* Major disasters increased over 93 per cent during the 1990s, reaching 712 in 2001

Greg Bankoff is associate professor in the School of Asian Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand, and research fellow in Disaster Studies, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Georg Frerks is professor of Disaster Studies, Wageningen University, and chair of Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Dorothea Hilhorst is associate professor in Disaster Studies at Wageningen University.

Introduction: Mapping Vulnerability * Theorizing Vulnerability in a Globalized World: A Political Ecological Perspective * The Historical Geography of Disaster: 'Vulnerability' and 'Local Knowledge' in Western Discourse * The Need for Rethinking the Concepts of Vulnerability and Risk from a Holistic Perspective: A Necessary Review and Criticism for Effective Risk Management * Complexity and Diversity: Unlocking Social Domains of Disaster Response * The Lower Lempa River Valley, El Salvador: Risk Reduction and Development Project * El Ni o Events, Forecasts and Decision-making * Vulnerable Regions versus Vulnerable People: An Ethiopian Case Study * From Vulnerability to Empowerment * Progress in Analysis of Social Vulnerability and Capacity * Vulnerability Reduction: A Task for the Vulnerable People Themselves * Macro-economic Concepts of Vulnerability: Dynamics, Complexity and Public Policy * Gendering Vulnerability Analysis: Towards a More Nuanced Approach * Assessment of Capability and Vulnerability * Conclusion: Vulnerability Analysis as a Means of Strengthening Policy Formulation and Policy Practice * Notes * References * Index