South-South Cooperation in Action: Urban Resilience and Risk Transfer

Southasiadisasters.net issue no. 144, March 2016: How to make citizens in cities safe? This issue addresses this crucial topic. A risk transfer mechanism like disaster microinsurance helps in transferring the risk of an impending catastrophe from an individual to an institution (insurance company). This issue highlights the way in which contextualized risk transfer mechanisms can protect the livelihoods and assets of India's urban poor from disaster and climate risks. Such mechanisms will eventually help in making India's cities safe, sustainable and inclusive. For those who decide on 100 Smart Cities Programme of Government of India this issue is a ready reference. This issue of Southasiadisasters.net focuses on the theme of "Building Urban Resilience through Risk Transfer and Insurance". It brings together the insights from the 8th South-South Citizenry Based Development sub-Academy (SSCBDA). This academy was organized in Ahmedabad, India from 11th February-13th February, 2015. It saw the coming together of academics, students and practitioners from the field of humanitarianism to discuss and deliberate upon the importance of risk transfer mechanisms as instruments for engendering resilience for India's urban poor. This issue's contents includes: (i) 8th South-South Citizenry Based Development sub-Academy (SSCBDA); (ii) Learning Statement from the Academy; (iii) Financial Burden Due To Natural Disaster; (iv) Risk Transfer and Urban Resilience: Opportunities in COP21 and SFDRR Implementation; (v) Insurance, Women and Climate Change; (vi) Scope and Potential of Disaster Risk Transfer in Muzaffarpur; (vii) A German Social Start-up on its Mission to Revolutionize the Market for Construction Material in Bangladesh; (viii) Urban Resilience: Three Ideas for Action; (ix) I Will Stand Again, and (x) Case Study of Sankar Muduli. This issue highlights the critical everyday connections that link local processes with SFDRR implementation in Asia.