Geology for Global Development

Dr Joel C. Gill

Joel is the Founder/Director of Geology for Global Development (@Geo_Dev) an organisation working to support geologists to make a sustainable contribution to the fight against global poverty. He is an interdisciplinary researcher, with a PhD in geography (natural hazards), and research interests in multi-hazard frameworks, disaster risk reduction, rural water projects, and sustainable development. This work has taken him to Chile, China, Guatemala, India, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Joel is currently based at the British Geological Survey, and tweets at @JoelCGill.

Effective International Engagement (1) – Introduction

Effective International Engagement (1) – Introduction

Many geologists will have to, and indeed want to, work overseas at some point in their careers. The global opportunities offered by research and working within the geosciences is a big attraction when deciding to study geology and join the profession. In many cases working internationally will often mean partnering with host-country agencies and industries (e.g., universities, geological surveys, ...[Read More]

EGU15 – Natural Hazards Education and Communications

EGU15 – Natural Hazards Education and Communications

Figure 1: A man herds his livestock in remote, high altitude, snowy conditions in Ladakh. This post first appeared on GeoEd Trek (AGU Blogs) on December 22nd 2014. It has been slightly modified below, given the deadline for EGU Abstracts has now passed, to include the latest information available about this session.   Ladakh is a remote and beautiful Himalayan region in the north of India (Figure ...[Read More]

Images of Guatemala (9) – Conflict and Disasters

Until 1996, Guatemala was in the midst of a brutal Civil War. This sculpture in the Presidential Palace of Guatemala City is a reminder of that troubled past and symbolic of a hopeful peaceful future. In the same way that conflict/disasters can hamper and set-back development efforts, conflict can also set-back disaster risk reduction and management. Even once finished, past conflicts can erode tr ...[Read More]

How ‘Natural’ is a ‘Natural Disaster’?

How ‘Natural’ is a ‘Natural Disaster’?

‘Natural disasters’ is a phrase widely used by the geoscience community but how accurate is it? Given the human and societal factors that create a disaster, it has been highlighted that there is no such thing as a natural disaster. Is this simply a convenient phrase that recognises the contribution of natural processes (e.g., earthquakes), are we being sloppy with our language, or are ...[Read More]