22nd ALNAP Meeting (December 2007)
The new ALNAP strategy considers “the very real possibility that crises are likely to become both more widespread, complex and characterised by catastrophic combinations of different kinds of human vulnerabilities”. This paper has been produced as a background briefing paper on these issues for the 22nd ALNAP Biannual meeting, which is being held in Senegal on December 4th-6th 2007. It is intended as a short introduction to put the theme of the meeting into context , and help to familiarise participants with some of the key issues that will be discussed. It therefore takes a preliminary look at the idea of ‘compounding crisis’, to provide definitions and look at some of the key concepts in more depth. It provides examples to help clarify and deepen understanding of the theme, and suggests a preliminary set of implications which we hope will inform and stimulate discussions at the meeting.