Hurricane waste management in insular contexts: systematic implications and community perceptions

The Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) Regional Executive is pleased to announce the second edition of its 2025 Guest Seminar Series which will be will be presented by Gaïa Marchesini, Lab’urba (Gustave Eiffel University) and will be held on Monday, June 16th 2025 at 5:00 PM UTC.

Abstract

Disasters generate huge amounts of waste, for example, the waste from the 1995 Kobe, Japan, Great Hanshi-Awaji earthquake took up ten years of landfill space (Lauritzen, 1998). Poor management of disaster waste has been demonstrated to impede rescue and reconstruction efforts, facilitate the spread of diseases, adversely affect the environment, and diminish the long-term resilience of the waste system (Brown et al., 2011). Consequently, scholars in the field acknowledge the necessity of meticulous planning for disaster waste management (Crowley, 2017; Gabrielli et al., 2018; Poudel et al., 2018). The initial step in this process is to comprehend the implications of disaster waste management, including the types of waste, their quantities, and their locations. Following this, the human and technical resources available must be identified. Finally, it is imperative to recognise that effective disaster waste management, akin to all reconstruction efforts, necessitates the incorporation of impacted communities and the consideration of their cultural specificities.
This presentation will explore these aspects through the issue of hurricane waste in the French Antilles. The investigation will be built on a previous study led by the DéPOs (Déchets Post-Ouragans) project following Hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin island, and on a new project on the role of local populations in disaster waste management, funded by the Red Cross Fundation, which includes one field study in Marie-Galante.

Programme

Important links

• Webinar registration link
• Webinar evaluation link
• Zoom credentials

Photo by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash