Foreword

Weather and climate extreme events are by far the most frequent natural hazards facing humankind.These hydrometeorological hazards, often acting in consonant with socioeconomic factors, give rise to numerous disasters globally, often substantially reversing developments in the most vulnerable regions of the world.For the period 1980-2004 over 95% of deaths due to such disasters occurred in developing countries, with direct economic losses of approximately US$54 billion per annum on average, of which nearly 99% were un-insured.The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) exhibit some of the highest levels of vulnerability to environmental hazards.A number of the Asia Pacific LDCs are located along zones of potent natural hazards in terms of geomorphological formations, variable climate resulting in cycles of drought and torrential rainfall, and tropical cyclones.In recent years these hydro-meteorological events have been enhanced by climate change and together with rapid population growth, poor planning and management of natural resources, give rise to frequent disasters, halting developments and unleashing unprecedented human suffering.This special issue is part of the International Geosphere-Biopshere Programme (IGBP) second major international synthesis of key policy-relevant areas within global environmental change (GEC) research.The synthesis themes were identified through a consultation within the IGBP Scientific and National Committees and with other international bodies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the LDCs unit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).One of the topics related to the needs of LDCs focusing on natural hazards and disasters, human health and environment, and the role of indigenous knowledge systems.IGBP received generous funding from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) to address the LDCs from the Asia-Pacific region.This special issue is a culmination of the synthesis effort.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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