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Ilan Kelman

University College London, Institute for Global Health, Faculty Member

University College London, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, Faculty Member

University College London, Institute for Global Governance, Faculty Member

University College London, Humanitarian Institute, Faculty Member

University of Agder, Development Studies, Faculty Member

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For publications, see http://www.ilankelman.org/publications.html
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175 Papers
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Papers by Ilan Kelman

Understanding “Islandness”

by Laurie Brinklow and Ilan Kelman

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2023

Islandness is a contested concept, not just between disciplines but also cultures, entangled with... more Islandness is a contested concept, not just between disciplines but also cultures, entangled with what islands, island studies, and island identity are understood to be. The purpose of this article is to explore some of these different meanings, without necessarily unifying or reconciling them, with the aim of keeping multiple understandings of islandness in creative tension. We begin by considering islandness as smallness, recognizing that though many entry points into island studies relate to size in some way, what constitutes small is dependent on both context and worldview. Next, we consider islandness as culture, and the concept of island identity, which is expressed in varied forms. Finally, we consider framings of islands as others, and the extent to which contemporary narratives linked to islands are really inherent to islands or not. Ultimately, we conclude that although there is much to be gained from appreciating differing understandings of islandness, these multiple meanings make it critical to reflect on context wherever the term is used, and exercise care in assigning attributes and outcomes to islandness.
Key Words: identity, islandness, islands, island studies, narratives.

Understanding "Islandness" - OPEN ACCESS

by Jonathan Pugh and Ilan Kelman

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2023

Islandness is a contested concept, not just between disciplines but also cultures, entangled with... more Islandness is a contested concept, not just between disciplines but also cultures, entangled with what islands, island studies, and island identity are understood to be. The purpose of this article is to explore some of these different meanings, without necessarily unifying or reconciling them, with the aim of keeping multiple understandings of islandness in creative tension. We begin by considering islandness as smallness, recognizing that though many entry points into island studies relate to size in some way, what constitutes small is dependent on both context and worldview. Next, we consider islandness as culture, and the concept of island identity, which is expressed in varied forms. Finally, we consider framings of islands as others, and the extent to which contemporary narratives linked to islands are really inherent to islands or not. Ultimately, we conclude that although there is much to be gained from appreciating differing understandings of islandness, these multiple meanings make it critical to reflect on context wherever the term is used, and exercise care in assigning attributes and outcomes to islandness.

Climate Change and Human Security1

by Barbara R Johnston and Ilan Kelman

This spring at the Earth's higher latitudes sees the UN Security Council about to break new ... more This spring at the Earth's higher latitudes sees the UN Security Council about to break new ground by taking up the issue of climate change. How will changing climate patterns affect both inter-state relations and international and national security in a narrow, geo-strategic ...

Researchers on ice? How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Antarctic researchers

by Cristian Lorenzo and Ilan Kelman

Antarctic Science, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures have impacted the lives and work-related acti... more The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures have impacted the lives and work-related activities of Antarctic researchers. To explore these impacts, we designed, piloted and disseminated an online survey in English, Russian, Spanish and Chinese in late 2020 and early 2021. The survey explored how the pandemic affected the productivity of Antarctic researchers, their career prospects and their mental wellbeing. Findings exposed patterns of inequities. For instance, of the 406 unique responses to the survey, women appeared to have been affected more adversely than men, especially in relation to mental health, and early-career researchers were disadvantaged more than their mid-or late-career colleagues. Overall, a third of the research participants reported at least one major negative impact from the pandemic on their mental health. Approximately half of the participants also mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had some positive effects, especially in terms of the advantages that working from home brought and opportunities to attend events, network or benefit from training workshops online. We conclude with a series of recommendations for science administrators and policymakers to mitigate the most serious adverse impacts of the pandemic on Antarctic research communities, with implications for other contexts where scientific activities are conducted under extreme circumstances.

