Natural disasters responsible for 26 million more people pushed into poverty each year
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
A World Bank report explains that natural disasters cost $520 billion a year worldwide. And they generate millions of poor.
Natural disasters responsible for 26 million more people pushed into poverty each year
A World Bank report explains that natural disasters cost $520 billion a year worldwide. And they generate millions of poor.
Natural disasters generate losses of $520 billion a year worldwide. And they push 26 million people into poverty. The latest alarm over the consequences of extreme weather and natural events comes from the World Bank, which set out the figures in a report presented during COP 22 in Marrakech.
"Natural disasters, an impact underestimated until now"
"The economic and human impact of natural disasters is significantly greater than previously estimated," the document states. The World Bank's assessment is in fact around 60 per cent higher than a study carried out by the United Nations. This is because the authors of the new report did not base their estimate solely on material losses, such as damage to buildings, roads or infrastructure. They also took into account the direct consequences on the population: the inability to access healthcare, to eat adequately, or to continue along their educational paths.
"Material losses are not a sufficient indicator," Stéphane Hallagatte, coordinator of the study, confirmed to the AFP agency. The expert cites the example of Hurricane Matthew: "The damage was assessed at $2 billion in Haiti, and at $7 billion in the United States. But in reality the event was decidedly more severe on the Caribbean island."
The poorest segments hit hardest
In particular, the report highlights how natural disasters disproportionately affect the poorest segments of the population, "who bear only 11 per cent of material losses, but 47 per cent of losses in terms of wellbeing." One need only consider the case of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma in 2008: on that occasion, half of the poor farmers affected by the event were forced to sell their assets, including their land, to repay the debts they had incurred.
As a result, 26 million people every year fall below the poverty line, set at $1.9 a day, as a direct consequence of natural disasters. This, the World Bank concluded, must also change the approach in terms of reconstruction financing: "If we select projects on the basis of material losses, we risk favouring wealthy areas and well-off populations. Countries such as the Philippines or Vietnam are already calling for a rebalancing in this direction."