Socio-environmental vulnerability and disaster risk reduction: the role of Espírito Santo State (Brazil)

Abstract

Rainfall is a natural event having significant impact in the state of Espírito Santo (Brazil), resulting in floods and mass movements, damaging communities in a historical situation of socio-environmental vulnerability. The State Civil Defense is mobilized towards risk mitigation through the State Civil Defense Department (CEDEC) and through the development of the State Protection and Civil Defense Plan, coordinating multiple social actors. This paper aims to analyze the acts and role of the State in response to extreme events, focusing on how vulnerability, risk and disaster in the urban environment are tackled by government policy. Furthermore, it aims to discuss the contemporaneous actions after Hyogo 2005-2015, focusing on the concept of resilient cities, given the relevance of prevention work and actions by local actors, governmental or not, in the process of risk and disaster reduction and of mitigating vulnerabilities, demonstrating the application of the global discussion in local situations.