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Climate change puts the edge between land and sea in sharp relief; sea level rise is essentially a condition of drifting littoral edges. As rising seas threaten to encroach on land-based territories, cities and nations have responded by attempting to fix the edge at a moment in time, blocking the sea's insidious creep. Atolls formed by coral reefs are mobile, living geographies, which resist attempts to harden their perimeter through structures such as seawalls. We explore how ideas and imaginaries associated with the "edge" between sea and land in the atoll-nation of Tuvalu illustrate competing "riskscapes" and objectives associated with the actors involved. This essay explores this interplay between politics, aid, technocratic solutions, media representations, global aspirations, local ambitions, and climate risk in Tuvalu through an examination of past/future seawalls and other proposals (realized and unrealized) for controlling atoll edges. Through the cases, we seek to re-politicize the edge, unpacking the difficulties surrounding adaptation issues in small-island states, and explore alternative models of "resilient edges" for atoll-dwellers living with climate changes.

Scope Breakthroughs in information and communication technology (ICT) increasingly offer new tools to support disaster risk management (DRM). Due to the rapid advancement of computing and communication devices, ICT's capacity to improve the DRM framework became a critical factor to strengthen resilience. As a nation with high levels of disaster risk and technological development, Japan has developed several forward-looking ICT for DRM. This report highlights the application of ICT for DRM in two specific areas: Early Warning System (EWS) and Disaster Information Management System (DIMS). The analysis of eight Japanese case studies of ICT solutions for DRM across various sectors, hazards, and levels of governance gives insight into their development, selection process and enabling environments, and provides case-specific lessons and recommendations. Purpose This report is intended as a reference tool for global DRM practitioners seeking to develop an enabling environment for applying ICT solutions toward resilience. The lessons learned from the Japanese case studies are intended to support practitioners and decision-makers in other countries to envision and explore ways to better leverage ICT to strengthen resilience. While valuable information can be extracted from the analysis, each case is contextualized within its particular social, political and environmental framework: our recommendations should be adapted to local needs and capacities. Early Warning Systems (EWSs) EWSs are integrated systems of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enable individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events (United Nations, 2016). In Japan, EWSs were developed primarily for hydrometeorological or geological events. The following EWSs from Japan are discussed in Chapter 3: • Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) • J-ALERT: Nationwide instantaneous warning system • Emergency Alert Mail (EAM): a cell broadcast early warning system These 3 ICTs are part of a larger warning system ecosystem in Japan, in which each plays a well-defined and unique role. EEWS is an alert system based on seismic wave data recorded by seismometer stations. The data are immediately processed to calculate earthquake hypocenter, magnitude and intensity distribution, and warnings are issued seconds before an earthquake strikes, allowing individuals and organizations (e.g., Japan's high-speed rail system) to take immediate actions. Earthquake early warnings are transmitted via J-ALERT and EAM. J-ALERT disseminates urgent warnings (for tsunamis, earthquakes, and ballistic missile attacks) via municipal disaster prevention radio receivers, broadcast media, and mobile phones. The mobile phone notifications are delivered via EAM, which sends disaster and evacuation information to mobile phones in warning areas. EEWS and J-ALERT are operated by Japan's national government;...

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