In recent years, researchers and development agencies have begun to ask more why certain groups of people are more vulnerable to disasters than others? This heightened awareness and interest was one of the main reasons why Duryog Nivaran (DN) was founded as a South Asian Network in late 1994. One of the principal themes that the network adopted at its inception was "understanding vulnerability". At the outset, the network members recognized that reducing vulnerability at the community level while at the same time working to strengthen capacities at that level is the key to effective disaster mitigation. Understanding Vulnerability is a compilation of DN's experiences in this area.

As founder members of DN, with long experience in the development field, John Twigg and Mihir R.Bhatt have been actively engaged in promoting DN's alternative perspective on reducing vulnerability (inter alia) by seeking to foster a better understanding of vulnerability and capacity issues. Hence they are very well placed to edit this publication. The Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI), in Ahmedabad, India of which Mihir Bhatt is the Director, undertook to coordinate the DN work under this theme that has two main elements: publishing case studies such as this and advocacy, workshops and raising awareness. The decision of the editors to base the book at the grass root realities and to write it in a clear and concise style with a good linking theme makes it very readable. It effectively conveys the importance of understanding the real issues of vulnerability and capacities in a way that makes it easy to understand for both the lay persons and the development practitioners alike. The choice of case studies gives a nice texture to the compilation. Mihir BhattÕs thought provoking final essay spurs the debate and provides the reader with a new perspective on understanding vulnerability better. This publication is an excellent addition to the DN repertoire of publications.

Nick Russell has spent most of the past thirty years of his professional career working on relief and development projects on four continents. He has worked for a number of international aid agencies including EU, DFID, IFRSC, various UN Agencies and NGOs. He is currently working as Disaster Management Specialist for UNDP in Bangladesh.