Addressing disaster and health risks for sustainable outer space

by Myles Harris and Ilan Kelman

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management

Linking Disaster Risk Reduction and Healthcare in Locations with Limited Accessibility: Challenges and Opportunities of Participatory Research

by Myles Harris and Ilan Kelman

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Disaster risk reduction and healthcare support each other, including the mitigation of further ha... more Disaster risk reduction and healthcare support each other, including the mitigation of further harm after illness or injury. These connections are particularly relevant in locations which have permanent or temporary limited accessibility. In these circumstances, people are required to be self-sufficient in providing emergency and long-term healthcare with limited resources. Planning and preparing to mitigate further harm after illness or injury from disasters (disaster risk reduction) must include people living and working in locations with limited accessibility, meaning that participatory research can be used. The challenges and opportunities of enacting participatory research in such contexts have not been thoroughly examined. The research question of this paper is therefore, “What challenges and opportunities occur when participatory research links disaster risk reduction and healthcare to mitigate illness and injury in locations with limited accessibility?” To answer this resear...

[Con Daniela Liggett, Bob Frame, Andrea Herbert, Ilan Kelman Jennifer Pickett, Yelena Yermakova] Antarctica and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Taking a Social Sciences and Humanities Perspective. Environment Coastal & Offshore (ECO), 2020.

by Cristian Lorenzo, Ilan Kelman, and Yelena Yermakova

Environment Coastal & Offshore (ECO), 2020

The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come

by Assoc Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson and Ilan Kelman

The Lancet , 2018

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide a... more The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change. The Lancet Countdown tracks 41 indicators across five domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; finance and economics; and public and political engagement. This report is the product of a collaboration of 27 leading academic institutions, the UN, and intergovernmental agencies from every continent. The report draws on world-class expertise from climate scientists, ecologists, mathematicians, geographers, engineers, energy, food, livestock, and transport experts, economists, social and political scientists, public health professionals, and. doctors. The Lancet Countdown’s work builds on decades of research in this field, and was first proposed in the 2015 Lancet Commission on health and climate change,1 which documented the human impacts of climate change and provided ten global recommendations to respond to this public health emergency and secure the public health benefits available (panel 1).

The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: from 25 years of inaction to a global transformation for public health Executive summary

by Assoc Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson and Ilan Kelman

The Lancet, 2018

The Lancet Countdown tracks progress on health and climate change and provides an independent ass... more The Lancet Countdown tracks progress on health and climate change and provides an independent assessment of the health effects of climate change, the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and the health implications of these actions. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, which concluded that anthropogenic climate change threatens to undermine the past 50 years of gains in public health, and conversely, that a comprehensive response to climate change could be “the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century”.

The Lancet Countdown is a collaboration between 24 academic institutions and intergovernmental organisations based in every continent and with representation from a wide range of disciplines. The collaboration includes climate scientists, ecologists, economists, engineers, experts in energy, food, and transport systems, geographers, mathematicians, social and political scientists, public health professionals, and doctors. It reports annual indicators across five sections: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement.

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

by Assoc Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson and Ilan Kelman

The Lancet, 2017

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidi... more The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic institutions and practitioners across the world. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which concluded that the response to climate change could be "the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century". The Lancet Countdown aims to track the health impacts of climate hazards; health resilience and adaptation; health co-benefits of climate change mitigation; economics and finance; and political and broader engagement. These focus areas form the five thematic working groups of the Lancet Countdown and represent different aspects of the complex association between health and climate change. These thematic groups will provide indicators for a global overview of health and climate change; national case studies highlighting countries leading the way or going against the trend; and engagement with a range of stakeholders. The Lancet Countdown ultimately aims to report annually on a series of indicators across these five working groups. This paper outlines the potential indicators and indicator domains to be tracked by the collaboration, with suggestions on the methodologies and datasets available to achieve this end. The proposed indicator domains require further refinement, and mark the beginning of an ongoing consultation process-from November, 2016 to early 2017-to develop these domains, identify key areas not currently covered, and change indicators where necessary. This collaboration will actively seek to engage with existing monitoring processes, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and WHO's climate and health country profiles. The indicators will also evolve over time through ongoing collaboration with experts and a range of stakeholders, and be dependent on the emergence of new evidence and knowledge. During the course of its work, the Lancet Countdown will adopt a collaborative and iterative process, which aims to complement existing initiatives, welcome engagement with new partners, and be open to developing new research projects on health and climate change.

