Conflicting Discourses on Wildfire Risk and the Role of Local Media in the Amazonian and Temperate Forests

Abstract

This article examines how risk is communicated by different actors, particularly local print newspapers and actors at the community level, in two different geographical contexts that are severely affected by wildfires—the Brazilian Amazon and Atlantic Spain. We analyzed how wildfire risk is framed in local print media and local actor discourse to elucidate how wildfire risk is interpreted and aimed to identify the main priorities of these risk governance systems. The main findings reveal that the presentation of wildfire as a spectacle is a serious obstacle to the promotion of coherent risk governance and social learning, which involves recognizing wildfire risk as a social, political, economic, and environmental problem. Proactive risk governance should communicate the multifaceted nature of risk and stimulate dialogue and negotiation among all actors to build consensus regarding land use and the creation of risk.