Suchergebnisse

This note aims to build understanding of the existing disaster risk financing and insurance (DRFI) tools in use in The Marshall Islands and to identify gaps where potential engagement could further develop financial resilience. The likelihood that a hazardous event will have a significant impact on the Marshall Islands has risen with the increasing levels of population and assets in the urban areas of Majuro and Ebeye. The low-lying atolls are at risk of damage to both assets and people as a result of storm surges and tsunamis. The Marshall Islands is expected to incur, on average over the long term, annual losses of US$3 million due to earthquakes and tropical cyclones. In the next 50 years, the Marshall Islands has a 50 percent chance of experiencing a loss exceeding US$53 million. The government takes an ex-ante approach to financing the cost of disasters, but the resources available are limited. The Marshall Islands has a maximum amount of US$15.6 million potentially available in ex-ante instruments to facilitate disaster response. The government s post-disaster budget execution process relies on a variety of financial tools, but the size of the economy limits access to immediate post-disaster cash resources. A number of options for improving disaster risk financing and insurance are presented here for consideration: (a) develop an integrated disaster risk financing and insurance strategy; (b) assess the domestic insurance market for both public and private assets to establish what products are currently offered and to determine their level of uptake; (c) carry out a quantitative analysis to determine whether contingent credit could be an effective tool to access additional liquidity post-disaster; and (d) investigate the possibility of establishing policies for financial assistance to disaster victims in remote communities.

Introduction: Sunrise in the west; snow in the tropics -- Operation Crossroads: the world's first nuclear disaster -- The coming of the "super" -- Runaway bomb -- The victims of Bravo -- Monsters and movements: the cultural "fallout" of nuclear testing -- Bikini postmortem I: Public perceptions and official obsessions -- Bikini postmortem II: Nuclear policy and nuclear tests -- Epilogue: back to Bikini? -- Appendix One: Ultimate weapons -- Appendix Two: Radiation exposure, dosage, and its biomedical effects

Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. In a series of annual reports doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This economy profile presents the doing business indicators for Marshall Islands. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2011 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January-December 2010).

'Stories from the Marshall Islands: Bwebwenato Jan Aelon Kein' by Jack A. Tobin is reviewed.

In the Marshall Islands, abject poverty or destitution (jeramwil) does not exist since the poor are not starving and most have access to land and other natural resources. However, many people are poor and facing hardship, and the problem seems to be getting worse. The 1999 Pacific Human Development Report ranked the Marshall Islands 8th out of 12 Pacific developing countries, which represents a downgrading from the country's position as 5th in 1994. It is estimated that, in 1999, two thirds of outer island households fell below the poverty line of $1 a day. The Marshall Islands is one of the most urbanized countries in the Pacific with almost 70% of the population living either on Majuro or Ebeye. The high population density on these two islands, combined with economic decline in rural areas, are the cause of many of the problems being experienced. There have been recent improvements, particularly in the areas of infant mortality, immunization, and the incidence of underweight children, but the government recognizes that it needs to better understand the nature of hardship in the country and develop ways to address it. In 2002, the government led a "Participatory Assessment on Hardship" to find out the needs, views, and hopes of communities living throughout the country, especially the disadvantaged and poor themselves. Two thirds of outer-islanders live on less than $1 a day A house made of scrap materials2 3 Not having enough to meet basic needs Ten sample communities were selected to represent both rural and urban areas and differing levels of access to services: four outer island communities on Ailinglaplap and Arno Atolls, three urban neighborhoods on Ebeye Island, and three communities on Majuro Atoll. One-on-one interviews, small group discussions, questionnaires, and case studies were used during the assessment to gather information from people in these communities, and discussions were held with government representatives and social, religious, and nongovernment organizations. A national workshop was held to discuss the assessment findings and formulate strategies and recommendations. The assessment was funded by the Asian Development Bank.

In the Marshall Islands, abject poverty or destitution (jeramwil) does not exist since the poor are not starving and most have access to land and other natural resources. However, many people are poor and facing hardship, and the problem seems to be getting worse. The 1999 Pacific Human Development Report ranked the Marshall Islands 8th out of 12 Pacific developing countries, which represents a downgrading from the country's position as 5th in 1994. It is estimated that, in 1999, two thirds of outer island households fell below the poverty line of $1 a day. The Marshall Islands is one of the most urbanized countries in the Pacific with almost 70% of the population living either on Majuro or Ebeye. The high population density on these two islands, combined with economic decline in rural areas, are the cause of many of the problems being experienced. There have been recent improvements, particularly in the areas of infant mortality, immunization, and the incidence of underweight children, but the government recognizes that it needs to better understand the nature of hardship in the country and develop ways to address it. In 2002, the government led a "Participatory Assessment on Hardship" to find out the needs, views, and hopes of communities living throughout the country, especially the disadvantaged and poor themselves. Two thirds of outer-islanders live on less than $1 a day A house made of scrap materials2 3 Not having enough to meet basic needs Ten sample communities were selected to represent both rural and urban areas and differing levels of access to services: four outer island communities on Ailinglaplap and Arno Atolls, three urban neighborhoods on Ebeye Island, and three communities on Majuro Atoll. One-on-one interviews, small group discussions, questionnaires, and case studies were used during the assessment to gather information from people in these communities, and discussions were held with government representatives and social, religious, and nongovernment organizations. A national workshop was held to discuss the assessment findings and formulate strategies and recommendations. The assessment was funded by the Asian Development Bank.