scholarly journals Evaluating financial risk management strategies under climate change for hydropower producers on the Great Lakes

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 2114-2132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliot S. Meyer ◽  
Gregory W. Characklis ◽  
Casey Brown
2015 ◽  
Vol 187 (2) ◽  
pp. 472-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Lin Chang ◽  
Juan-Ángel Jiménez-Martín ◽  
Esfandiar Maasoumi ◽  
Teodosio Pérez-Amaral

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-53
Author(s):  
Dr. James Rurigi Njuguna ◽  
Prof. Roselyn Gakure ◽  
Dr. Anthony Gichuhi Waititu ◽  
Dr. Paul Katuse

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how financial risk management strategies lead to growth of MFI sector in Kenya.Methodology: The study adopted a correlation survey research design. The population of this study was fifty seven (57) MFIs. The sampling frame was the list of MFIs provided in the AMFI website www.amfikenya.com. A sample of thirteen (17) MFIs was selected using the random sampling approach. A questionnaire and an interview schedule were the main data collection tools. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis whereas the quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) where descriptive and regression analysis were conducted to determine the relationship between enterprise risk management strategies and growth of MFIs.Findings: The findings indicated that MFIs had effective financial risk management strategies such as effective credit risk management practices, liquidity risk management practices, interest risk management practices and price risk management practices. In particular, MFIs took into consideration the conditions, characters, capacity, collateral and capital of borrowers. Strict debt collection practices were widely adopted by MFIs. In addition, the concept of Know Your Customer (KYC) policy, seem to have been adopted by MFIs. The relationship between financial risk management strategies and growth was positive and significant. It also shown that sources of funds for MFIs include external sources and internal sources and the most frequently used source of funds are bank loans. The use of banks loans may present various risk exposures to MFIs, the most significant being interest rate risk. However, the ability of MFIs to source funds from various sources indicates that MFIs can apply the pecking order by first exploiting internal sources of funds since they present a lower financial risks and then move on to external sources. However, despite the financial risk exposure accompanied by leverage from external sources, MFIs may also benefit as they may experience higher growth driven by the leverage. It was also found that MFIs had put in place a number of good practices that had emerged to promote responsible and inclusive lending. These include loan size limits, standardized (simple) loan terms, zero tolerance on delinquency, group-based lending. This finding implies that MFIs have put in place effective credit risk management policies which are part of an overall financial risk management strategy. The existence of effective financial risk management practices may have influenced the growth of MFIsUnique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that the MFIs to continue practicing effective financial management practices as this would improve the growth of MFIs.


Author(s):  
Chrisan Herrod

This chapter describes why it is important for organizations to develop and implement an IT risk management function and use best practice risk assessment methodologies that provide a standard to measure and assess risk within organizations. Information technology risk management is a significant new function that can help companies achieve world class IT service. IT risk management includes regulatory compliance, information security, disaster recovery, and project risks. IT risk management should be part of a company’s risk management strategy on an equal footing with financial risk management and reputational risk management. As the complexity of IT infrastructures increases and as businesses continue to rely upon the Internet as the communication backbone for e-business, the associated risks increase. For these reasons, deciding upon and implementing a risk management process and a standard methodology will greatly reduce the risks associated with the introduction of new technologies that support the mission of the business.


Author(s):  
Brenden Jongman ◽  
Hessel C. Winsemius ◽  
Stuart A. Fraser ◽  
Sanne Muis ◽  
Philip J. Ward

