Mitigating Natural Disasters: The Role of Eco-Ethics

Etkin, David; Stefanovic, Ingrid Leman

doi:10.1007/1-4020-4514-x_7

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Etkin and Stefanovic (2005) propose a paradigm shift to advance the studies of disaster mitigation. This shift should no longer focus on the technological-fix school of hazards but emphasize human interactions with the natural world (Etkin and Stefanovic 2005). In this paradigm shift, human behaviour becomes the core of contemporary risk mitigation strategies.…”

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paradigm shift, human behaviour becomes the core of contemporary risk mitigation strategies. To justify this shift, Etkin and Stefanovic (2005) explain that losses related to natural hazards are the product of human behaviours that create exposed and vulnerable communities. And to eliminate or reduce vulnerability and mitigate risks, it is necessary to consider underlying values such as people's world views and the nature of interaction with the natural domain (Etkin and Stefanovic 2005).…”

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To justify this shift, Etkin and Stefanovic (2005) explain that losses related to natural hazards are the product of human behaviours that create exposed and vulnerable communities. And to eliminate or reduce vulnerability and mitigate risks, it is necessary to consider underlying values such as people's world views and the nature of interaction with the natural domain (Etkin and Stefanovic 2005). However, as Etkin and Stefanovic (2005:19) explain, the addition of vulnerability in decision-making process requires that: risk mitigation decisions no longer be top-down, according to recent lessons from various countries.…”

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This bottom-up process is defined by Etkin and Stefanovic (2005) as an interactive, participatory process, involving local communities since it is this framework that produces best expected outcomes concerning mitigation, preparedness, and recovery. Slinger et al (2007) and Stanghellini (2008) produced evidence in this regard after finding out that individuals living in flood prone areas change their risk perception after participating in deliberative processes.…”

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This change occurs due to i) increased levels of awareness; ii) motivation; and iii) trust towards authorities, experts and oneself as agents that take action against risks (Slinger et al 2007;Stranghellini 2008). In addition, Etkin and Stefanovic (2005) state that if the technical approach to mitigation ignores vulnerability, the mitigation of disasters remain a fallacy rather than a reality. McLennan and Handmer (2012) provide practical questions that reinforce the importance of this paradigm shift.…”

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual Risk Perception and Flood Mitigation: An Empirical Study of Protective Actions in Australia

Uehara¹

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The Australian government has increasingly expected that individuals collaborate with public efforts to reduce hazard risks by taking some action themselves. This expectation, however, has failed to consider the complexity of the decision-making process at the household level.Individual decision making is rather complex as it involves a wide range of factors that should be taken into account before the government can assess to what extent individuals at risk can effectively contribute to the reduction of hazard risks. This is where a theoretical framework makes a contribution to this thesis by guiding data collection and analysis. Thus this thesis resorts to a comprehensive socio-psychological theory to generate empirical data on the different factors affecting decision making under uncertainty.The testing of this comprehensive theoretical framework called Protection Motivation Theory focuses on the explanatory variables of risk perception ('threat appraisal') and coping measures ('coping appraisal'). Threat appraisal factors have to do with the perception of hazard risks and coping appraisal variables measure the perceived ability of an individual to take action. The novelties of this study are i) the application of this theoretical framework, which has already been tested in order countries, for the first time in Australia, more specifically among householders living in flood-prone locations in Southeast Queensland; ii) a dataset featuring significant variability in terms of vulnerability and exposure levels of the population at risk; iii) the assessment of how heuristics and biases affect decision making under uncertainty; and iv) qualitative data to unpack non-intuitive associations and understand the role that the nature of threats and protective actions play in the decisions of householders to take protective actions. An interesting finding from previous studies is that coping factors are better predictors for protective actions than risk perception. This thesis then will verify whether this association is also observed in the Australian context. However, emerging from this study, is the argument that individuals at risk living in this region make decisions which do factor in their hazard risk perceptions and their perceived capacity to take action; however, this decision-making process also take into account the vulnerability conditions of the population at risk. Also, qualitative data suggest that exposure to hazard risks shaped by the nature of the threat and the characteristics of the protective action also play a role in the decision of householders to take preventive measures that reduce or eliminate flood damage. The findings on how these conditions and circumstances influence decisions made under uncertain scenarios are the main contribution of this thesis to the literature. 3This contribution, however, is not only relevant within the academic community. If Australian authorities are to enhance the resilience of communities at risk to potential damage caused by hazards, it needs first to ha...

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Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vulnerability and Risk Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%