DATE / TIME:

2015•09•30    12:30 - 13:30

Location:

Maastricht

At this seminar, Dr. Ana Mosneaga (UNU-IAS) will present “Disasters, displacement and livelihoods: The case of Japan’s Fukushima evacuees”. The seminar will be held from 12:30-13:30 in room 0.16/0.17 of the new UNU-MERIT building at Boschstraat 24. A sandwich lunch will be provided.

Abstract: Restoring livelihoods of people displaced by disasters involves a dual challenge of re-establishing the means for making a living while adapting to a new environment. Since Japan’s March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, this challenge has loomed particularly large for evacuees due to the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Access to livelihoods and employment are among the core criteria used to determine the extent to which durable solutions have been achieved, be it return to the place of origin, local integration in the place of evacuation or resettlement in a different location. Over the longer term, however, displaced people’s ability to achieve social integration in these environments becomes an important indicator of their wellbeing. In this seminar, Dr. Mosneaga will discuss the challenges faced by different types of Fukushima evacuees in the process of livelihood restoration and social integration. Dr. Mosneaga will also consider policy implications of addressing these challenges in the context of response-to-recovery transition. The seminar will draw on findings from interviews and focus group discussions with the evacuees, local authorities from displaced municipalities and civil society groups supporting the evacuees.