Erin Coughlan De Perez
Biographic Data
| ID | 1405207 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Erin Coughlan De Perez |
| GIVEN NAMES | Erin Coughlan |
| FAMILY NAME | De Perez |
| SIGNATURE | DE PEREZ E C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Tufts University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7645-5720 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Long Road to Acting Ahead: Lessons from the Evolution of Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action
This perspective traces the emergence and evolution of early warning systems (EWS) and anticipatory action (AA). It revisits how major disasters, advances in science and forecasting, and global policy frameworks progressively expanded the ambition of EWS—from hazard-centered monitoring to more impact-based, people-centered approaches—while exposing persistent gaps in communication, local capacity, financing, and political will that prevented warn…
Weathering Conflict: Impacts and Solutions for Protecting Hydrometeorological Infrastructure during Armed Conflict
There is limited research on how armed conflict negatively impacts hydrometeorological infrastructure and how this can be protected to enhance the functionality of early warning systems. This paper presents evidence about how and why conflict has directly and indirectly impacted hydrometeorological infrastructure and how this impacts the functioning of early warning systems (EWS) and potential solutions. We conducted semistructured interviews wit…
Beyond the narrow lens: The power of an interdisciplinary approach to climate and health research and training
Beyond the forecast: Knowledge gaps to anticipate disasters in armed conflict areas with high forced displacement
Although conflict-affected populations are often exposed to and severely impacted by disasters, little is known about their perceptions and practices concerning early warning and early action (EWEA) or how EWEA strategies can protect communities affected by conflict- and climate-related disasters. This is particularly problematic as, due to the multiple challenges posed by conflict and compound crises in these contexts, early warnings of weather …
Recurrent Flooding and Household Food Access in Central Java, Indonesia
It is unknown how recurring flooding impacts household diet in Central Java. We aimed to assess how recurrent flooding influenced household food access over 22 years in Central Java by linking the Global Surface Water dataset (GSW) to the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We examined linear and nonlinear relationships and joint effects with indicators of adaptive capacity. We measured recurrent flooding as the fraction of district raster cells with …
Progress and gaps in U.S. Adaptation policy at the local level
As climate impacts intensify, local governments across the United States are developing ad-hoc policies and plans to increase their resilience to climate hazards across all sectors, but there is limited assessment of what policies currently exist in U.S. communities to adapt to climate change. In this article, we develop a novel policy inventory for adaptation policies in five U.S. counties. Using a comprehensive definition of adaptation policy t…
Navigating the continuum between adaptation and maladaptation
Household Flood Severity and Migration Extent in Central Java: Analysis of the Indonesian Family Life Survey
Central Java, Indonesia, is prone to river and coastal flooding due to climate changes and geological factors. Migration is one possible adaptation to flooding, but research is limited due to lack of longitudinal spatially granular datasets on migration and metrics to identify flood-affected households. The available literature indicates social and economic barriers may limit mobility from flood prone areas. The Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFL…
What was known: Weather forecast availability and communication in conflict-affected countries
Armed conflict increases people's vulnerability to climate extremes. Since many of these climate extremes are predictable beforehand, Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) can help protect people's lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing. While such EWEA systems exist in several countries, there is limited scientific knowledge about EWEA in conflict-affected countries where communities experience the compounding effects of both disaster and conflict risks.…
Managing multiple hazards: Lessons from anticipatory humanitarian action for climate disasters during Covid-19
In the face of climate change, development and humanitarian practitioners increasingly recognize the need to anticipate and manage multiple, concurrent risks. One prominent example of this increasing focus on anticipation is the rapid growth of Forecast-based Financing (FbF), in particular within Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC). To evaluate how anticipatory efforts managed multiple compounding risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine how …
The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: A case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia
This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017-18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper…
A systematic global stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change
Equity in human adaptation-related responses: A systematic global review
Defining El Niño indices in a warming climate
Extreme weather and climate events associated with El Niño and La Niña cause massive societal impacts. Therefore, observations and forecasts are used around the world to prepare for such events. However, global warming has caused warm El Niño events to seem bigger than they are, while cold La Niña events seem smaller, in the commonly used Niño3.4 index (sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over 5 ∘ S–5 ∘ N, 120–170 ∘ W). We propose a simple an…
The role of international organizations in equitable and just planned relocation
Since 2010, States party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have recognized planned relocation as a viable adaptation to climate change. Planned relocation has been attempted in many communities globally and has raised serious issues of equity in some cases. Implementation driven by principles of equity is crucial in ensuring successful planned relocations that decrease loss and damage. In this Policy Analysis, we put fo…
On the use and misuse of climate change projections in international development
