Ecological Footprint: Pragmatic Approach to Understanding and Building Sustainable Cities

Abstract

Definition An early warning system (EWS) is a disaster prediction information tool, used in different fields to acquire and communicate timely and useful warning information for predicted severe events or disasters. This could be as a result of natural factors, geophysical or biological hazard, sociopolitical factors, industrial hazard, and personal health risk factors, among other related disasters or hazards. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines EWS as a framework which enables the generation and dissemination of timely and meaningful warning information to the likely areas to be faced by any form of disaster to facilitate preparedness and timely and appropriate response (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction 2006). The objective of an early warning system is to provide warnings to vulnerable people on a predicted natural or anthropogenic hazard or disaster to reduce possible harm or loss (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction 2006; Action Practical 2008). A geospatial tool is a decision-making support instrument for planning and management of resources, disasters, and hazards through its capability to input, retrieve, process, analyze, and produce georeferenced data. A geospatial tool can also be referred to as a comprehensive toolset which is capable of and embedded with the ability to store, edit, query, analyze, and display geospatial information.