After the fire? Practices and perceptions of wildfire risk education in Portugal
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Corresponding Author:
Ana Sofia Ribeiro
Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon Portugal
sofiaribeiro.sofia@gmail.com
Author(s):
Disaster resilience is an increasingly explored topic in environmental and risk reduction education. Particularly, in the central interior areas of Portugal, there is a need to strengthen preparedness and adaptation for coexistence with extreme weather events, particularly those connected with wildfire disasters. Rural contexts are particularly challenged by the lack of work and study opportunities, ageing and mobility difficulties. Children and young people living in rural territories are exceptionally vulnerable to forest fires, being the first generation to have to adapt to climate change in territories where they live in isolation and in greater direct contact with nature. Hence the importance of disaster risk education and its inclusion in local prevention plans, according to the Sendai Framework, which considers that children can be agents of change within their communities.
In the Portuguese context, risk education is included in a cross-curricular area of Education for Citizenship in formal school curricula and is also addressed in some municipalities through civil protection initiatives and local associations. The National Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2021-2024) recognises the right of children to have access to information and participation in matters of their interest, including through preventive civil protection measures. However, with regard to the design of existing awareness programmes, children's participation is non-existent, given the limited understanding of the role children can play in reducing risk in their communities (Delicado et al. 2017).
Based on a case study of a Portuguese municipality affected by the mega forest fires of 15-16 October 2017, this contribution seeks to analyse young people's perceptions and their practices regarding risk and emergency education. Following an ethnographic approach, 20 interviews were conducted with children and young people between 10 and 25 years old, as well as interviews with local trainers belonging to a humanitarian emergency association. Drawing on the capabilities approach (Nussbaum 2011Íž Robeyns 2020) the importance of children and young people's disaster experiences for the design of local risk prevention strategies is highlighted.
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