Climate resilience is increasingly prioritized by international development agencies and national governments. However, current approaches to informing communities of future climate risk are problematic. The predominant focus on end‐of‐century projections neglects more pressing development concerns, which relate to the management of shorter‐term risks and climate variability, and constitutes a substantial opportunity cost for the limited financia…
Global predictability of temperature extremes
Extreme temperatures are one of the leading causes of death and disease in both developed and developing countries, and heat extremes are projected to rise in many regions. To reduce risk, heatwave plans and cold weather plans have been effectively implemented around the world. However, much of the world's population is not yet protected by such systems, including many data-scarce but also highly vulnerable regions. In this study, we assess at a …
A global network for operational flood risk reduction
Every year riverine flooding affects millions of people in developing countries, due to the large population exposure in the floodplains and the lack of adequate flood protection measures. Preparedness and monitoring are effective ways to reduce flood risk. State-of-the-art technologies relying on satellite remote sensing as well as numerical hydrological and weather predictions can detect and monitor severe flood events at a global scale. This p…
Scalable and Sustainable: How to Build Anticipatory Capacity into Social Protection Systems
Climate shocks contribute to a significant share of the humanitarian burden, and are a key factor in increasing poverty and food insecurity. Social protection is increasingly recognised as an instrument to help build resilience to climate risks through long-term, large-scale national systems. However, most experiences to date have focused on social protection’s role for chronic needs, or at best, shock-response, rather than on anticipation and pr…
Declining vulnerability to river floods and the global benefits of adaptation
Significance Understanding the vulnerability of societies around the world is crucial for understanding historical trends in flood risk and for producing accurate projections of fatalities and losses. We reproduced historical river flood occurrence using daily climate data for the period 1980–2010 and quantified the natural and socioeconomic contributions to flood risk trends. We show that the fatalities and losses as a share of the exposed popul…
On the use and misuse of climate change projections in international development
Climate resilience is increasingly prioritized by international development agencies and national governments. However, current approaches to informing communities of future climate risk are problematic. The predominant focus on end‐of‐century projections neglects more pressing development concerns, which relate to the management of shorter‐term risks and climate variability, and constitutes a substantial opportunity cost for the limited financia…
Scalable and Sustainable: How to Build Anticipatory Capacity into Social Protection Systems
Climate shocks contribute to a significant share of the humanitarian burden, and are a key factor in increasing poverty and food insecurity. Social protection is increasingly recognised as an instrument to help build resilience to climate risks through long-term, large-scale national systems. However, most experiences to date have focused on social protection’s role for chronic needs, or at best, shock-response, rather than on anticipation and pr…
A global network for operational flood risk reduction
Every year riverine flooding affects millions of people in developing countries, due to the large population exposure in the floodplains and the lack of adequate flood protection measures. Preparedness and monitoring are effective ways to reduce flood risk. State-of-the-art technologies relying on satellite remote sensing as well as numerical hydrological and weather predictions can detect and monitor severe flood events at a global scale. This p…
The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: A case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia
This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017-18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper…
Declining vulnerability to river floods and the global benefits of adaptation
Significance Understanding the vulnerability of societies around the world is crucial for understanding historical trends in flood risk and for producing accurate projections of fatalities and losses. We reproduced historical river flood occurrence using daily climate data for the period 1980–2010 and quantified the natural and socioeconomic contributions to flood risk trends. We show that the fatalities and losses as a share of the exposed popul…
Scalable and Sustainable: How to Build Anticipatory Capacity into Social Protection Systems
Climate shocks contribute to a significant share of the humanitarian burden, and are a key factor in increasing poverty and food insecurity. Social protection is increasingly recognised as an instrument to help build resilience to climate risks through long-term, large-scale national systems. However, most experiences to date have focused on social protection’s role for chronic needs, or at best, shock-response, rather than on anticipation and pr…
Global predictability of temperature extremes
Extreme temperatures are one of the leading causes of death and disease in both developed and developing countries, and heat extremes are projected to rise in many regions. To reduce risk, heatwave plans and cold weather plans have been effectively implemented around the world. However, much of the world's population is not yet protected by such systems, including many data-scarce but also highly vulnerable regions. In this study, we assess at a …
A global network for operational flood risk reduction
Every year riverine flooding affects millions of people in developing countries, due to the large population exposure in the floodplains and the lack of adequate flood protection measures. Preparedness and monitoring are effective ways to reduce flood risk. State-of-the-art technologies relying on satellite remote sensing as well as numerical hydrological and weather predictions can detect and monitor severe flood events at a global scale. This p…
On the use and misuse of climate change projections in international development
