An institutional vulnerability perspective on Flood Disaster Risk Management in Ghana
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Fafali Roy Ziga-Abortta
University of Freiburg Germany
fafali.ziga-abortta@ifp.uni-freiburg.de
Author(s):
Sylvia Kruse1 and Ida Wallin2
1University Of Freiburg, Sylvia.Kruse@Ifp.Uni-Freiburg.De, DEU
2University Of Freiburg, Ida.Wallin@Ifp.Uni-Freiburg.De, DEU
Policies of food risk assessment and mitigation in the face of climate change have come under tremendous debate. The analysis of flood vulnerability in sub-Saharan African countries has often been submerged by dominant focus on the geophysical and biophysical neglecting the institutional dimensions (Amoako & Inkoom, 2018). Till present, understandings of the multiple facets of flood vulnerability in these countries have been conceptually and practically limited. In this research, we take a closer look at institutional settings in Ghana that are responsible for different dimensions of flood vulnerability. This work is part of the current transdisciplinary PARADeS research project.
With the overarching goal of enhancing Ghana’s flood disaster risk management system, the PARADeS-project is led by German research institutions in close collaboration with partners in Ghana. Essentially, emphasis is on integrating and enhancing stakeholder participation. In line with Lang et al. (2012) and Mielke et al. (2016), the research in PARADeS is a holistic approach to sustainability issues based on the need for “constructive input from various communities of knowledge” integrating scientists from different disciplines and non-academic-actors (including decision-makers) as well as allowing for incorporation of “goals, norms, and visions”.
The proposed research design adopts the conceptual understanding of institutional vulnerability as presented by Papathoma-Köhle et al. (2021). Papathoma-Köhle et al. (2021) suggest a framework that helps to understand the structure of institutional vulnerability and its interaction to other vulnerability dimensions. The framework depicts interactions between drivers of institutional vulnerability and indicators of other vulnerability dimensions (physical, social, economic, cultural and environmental). The interactions between institutional vulnerability and other vulnerability dimensions in Ghana are envisaged to 1) reveal embedded institutional weaknesses and 2) provide a starting point for strengthening such systems towards achieving resilient societies.
Reference List
Amoako, C., & Inkoom, D. K. B. (2018). The production of flood vulnerability in Accra, Ghana: Re-thinking flooding and informal urbanisation. Urban Studies, 55(13), 2903–2922.
Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Bergmann, M., Stauffacher, M., Martens, P., Moll, P., et al. (2012). Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges. Sustainability Science, 7(S1), 25–43.
Mielke, J., Vermaßen, H., Ellenbeck, S., Fernandez Milan, B., & Jaeger, C. (2016). Stakeholder involvement in sustainability science—A critical view. Energy Research & Social Science, 17, 71–81.
Papathoma-Köhle, M., Thaler, T., & Fuchs, S. (2021). An institutional approach to vulnerability: evidence from natural hazard management in Europe. Environmental Research Letters, 16(4), 44056
Institutional settings in flood hazard and risk management