Managing chronic crises and chronic hazard conditions

Abstract

Chronic crises are an emerging concept that is increasingly being referenced in research and practice. Chronic crises display characteristics of both disasters and development, and require more specialized and effective management and interventions. For management purposes, chronic crises are proposed here to be disasters that have exceeded a certain threshold of longevity, or negative development outcomes that have exceeded a certain threshold of intensity, such that neither sustainable development nor disaster management remain effective management options. It is also proposed that chronic hazard conditions (CHCs) are key to defining and managing chronic crises. This paper proposes an adapted disaster-development management cycle that may illustrate a more effective management of chronic crises and CHCs.