Communication in geosciences in environmental risk and disaster management

Abstract

The dissemination of technical information to non-technical audiences is a difficulty for all specialists in applied sciences. In the case of communication associated with geological and environmental risks, the problem is not so much about the information, but how this information is understood by the public. The duties of geoscientists go beyond the application of their knowledge and skills, including communication that must be based on geoethical principles. Communication is a disaster prevention factor and is essential for the management of environmental risks. The article aims to present a diagnosis of the practice of risk and disaster communication by the Civil Defense of Contagem and the improvements proposed based on the diagnosis made. In view of the proposed objective, the study answers the following guiding questions: 1) which means of communication are used by the Civil Defense; 2) what are the characteristics of the communication; 3) what are the possibilities for improvement. The methodology adopted to obtain the answers was interviews with Civil Defense agents, analysis of data from telephone calls from the population to the Civil Defense 199 service telephone, observation and analysis of the communication practice through monitoring of occurrences and field visits, brainstorming on possible alternatives to improve bilateral communication. The result of the diagnosis indicated that the communication of risks and disasters takes place mainly in a unilateral way, and with greater performance in the risk management phases of prevention and response, and there is a gap for communication in the disaster preparedness phase. A pioneering proposal for the municipality related to risk communication is presented: a system for making risk maps and events attended by the Civil Defense available on the internet (web map), as well as a proposal for an application to enable communication bilateral and collaboration. It is expected that this system, called Georiscos Contagem, as well as the application, will facilitate access and participation by the population in the management of environmental risks.