Environmental Vulnerability through Good Governance
Loni Segun AROLAGBADE & Oladehinde Ola OYADIRAN
The effects of environmental change which include increasing temperatures, sea-level rises, changing patterns of precipitation, and more severe extreme weather events are expected to influence key determinants of human health, including access to clean water, sufficient food, and adequate shelter. The aim is to explore how good governance can mitigate environmental vulnerability by fostering sustainable development, enhancing resilience, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources. It delves into the principles of good governance such as transparency, accountability, participation, and rule of law and examines their application in environmental policy-making and implementation. Vulnerability of people to natural hazards depends on where they reside, what types of natural resource they use and above all with which resources they have to cope. It is evident that supportive governance guarantees society’s coping capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters. It has an impact on how public servants, civil society, parliamentarians, private sector, and media coordinate their actions to address long-term vulnerabilities to disasters. Countries with an effective legal framework, comprehensive risk reduction policies, operational structure, multi-hazard early warning system, adequate budgeting, risk communication, public awareness, focused research and an effective civil protection system are considered as resilient to disasters.
Keywords: Vulnerability, good governance, resilient, disaster, sustainable development.