Natural Security: Protected areas and hazard mitigation

The fifth report in the Arguments for Protection series, explores the increasing number and severity of so-called natural disasters, reviews how environmental degradation is contributing to this trend, looks at how conservation through protection is currently mitigating the impacts of hazards and disasters and discusses the options for further developing the role of protected areas in disaster prevention and mitigation strategies. It includes detailed case studies on the impacts of floods in Bangladesh (2000), Mozambique (2000 and 2001) and Europe (2006), heat waves and forest fires in Portugal (2003), an earthquake in Pakistan (2005) and the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) and Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005) in illustrating the natural disaster prevention and mitigation potential of environmental conservation.