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Mocoa’s foretold disaster (2018)
Disaster Risk Management as a matter of Environmental Justice |
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Basic project information
Project Executive: Marie Courtais (intern and field researcher in Mocoa, Colombia) Motivation: Field research internship (3 months) and thesis project (2 months) for Master in International Development Studies, University of Geography, Grenoble, FRANCE Project association: The project is located in the Environmental Justice Institute, as far as the student is received as intern by the institute. It is also associated with the University of Grenoble-Alpes (France) under an internship agreement. Fundings: The project executive receives academic scholarships encouraging internships abroad under the condition of the internship agreement. Grants allocated are the following:
Last year, in southern Colombia, the town of Mocoa suffered from a tremendous mudflow, letting 316 people killed, 332 injured and 76 missing disappeared and above 16,000 people affected (loss of relatives, house, school, work, goods, etc). After this tragedy, the information saying it was foretold is relayed by national and international newspapers. With a field study, we aim to acknowledge two elements under the frame of environmental justice research. : first, the reasons why it is said it was foretold ; second, the reasons why Mocoa had been impacted with such a magnitude if it was announced. When discovering these pieces of information, the objective of the research is : to have a better understanding, through citizens discourse analysis, of the dynamics existing among a population and the local and national authorities that have a role to play in terms of disaster risk management. This research is made by taking into account a particular socio-political context where the concept of marginalization of IDPs (Internal Displaced People) may be relevant, and in an environment with a high probability of natural disaster risk. The further research utility is to understand whether there are cases of environmental injustices in situation of Natural Disaster, in light of institutions' responsibility to administrate disaster risk management infrastructure (material mitigation, capacity training, information to the people, local laws, etc...) on a specific society with its own dynamics of inequalities and marginalization of certain groups. Project Summary: Please click here to download the project summary. References Bankoff G. (2001) Rendering the world unsafe: 'Vulnerability' as Western discourse. Disasters 25(1): 19-35. Barry, J. and Proops, J. (1999) Methods, Seeking sustainability discourses with Q Methodology, Ecological Economics, 28, 337-345 Cannon T. (1994) Vulnerability analysis and the explanation of 'natural' disasters. In Varley A. ed., Disasters, development and environment. J. Wiley & Sons: Chichester, 13-30. Dryzek, J . and Berejikian, J. (1993) Reconstructive democratic theory, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 87 (1) : 48-60 Eden, S., Andrew Donaldson, A. and Walker, G. (2005) Structuring subjectivities? Using Q methodology in human geography, Area 37 (4), 413–422 Fletcher, R. (2014) A Global Environmental Justice? The challenge of transferring a US movement to countries outside the US, Series of Papers: Environmental Justice and Sustainable Development Gosine, A., & Teelucksingh, C. (2008) Environmental Justice and Racism in Canada: An Introduction - Chapter 1. Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications Limited. p.1-32 Kaufmann, G. F./ Hurtienne, T. (2011), Inglehart’s World Value Survey and Q Methodology, in: Journal of Human Subjectivity, 9(2), 41–70 Köckler, H. and Kaufmann, G. (2014) Environmental Justice Research, Environmental Justice Institute website, accessed at http://www.environmentaljustice.de/research.php, february 2018 O’Keefe P., Westgate K., Wisner B. (1976) Taking the naturalness out of natural disasters. Nature 60 (5552): 566-567 Ortega Cerda, M. (2011) Origen y evolución del movimiento de Justicia Ambiental, Ecologia Politica, Vol 41 : 17-24 Schlosberg, D. and Carruthers, D. (2010) Indigenous Struggles, Environmental Justice and Community capabilities, Global Environmental Politics 10:4, 12-35 Schlosberg, D. (2011) Justicia ambiental y climática: de la equidad al funcionamiento comunitario, Ecologia Politica, Vol 41: 25-36 |
