La incuestionabilidad del riesgo

Con anterioridad a la década de 1980, la literatura especializada en análisis y gestión del riesgo estaba dominada por la llamada visión tecnocrática o dominante. Esta visión establecía que los desastres naturales eran sucesos físicos extremos, producidos por una naturaleza caprichosa, externos a lo social y que requerían soluciones tecnológicas y de gestión por parte de expertos. Este artículo se centra en desarrollar una nueva explicación para entender la persistencia hegemónica de la visión tecnocrática basada en el concepto de incuestionabilidad del riesgo. Esta propuesta conceptual hace referencia a la incapacidad y desidia de los expertos, científicos y tomadores de decisiones en general (claimmakers) de identificar y actuar sobre las causas profundas de la producción del riesgo ya que ello conllevaría a cuestionar los imperativos normativos, las necesidades de las elites y los estilos de vida del actual sistema socioeconómico globalizado.Before de 1980s, the natural hazard analysis and management specialized literature was dominated by the so called "dominant" or "technocratic" view. Such perspective had established that natural disasters are extreme physical events caused by a whimsical nature and that these events are external to society. These events required technological and management solutions developed by experts. The current article aims at addressing a new explanatory component in the hegemonic persistence of the technocratic view. Such assumption was based on the "unquestionability of the risk" concept. It is stated that the "unquestionability of the risk" is the overall incapacity and neglect of experts, scientists and decision makers to identify and act over the deep causes of risk production, since it would make them question the normative imperatives and the demands from the elite as well as the life style in nowadays globalized socio-economic system

Eco-politics beyond the paradigm of sustainability: A conceptual framework and research agenda

This contribution sketches a conceptual framework for the analysis of the post-ecologist era and outlines a research agenda for investigating its politics of unsustainability. The article suggests that this new era and its particular mode of eco-politics necessitate a new environmental sociology. Following a review of some achievements and limitations of the paradigm of sustainability, the concept of post-ecologism is related to existing discourses of the ‘end of nature’, the ‘green backlash’ and the ‘death of environmentalism’. The shifting terrain of eco-politics in the late-modern condition is mapped and an eco-sociological research programme outlined centring on the post-ecologist question: How do advanced modern capitalist consumer democracies try and manage to sustain what is known to be unsustainable

Mind the Costs: Rescaling and Multi-Level Environmental Governance in Venice Lagoon

Competences over environmental matters are distributed across agencies at different scales on a national-to-local continuum. This article adopts a transaction costs economics perspective in order to explore the question whether, in the light of a particular problem, the scale at which a certain competence is attributed can be reconsidered. Specifically, it tests whether a presumption of least-cost operation concerning an agency at a given scale can hold. By doing so, it investigates whether the rescaling of certain tasks, aiming at solving a scale-related problem, is likely to produce an increase in costs for day-to-day agency operations as compared to the status quo. The article explores such a perspective for the case of Venice Lagoon. The negative aspects of the present arrangement concerning fishery management and morphological remediation are directly linked to the scale of the agencies involved. The analysis suggests that scales have been chosen correctly, at least from the point of view of the costs incurred to the agencies involved. Consequently, a rescaling of those agencies does not represent a viable option

Desastres naturais: convivência com o risco

Estudos sobre riscos de desastres naturais têm-se aprimorado de uma abordagem fisicalista para uma perspectiva socioambiental. No entanto, planejamento e gestão ainda seguem o paradigma antropocêntrico da superioridade humana e do poder ilimitado da ciência e tecnologia. Evidencia-se uma incapacidade cognitiva, cultural e de ação por parte de especialistas, científicos e tomadores de decisão (claimmakers) para identificar e atuar sobre as causas sociais da produção de risco. Frente a uma ciência cartesiana e positivista na resolução de problemas, baseada na segurança e controle sobre o mundo natural, propõe-se uma ciência pós-normal que considera os riscos e incertezas do conhecimento científico e das problemáticas ambientais. Essa nova proposta também incide sobre a participação e o diálogo entre stakeholders como referência para ampliar a qualidade do saber científico e o entendimento da complexidade das questões ambientais. Este artigo discute a necessidade de se promover um salto epistemológico sobre a forma de pensar e produzir conhecimentos, bem como implementar a gestão dos riscos de desastres, tendo como objeto de estudo processos de comunicação e educação para prevenção de desastres.Studies on the risks of natural disasters have improved from a physicalist approach to a social and environmental perspective. However, planning and management still follow the anthropocentric paradigm of human superiority and the unlimited power of science and technology, evincing a cognitive, cultural and action inability on the part of experts, scientists and decision makers (or, rather, claim makers) to identify and act upon the social causes of risk production. In view of the Cartesian and Positivist science used to solve problems, based on security and on control over the natural world, a post-normal science has been proposed that considers the risks and uncertainties of scientific knowledge and environmental issues. This new approach encompasses participation and dialogue among stakeholders as a means to increase the quality of scientific knowledge and acknowledge the complexity of environmental issues. This article discusses the need for an epistemological leap on how we think and produce knowledge, as well as for implementing the management of disaster risk. Its objects of study are communication processes and education for disaster prevention

