Improving Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Cultures Through Environmental Education: A Case Study in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Abstract

Landslide disasters are increasing in frequency, magnitude and degraded territory as a result of disorganised land occupation and extreme rainfall events. Consequences such as deaths, injuries, homelessness and social harm are much worse when they occur in vulnerable communities. Socio-environmental disasters occurring in Brazil have highlighted environmental education as key to disaster risk reduction strategy. Based on the idea that the urbanisation process in Brazil contributes to socio-environmental vulnerability and environmental injustice, this chapter discusses the contribution of environmental education projects as an example of strategy for landslide disaster risk reduction since they can motivate inhabitants to participate in disaster risk reduction activities and, hence, to practice participatory risk management, empowering citizenship and strengthening community resilience. The studied project consisted in anon-formal education experience and took place in a landslide risk community in Niterói, a city situated in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The project involved geotechnicians, researchers of different backgrounds, young residents and members of a local non-government organisation and aimed to analyse this experience as an effort to face climate impacts.