Does climate change influence people’s migration decisions in Maldives?

by Andrea C. Simonelli, Ilan Kelman, and Justyna Orłowska

Climatic Change, 2019

The influence of climate change and perceptions of it on people’s migration decisions has receive... more The influence of climate change and perceptions of it on people’s migration decisions has received significant prominence, especially for people living on low-lying islands. To contribute to this literature, this paper uses Maldives as a case study for exploring the research question: How does climate change influence or not influence people’s migration decisions in Maldives? Previous work tends to start from a disciplinary climate change perspective, while this study combines migration, mobility, and island studies perspectives, within which climate change sits. As well, rather than focusing on the area around the capital, Malé, as with many previous studies, the 113 interviews here were conducted in eight islands across three atolls. The method was qualitative, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews using purposive sampling of ordinary people. Contrary to a view of islanders preparing to flee their islands as “climate change refugees”, the interviewees provided nuanced and varied responses. They rarely identified the potential of future impacts due to climate change as influencing their migration-related decisions. When migration was considered, it was chiefly internal movement seeking a better standard of living via improved services, better living conditions, and more job opportunities. If migration related to potential climate change impacts might happen, then it was assumed to be in the future for decisions then. This lack of influence of climate change-related perceptions on Maldivians’ migration decisions fits well within island mobilities studies, from which climate change perspectives could adopt wider contexts.

A Contribution to the Review of the draft GAR 2011, Chapters 5, 6 & 7 Political Will for Disaster Reduction: What Incentives Build It, And Why Is It So Hard To Achieve?

by Dewald Van Niekerk, Djillali Benouar, Ben Wisner, George Kent, Ilan Kelman, and Jean Carmalt

Two of the several ways of creating political will are good governance and economic incentives. T... more Two of the several ways of creating political will are good governance and economic incentives. The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction for 2009 acknowledged the importance of good governance for sustained efforts in disaster risk reduction (UNISDR 2009: 19). It pointed out that, while Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) can result in significant savings, and thus should be regarded as an investment, often it is perceived as a cost (see also Kelman and Poole 2006).

Local Expert Perceptions of Migration as a Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh

by Ahsan Ullah and Ilan Kelman

People have long migrated for many reasons, often with a combination of forced and voluntary reas... more People have long migrated for many reasons, often with a combination of forced and voluntary reasons combining to push them away from current situations and to pull them towards new situations. Bangladesh is one example where environmental changes have long been amongst the multitude of reasons for migrating, with contemporary climate change suggested as a major impetus towards more migration. This paper examines local expert perceptions of migration as a climate change adaptation strategy for Bangladeshis. Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted with local experts in Bangladesh and Assam (India) on environmental change and migration to understand the perspectives of those with formal education and expert-related jobs who come from the areas being directly affected by Bangladeshi migration. Findings show that local experts consider that migration is used and will be used for climate change adaptation in Bangladesh, but migration is not solely for climate change adaptation, instead interweaving with all other factors influencing migration-related decisions.

Community Resilience to Cyclone Disasters in Coastal Bangladesh

by Bayes Ahmed and Ilan Kelman

Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most disaster-prone countries in the world. To address both ... more Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most disaster-prone countries in the world. To address both problems simultaneously, sustainable livelihoods (SL) could be better connected with disaster risk reduction (DRR). For this purpose, one initiative implemented in Bangladesh is called the Vulnerability to Resilience (V2R) programme which ran from 2013 to 2016. This programme was primarily initiated and funded by the British Red Cross in a consortium with the Swedish Red Cross and the German Red Cross. This article presents the first evaluation of the V2R programme with three objectives. The first objective was to measure whether the selected communities have achieved community resilience characteristics as defined by the programme. The second objective was to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for the intervention. The third objective was to analyse V2R's impact on the communities in terms of DRR and SL. Community-based focus group discussions and household-based surveys were conducted before and after the intervention (2013–2016) in two coastal communities in Patuakhali district, Nowapara and Pashurbunia. The analysis found that community members are now engaged with many hazard-resilient and vulnerability-reducing livelihood activities, using SL to implement DRR, yet these approaches were almost absent prior to V2R. Consequently, the communities have achieved resilience characteristics, being more well-organized and better connected; having better access to infrastructure, services, and economic opportunities; are more knowledgeable and healthier; and are better managing their available resources. Critiques of the concepts are discussed, although in this case, DRR based on SL has shown positive results, exactly as development theory suggests.

