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2.

Flood Risk Culture


 Why do people take risks? Smoke cigarettes which cause lung cancer? Have sex without a condom? Work in coal mines or live in a flood-plain? Some analysts argue that all risk is culturally determined. Sliding on the ice is a pleasurable game for children, and a potential accident for the elderly. Risk measurement? Forget figures of legs broken per year, and concentrate on kids and their grandparents very different perceptions of how likely they are to fall and whether falling is fun or dangerous. They belong to separate cultures. They see the world differently, and so they behave differently. Some academics divide us all into four groups depending on the myths we believe about our place in nature. These can be applied to individuals or to communities. They are to some extent caricatures, and useful only if they help us understand events and attitudes. Try the four myths out - on smoking, living in Los Angeles, compulsory seatbelts, safer sex or on whether it's safe to live on the banks of the Indies.

MYTHWATCH

Nature Benign: The individualist Myth 1- nature benign. The ball always rolls back to the bottom of the basin. Nature is predictable bountiful and doesn't need managing. Myth 1 people are individualists and their attitude to nature is laissez-faire. They are Victorian mill owners, Asian tiger entrepreneurs. They resent control by others, and believe the environment should do what it is told. They don't think a flood will ever hit their homes or factory, and if it did would lay sandbags to pass the water on to someone else downstream.

Nature Delicate: The egalitarian Myth 2 - nature delicate. The ball might easily roll off the top of the basin. Nature is fragile and unforgiving: human interference might cause total collapse. Myth 2 people are egalitarians. Their view of SD is that we should tread lightly on our planet, and observe the precautionary principle. They respect nature but not necessarily governments, and include most community groups, NGOs, environmentalists and religious sects. They expect floods to occur, are skeptical of flood-prevention schemes, and believe in community-preparedness.

Nature tolerant-and-perverse: The hierarchist Myth 3 - nature tolerant and perverse. This ball will usually roll back into the basin, but too much shaking and it might fall out. Nature is predictable and self-regulating within limits, but exceed these and anything might happen. Myth 3 people are hierarchists, and their concept of SD is interventionist. They include soldiers of all ranks, civil servants, and societies highly structured by caste, class or ruling party. They believe the dikes will hold; listen to the radio and evacuate their homes on command; and then fill out forms for flood compensation.

Nature capricious: The fatalist Myth 4 - nature capricious. The ball might roll anywhere. Nature is wholly unpredictable. Myth 4 people are fatalists, and see no point in managing the environment. They are the underclass, the lumpenproletariat, the Victorians' deserving poor, who know their place and don't expect to be consulted. They fear the worst, hope for the best, and believe in Catch 22. They expect a flood, hope it won't happen to them, and are resigned to getting wet or drowning.

[risk perception based on nature beliefs]

Word Watch risk culture n. people and cultures perceive and manage risk differently. Differences often based on our beliefs about nature

In Depth Adam, John. Risk. London, GB: University College London, 1995. 228p.

Holling, C.S. "Myths of ecological stability". In Studies in Crisis Management, G. Smart & W. Standbury (eds). Montreal: Butterworth, 1979.

Thompson et al. Cultural Theory. Boulder, Colorado: Westview, 1990.


Virtual Ideas		 Community risk perception in India