Proposal for a Heuristic Ecopsychological Procedure for Integrated Assessment of Natural Disaster Risk

摘要

Extreme natural events (e.g., excess or lack of rain, tsunamis, earthquakes), may - or may not - set up disaster scenarios. This "denaturalization" of the disaster concept implies acceptance of the eternal existence of such extreme natural phenomena.However, such extreme natural events can only be characterized as a disaster scenario where such extreme natural phenomena have strongly shocked a vulnerable social reality and when the "social actors" involved are unable to develop management strategiesof collateral damage from such situations. Disasters should be studied in a multi- or interdisciplinary manner, in which different experts map the various vulnerabilities, i.e., setting a participatory risk mapping as a goal to prevent and combat the unwanted effects of natural disaster scenarios. The proposed construction of vulnerability indicators is important for the development of risk mapping, as well as a valuable tool for the development of integrated planning and management of disaster risk reduction. The systemic view of risk, with the integration of vulnerability dimensions and the other threat factors can be approached from the theory of D. Meadows' three capitals, to establish the interrelations between indicators of natural, social and built capital. Using the infrastructure systems for this research to represent the concept of built capital, the aim of this study is to propose a heuristic eco-psychological procedure for the selection ofindicators based on the size of the built capital considering indicators of characteristics that reflect the degree of vulnerability of infrastructure systems in a region, or a contextualized analysis. The proposal utilizes a methodological and conceptual basis of the use of infrastructure systems as a dimension to group indicators, highlighting which effectively corresponds to the current territorial development and the degree of corresponding vulnerability. Furthermore, this study aims to systemicallyanalyze the environmental indicators application process with a view to its validation and possible ownership by public environmental management of a particular geographic region, coming to complement a participatory contingency plan.