Governance through Economic Paradigms: Addressing Climate Change by Accounting for Health

Politics and Governance

Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable development, impacting human health, wellbein... more Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable development, impacting human health, wellbeing, security, and livelihoods. While the post-2015 development agenda sets out action on climate change as one of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is little provision on how this can be achieved in tandem with the desired economic progress and the required improvements in health and wellbeing. This paper examines synergies and tensions between the goals addressing climate change and economic progress. We identify reductionist approaches in economics, such as ‘externalities’, reliance on the metric of the Gross Domestic Product, positive discount rates, and short-term profit targets as some of the key sources of tensions between these goals. Such reductionist approaches could be addressed by intersectoral governance mechanisms. Health in All Policies, health-sensitive macro-economic progress indicators, and accounting for long-term and non-monetary values are some of the approaches...

Assessment of Child Health in National Adaptation Programmes of Action for Climate Change

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine

Disease Diplomacy for Humanitarian Aid and Conflict Reduction

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine

are applications clinically reliable/evidence based and professionally validated, and how does on... more are applications clinically reliable/evidence based and professionally validated, and how does one select and become proficient in utilizing these types of tools?" These are a few of the key components to be addressed in this presentation. Currently little professional data exists regarding the use of technology applications, except for studies evaluating frequency of use. This lecture will seek to help the learner address these and other issues, in an effort to augment their ability to best render humanitarian aid. Methods: A brief overview of technical terminology is provided along with a review of a variety of applications. Additionally, audience members will be formally surveyed as to their current use of mobile technology, as well as self-perceived knowledge gaps and practice deficits. Interactive discussion will provide additional opportunities for knowledge sharing and personal growth. Resources to guide application selection are provided for a variety of clinical settings and professional roles. Results: By the end of this session, the learner will be able to: 1. Identify and analyze reliable personal mobile software (Applications or "apps") sources for use in clinical practice. 2. Demonstrate the use of applications in common clinical situations. 3. Develop a selection of applications useful to individual practice. Conclusion: Mobile Medical Applications and devices such as smartphone based otoscopes, microscopes, Point Of Care Ultrasound, clinical references, etc. are an invaluable and underutilized resource in humanitarian disaster and emergency medicine. This session will provide members a forum to augment their austere medical practice through the use of readily accessible and robust technology.

Does mitigation save? Reviewing cost-benefit analyses of disaster risk reduction

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

The benefit-cost-ratio (BCR), used in cost-benefit analysis (CBA), is an indicator that attempts ... more The benefit-cost-ratio (BCR), used in cost-benefit analysis (CBA), is an indicator that attempts to summarize the overall value for money of a project. Disaster costs continue to rise and the demand has increased to demonstrate the economic benefit of disaster risk reduction (DRR) to policy makers. This study compiles and compares original CBA case studies reporting DRR BCRs, without restrictions as to hazard type, location, scale, or other parameters. Many results were identified supporting the economic effectiveness of DRR, however, key limitations were identified, including a lack of: sensitivity analyses, meta-analyses which critique the literature, consideration of climate change, evaluation of the duration of benefits, broader consideration of the process of vulnerability, and potential disbenefits of DRR measures. The studies demon- strate the importance of context for each BCR result. Recommendations are made regarding minimum criteria to consider when conducting DRR CBAs.

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

Lancet (London, England), Jan 11, 2016

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidi... more The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic institutions and practitioners across the world. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which concluded that the response to climate change could be "the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century". The Lancet Countdown aims to track the health impacts of climate hazards; health resilience and adaptation; health co-benefits of climate change mitigation; economics and finance; and political and broader engagement. These focus areas form the five thematic working groups of the Lancet Countdown and represent different aspects of the complex association between health and climate change. These thematic groups will provide indicators for a global overview of health and climate change; national case studies highlighting countries leading the way or going against the trend; and engagement with a range o...

Governance of climate change adaptation on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Theoretical Fundamentals and Practical Evidence, 2016

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