Do natural hazard events and disasters trigger political and legislative change? A systematic scoping review of the impacts on commodity production

Abstract

Food and fibre commodity production is fundamental to global food security and economic development. However, these commodities are vulnerable to different natural hazards. In this systematic scoping review, we assess the natural hazards literature to determine if and how specific natural hazard events that impact food and fibre commodity production have triggered political or legislative change. Bibliometric and thematic analysis methods were used to identify recurrent patterns and themes in the dataset. Bibliometric analysis confirmed robust international cooperation on hazards and political change, but there were still gaps in cooperation across different hazard types. Thematic analysis revealed limited evidence for political and legislative changes triggered by hazard events. However, typical responses included reviewing policies or restructuring institutional responsibility. Our findings suggest a need for greater collaboration across research topics including climate change impacts, risk assessment, and freshwater management to more accurately identify the causal relationships between hazards and political change.