Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba

Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba discusses how, over six decades, Cuba developed a world-leading model of disaster management and climate change adaptation. Comprised of leading scholars and policy makers in the field, this volume questions what makes Cuba’s effective model so distinctive and what others can learn from it.

As a result of climate change, ocean temperatures are warming and sea levels are rising. Natural disasters have been increasing in frequency and ferocity. Yet, over six decades, Cuba has developed a world-leading model for disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba: Management and Adaptation discusses the island’s ongoing resilience against the impacts of climate change. Its commitment to disaster preparedness and management are lauded by international bodies, such as the United Nations and World Health Organization, and by governments from across the globe. Comprised of research from leading scholars, policy makers, and activists, this comprehensive, multidisciplinary analysis of Cuba’s model explores why Cuba’s approach to emergency disaster response is such a success and the aspects that make it so distinct, while also informing readers about the much-needed improvement of international approaches and policies. Scholars of communication, environmental studies, and Latin American studies will find this book particularly interesting.

Table of Contents

List of Acronyms

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Disaster Preparedness and Management: What Makes the Cuban Approach Different?

Emily J. Kirk

Chapter 2: Disaster Management in Cuba: Formal, Semi-Formal, and Informal Procedures

Jessica Hirtle

Chapter 3: First and Last Bulwark against Natural Disasters: Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces

Hal P. Klepak

Chapter 4: Cuba-Russia Cooperation: The History of Fraternal Disaster Management Collaboration

Isabel Story

Chapter 5: Bastión: the Shaping of a Pueblo Combatiente and Natural Disaster Management

Anna Clayfield

Chapter 6: Meteoro: The Impact of Education on Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Emily J. Kirk

Chapter 7: Post-graduate Education ConcerningNatural Disasters and Climate Change in the Cuban Health Sector

Guillermo Mesa Ridel

Chapter 8: People Power: Cuba’s Path to Effective Disaster Management

Lauren Collins

Chapter 9: Cuba’s Tarea Vida: Sustainable Development and Combating Climate Change

Helen Yaffe

Chapter 10: International Collaboration on the Environment and Marine Conservation in Cuba: Reflections from Environmental Defense Fund

Valerie Miller

Chapter 11: Agroecology, Food and the Climate Crisis: Transition, Adaptation and Building Resilience in Cuba

Margarita Fernández, Leidy Casimiro Rodríguez, Luis L. Vázquez and Giraldo Martin Martin
Chapter 12: The Quest for Energy Alternatives in post-1959 Cuba

Helen Yaffe

Chapter 13: The Foundation, Evolution and Significance of Law as Part of Cuba’s Adaptive Governance of Hazard Response

Shawn H.E. Harmon and Emily J. Kirk

Chapter 14: Timeline: Important Events in Cuban Disaster Management and Climate Change Adaptation

Jessica Hirtle

Conclusion

About the Authors