Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance

Abstract

This paper explores how social networks and bonds within and across organisations shape disaster operations and strategies. Local government disaster training exercises serve as a window through which to view these relations, and 'social capital' is used as an analytic for making sense of the human relations at the core of disaster management operations. These elements help to expose and substantiate the often intangible relations that compose the culture that exists, and that is shaped by preparations for disasters. The study reveals how this social capital has been generated through personal interactions, which are shared among disaster managers across different organisations and across 'levels' within those organisations. Recognition of these 'group resources' has significant implications for disaster management in which conducive social relations have become paramount. The paper concludes that socio-cultural relations, as well as a people-centred approach to preparations, appear to be effective means of readying for, and ultimately responding to, disasters.

Sustaining a Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy: Grandmothers’ Telling and Singing Tsunami Stories for over 100 Years Saving Lives on Simeulue Island

“…In contrast research indicates that, to be effective, rather than “top down” DRR behaviors need to be embedded into the normal everyday practices of a community [ 25 , 45 , 55 ]. There is evidence that embedded cultural understandings of the environment and hazards together with life-long learning are effective contributors to “resilience” [ 34 , 58 , 59 , 60 ] and where there is a diminished sense of connection with “community”, individuals and families become relatively more vulnerable [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ]. Instead, a focus on community leadership and support systems is essential for long-term sustainability in DRR action [ 25 , 57 ].…”

Risk perception and culture: implications for vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

“…Scientific explanations and beliefs may explain adequately a particular action, but they do not necessarily determine its ultimate consequences (Wynn, Jr. and Williams, 2012) and may damage existing structures and mechanisms owing to a lack of respect for existing networks, informal procedures, cultures, and rules tried and tested in the past Melo Zurita et al, 2018). For example, many scientists, politicians, and religious leaders (Kempf, 2012;Field et al, 2014) agree that when high vulnerability to climate change seems to be inevitable because of sea-level rise and increasingly occurring and intensifying extreme weather events, resettlement may be the only option for survival.…”

“…While the influence of cultural factors on perceptions of risk is presently being discussed in many fields, such as anthropology and psychology, there is a lack of recognition in the area of climate change adaptation that cultural factors are crucial in understanding why people perceive and respond to climate change risks in particular ways (Adger et al, 2013; Bankoff, 2015; Binder and Baker, 2017; O'Connell et al, 2017; Melo Zurita et al, 2018). Currently, mainstream work on climate change adaptation in relation to policy and practice still tends to take little account of the different cultural interpretations of risk that many people at the local level use to coexist with climate shocks; consequently, attempts by organisations 1 to support at‐risk people are likely to be less effective (Graham et al, 2018).…”

Sustainability and Disaster Planning: What Are the Connections?

“…Scholars have shown a balance between these capitals to be critical to effective environmental management (González Rivas et al ). Resiliency is enhanced through the social capital networks that emerge among emergency managers from different municipalities within a region (Zurita et al ).…”