuamente. Esta tesis describe la evolución en las últimas décadas de los modelos de gestión de riesgos de desastre y los marcos operacionales de construcción de paz, además, se sustenta en una amplia base teórica para llevar a cabo el análisis pertinente. La intención es contribuir modestamente a la literatura académica que se ocupa de estudiar la ayuda humanitaria, así como tratar de colaborar en encontrar posibles vínculos entre una estrategia de reducción de riesgos de desastre y los programas de construcción de paz. Las conclusiones de esta tesis indican que las iniciativas de reducción de riegos de desastre contribuyen positivamente en distintos aspectos de las áreas de trabajo de los programas de construcción de paz, ya sea como actividades concretas o como un eje transversal a todo el programa.