Pakistan urgently needs to refine its crop yield forecasting and estimation system to improve food production, says Ibrar ul Hassan Akhtar.

World leaders must promote effective land use methods to mitigate drought, says Luc Gnacadja of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

Feeding South-East Asia's rapidly growing population requires a second Green Revolution, says Crispin Maslog.

More must be done to prevent damage of ocean data buoys that costs money, vital data — and lives, say Sidney Thurston and M. Ravichandran.

South-East Asia has suffered from neglecting planning for disasters. Governments must heed the warnings and act now, argues Crispin Maslog.

Analysing vulnerability to climate change must go beyond stating obvious problems to become truly useful, argues Marcus Moench.

The East Africa famine calls into question the wisdom of investing in early warning systems without improving take-up, writes Linda Nordling.

Nuclear power is no magic solution, argues Pervez Hoodbhoy — it's not safe, or cheap, and it leads to weapons programmes.

The current drought in northern Kenya has deep roots in the current practices of pastoralists that need to be addressed, says conservationist David Western.

Where corruption is rife, poor regulation and building practices can turn a moderate earthquake into a disaster, say Nicholas Ambraseys and Roger Bilham.

Disaster specialists must gather and analyse data systematically to prevent human stampedes, say Frederick M. Burkle and Edbert B. Hsu.

Policymakers must find flexible plans to ensure water security despite the uncertainties of climate change, says climate scientist Mark New.

Social networks quickly gather data on possible disease outbreaks after natural disasters, writes biosurveillance expert James Wilson.

Stricter engineering regulations could have averted much of the damage caused by the Haiti earthquake, says US seismologist Roger Bilham.

Combining satellite data with mobile phones offers cheap and effective tools for managing fires, says South African scientist Philip Frost.

Disaster management needs constellations of satellites with multispectral sensors, says Indian space researcher, Ranganath Navalgund.

Kenyan MP and remote sensing expert, Wilbur Ottichilo, argues the time is ripe for using satellites to spot developing African droughts.

Volcano expert Geoff Wadge explains how the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters helped manage a volcanic eruption in Montserrat.

Africans need to be more aware of earthquakes to cope with disasters — and there's no better place to start than in schools, says Chris Hartnady.

The Samoan earthquake highlights worrying shortcomings in Pacific early warning systems, says Richard Hamblyn.