Climate resilience is increasingly prioritized by international development agencies and national governments. However, current approaches to informing communities of future climate risk are problematic. The predominant focus on end‐of‐century projections neglects more pressing development concerns, which relate to the management of shorter‐term risks and climate variability, and constitutes a substantial opportunity cost for the limited financia…
A systematic global stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change
Equity in human adaptation-related responses: A systematic global review
Defining El Niño indices in a warming climate
Extreme weather and climate events associated with El Niño and La Niña cause massive societal impacts. Therefore, observations and forecasts are used around the world to prepare for such events. However, global warming has caused warm El Niño events to seem bigger than they are, while cold La Niña events seem smaller, in the commonly used Niño3.4 index (sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over 5 ∘ S–5 ∘ N, 120–170 ∘ W). We propose a simple an…
The role of international organizations in equitable and just planned relocation
Since 2010, States party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have recognized planned relocation as a viable adaptation to climate change. Planned relocation has been attempted in many communities globally and has raised serious issues of equity in some cases. Implementation driven by principles of equity is crucial in ensuring successful planned relocations that decrease loss and damage. In this Policy Analysis, we put fo…
What was known: Weather forecast availability and communication in conflict-affected countries
Armed conflict increases people's vulnerability to climate extremes. Since many of these climate extremes are predictable beforehand, Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) can help protect people's lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing. While such EWEA systems exist in several countries, there is limited scientific knowledge about EWEA in conflict-affected countries where communities experience the compounding effects of both disaster and conflict risks.…
Managing multiple hazards: Lessons from anticipatory humanitarian action for climate disasters during Covid-19
In the face of climate change, development and humanitarian practitioners increasingly recognize the need to anticipate and manage multiple, concurrent risks. One prominent example of this increasing focus on anticipation is the rapid growth of Forecast-based Financing (FbF), in particular within Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC). To evaluate how anticipatory efforts managed multiple compounding risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine how …
The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: A case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia
This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017-18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper…
Navigating the continuum between adaptation and maladaptation
Household Flood Severity and Migration Extent in Central Java: Analysis of the Indonesian Family Life Survey
Central Java, Indonesia, is prone to river and coastal flooding due to climate changes and geological factors. Migration is one possible adaptation to flooding, but research is limited due to lack of longitudinal spatially granular datasets on migration and metrics to identify flood-affected households. The available literature indicates social and economic barriers may limit mobility from flood prone areas. The Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFL…
Beyond the forecast: Knowledge gaps to anticipate disasters in armed conflict areas with high forced displacement
Although conflict-affected populations are often exposed to and severely impacted by disasters, little is known about their perceptions and practices concerning early warning and early action (EWEA) or how EWEA strategies can protect communities affected by conflict- and climate-related disasters. This is particularly problematic as, due to the multiple challenges posed by conflict and compound crises in these contexts, early warnings of weather …
Recurrent Flooding and Household Food Access in Central Java, Indonesia
It is unknown how recurring flooding impacts household diet in Central Java. We aimed to assess how recurrent flooding influenced household food access over 22 years in Central Java by linking the Global Surface Water dataset (GSW) to the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We examined linear and nonlinear relationships and joint effects with indicators of adaptive capacity. We measured recurrent flooding as the fraction of district raster cells with …
Progress and gaps in U.S. Adaptation policy at the local level
As climate impacts intensify, local governments across the United States are developing ad-hoc policies and plans to increase their resilience to climate hazards across all sectors, but there is limited assessment of what policies currently exist in U.S. communities to adapt to climate change. In this article, we develop a novel policy inventory for adaptation policies in five U.S. counties. Using a comprehensive definition of adaptation policy t…
Weathering Conflict: Impacts and Solutions for Protecting Hydrometeorological Infrastructure during Armed Conflict
There is limited research on how armed conflict negatively impacts hydrometeorological infrastructure and how this can be protected to enhance the functionality of early warning systems. This paper presents evidence about how and why conflict has directly and indirectly impacted hydrometeorological infrastructure and how this impacts the functioning of early warning systems (EWS) and potential solutions. We conducted semistructured interviews wit…
Beyond the narrow lens: The power of an interdisciplinary approach to climate and health research and training
The Long Road to Acting Ahead: Lessons from the Evolution of Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action
This perspective traces the emergence and evolution of early warning systems (EWS) and anticipatory action (AA). It revisits how major disasters, advances in science and forecasting, and global policy frameworks progressively expanded the ambition of EWS—from hazard-centered monitoring to more impact-based, people-centered approaches—while exposing persistent gaps in communication, local capacity, financing, and political will that prevented warn…
Geography (12 works) · Economics (10 works) · Environmental resource management (10 works) · Climate change (9 works) · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration (9 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Environmental Science (8 works) · Psychology (8 works)