The flooding of rivers and coastlines is the most frequent and damaging of all natural hazards. Between 1980 and 2016, total direct damages exceeded $1.6 trillion, and at least 225,000 people lost their lives. Recent events causing major economic losses include the 2011 river flooding in Thailand ($40 billion) and the 2013 coastal floods in the United States caused by Hurricane Sandy (over $50 billion). Flooding also triggers great humanitarian challenges. The 2015 Malawi floods were the worst in the country’s history and were followed by food shortage across large parts of the country. Flood losses are increasing rapidly in some world regions, driven by economic development in floodplains and increases in the frequency of extreme precipitation events and global sea level due to climate change. The largest increase in flood losses is seen in low-income countries, where population growth is rapid and many cities are expanding quickly. At the same time, evidence shows that adaptation to flood risk is already happening, and a large proportion of losses can be contained successfully by effective risk management strategies. Such risk management strategies may include floodplain zoning, construction and maintenance of flood defenses, reforestation of land draining into rivers, and use of early warning systems. To reduce risk effectively, it is important to know the location and impact of potential floods under current and future social and environmental conditions. In a risk assessment, models can be used to map the flow of water over land after an intense rainfall event or storm surge (the hazard). Modeled for many different potential events, this provides estimates of potential inundation depth in flood-prone areas. Such maps can be constructed for various scenarios of climate change based on specific changes in rainfall, temperature, and sea level. To assess the impact of the modeled hazard (e.g., cost of damage or lives lost), the potential exposure (including buildings, population, and infrastructure) must be mapped using land-use and population density data and construction information. Population growth and urban expansion can be simulated by increasing the density or extent of the urban area in the model. The effects of floods on people and different types of buildings and infrastructure are determined using a vulnerability function. This indicates the damage expected to occur to a structure or group of people as a function of flood intensity (e.g., inundation depth and flow velocity). Potential adaptation measures such as land-use change or new flood defenses can be included in the model in order to understand how effective they may be in reducing flood risk. This way, risk assessments can demonstrate the possible approaches available to policymakers to build a less risky future.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2643
Author(s):  
Flavia Simona Cosoveanu ◽  
Jean-Marie Buijs ◽  
Marloes Bakker ◽  
Teun Terpstra

Diversification of flood risk management strategies (FRMS) in response to climate change relies on the adaptive capacities of institutions. Although adaptive capacities enable flexibility and adjustment, more empirical research is needed to better grasp the role of adaptive capacities to accommodate expected climate change effects. This paper presents an analytical framework based on the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) and Triple-loop Learning. The framework is applied to evaluate the adaptive capacities that were missing, employed, and developed throughout the ‘Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden’ (The Netherlands) and the ‘Wesermarsch’ (Germany) pilot projects. Evaluations were performed using questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups. From the 22 capacities of ACW, three capacities were identified important for diversifying the current FRMS; the capacity to develop a greater variety of solutions, continuous access to information about diversified FRMS, and collaborative leadership. Hardly any capacities related to ‘learning’ and ‘governance’ were mentioned by the stakeholders. From a further reflection on the data, we inferred that the pilot projects performed single-loop learning (incremental learning: ‘are we doing what we do right?’), rather than double-loop learning (reframing: ‘are we doing the right things?’). As the development of the framework is part of ongoing research, some directions for improvement are highlighted.


Author(s):  
Happy M. Tirivangasi

Natural disasters and food insecurity are directly interconnected. Climate change related hazards such as floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts and other risks can weaken food security and severely impact agricultural activities. Consequently, this has an impact on market access, trade, food supply, reduced income, increased food prices, decreased farm income and employment. Natural disasters create poverty, which in turn increases the prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition. It is clear that disasters put food security at risk. The poorest people in the community are affected by food insecurity and disasters; hence, there is a need to be prepared as well as be in a position to manage disasters. Without serious efforts to address them, the risks of disasters will become an increasingly serious obstacle to sustainable development and the achievement of sustainable development goals, particularly goal number 2 ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’. In recent years, countries in southern Africa have experienced an increase in the frequency, magnitude and impact of climate change–related hazards such as droughts, veld fire, depleting water resources and flood events. This research aims to reveal Southern African Development Community disaster risk management strategies for food security to see how they an influence and shape policy at the national level in southern Africa. Sustainable Livelihood approach was adopted as the main theoretical framework for the study. The qualitative Analysis is based largely on data from databases such as national reports, regional reports and empirical findings on the disaster management–sustainable development nexus.


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