Environmentalism in the EU-28 context: the impact of governance quality on environmental energy efficiency

Environmental policies are a significant cornerstone of a developed economy, but the question that arises is whether such policies lead to a sustainable growth path. It is clear that the energy sector plays a pivotal role in environmental policies, and although the current literature has focused on examining the link between energy consumption and economic growth through an abundance of studies, it does not explicitly consider the role of institutional or governance quality variables in the process. Both globalization and democracy are important drivers of sustainability, while environmentalism is essential for the objective of gaining a “better world.” Governance quality is expected to be the key, not only for economic purposes but also for the efficiency of environmental policies. To that end, the analysis in this paper explores the link between governance quality and energy efficiency for the EU-28 countries, spanning the period 1995 to 2014. The findings document that there is a nexus between energy efficiency and income they move together: the most efficient countries are in the group with higher GDP per capita. Furthermore, the results show that governance quality is an important driver of energy efficiency and, hence, of environmental policies.University of Granad

Bestandsentwicklung und Brutbiologie einer Kiebitzkolonie (Vanellus vanellus) während der Extensivierung ihres Brutgebietes

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden brutökologische Untersuchungen an einer Kiebitzkolonie in den Rieselfeldern Münster (Westfalen) im Zuge der Nutzungsextensivierung ihres Brutgebietes vorgenommen. Das südöstlich an das Europareservat Rieselfelder Münster angrenzende Untersuchungsgebiet umfasst 154 ha und wurde bis 1996 einschließlich ackerbaulich genutzt. Zwischen 1997 und 1999 wurde der Bereich schrittweise aus der intensiven Bewirtschaftung gelöst und in Brachland, extensiv genutztes Weideland und Flachwasserbereiche umgestaltet. Seit 1997 nahmen Vegetationsdichte und -höhe kontinuierlich zu. Im Winter 1999/2000 wurde das Gebiet zu einem großen Teil überstaut. Zur Beurteilung der Auswirkungen der Umstrukturierungsmaßnahmen auf die offensichtlich bereits abnehmende Kiebitzkolonie sollten ihre Bestandsentwicklung und die Schlupf- und Bruterfolge im Zuge der Extensivierung des Brutgebietes sowie mögliche Ursachen für die beobachteten Ergebnisse aufgezeigt werden. Ferner galt es, die Bedeutung zur Brutzeit auftretender Störreize für die Gelegeschicksale sowie mögliche Ursachen für ein unausgewogenes Geschlechterverhältnis der Alttiere zur Brutzeit zu untersuchen. This study deals with the breeding ecology of an obviously declining population of Lapwings Vanellus vanellus during the agricultural extensification of their breeding site. It was carried out in a 154 ha area belonging to the sewage farm of Muenster (Westphalia) and located adjacent to the southeast border of the European Nature Reserve Rieselfelder Muenster. Up to 1996 this area was ploughed land. From 1997 to 1999 the land use was extensified step by step and the area now consists of fallow land, extensively grazed meadowland and areas of shallow water. Since 1997 the vegetation density and height have continuously increased. In winter 1999/2000 a large part of the area was flooded. Population development and hatching- and fledging success were studied during the extensification to assess its significance for the Lapwing population. Possible reasons for the population development and breeding success data were examined. Furthermore, a possible impact of disturbances occurring during breeding on the fate of the clutches and possible reasons for an unbalanced sex ratio during the breeding season were examined