How students perceive natural and human-made risks on the island of Madeira (Portugal)

Abstract

In this study the spatial perceptions of students about the likelihood of natural and environmental risks were examined, considering both mainland Portugal and island of Madeira. It intends to understand how students perceived the risks, taking into account the causal attributions, future tendency, and the support from public entities, as well as the willingness of attitudinal changes with respect to mitigating and reducing risks. The results suggest that students have a relatively low perception of analysed risks, considering the risk of forest fires, heatwaves, air and water pollution, and floods the most likely to occur, mainly as a consequence of climate change intensification. Gender proved to be the variable with the greatest influence on perception, particularly in terms of risk occurrence and personal perception of risk. These results could be important for the improvement of strategies and resources to be applied in the educational context in order to reduce disaster risk and strengthen the resilience of the community at large.