The good, the bad and the ugly: on the interactions among experience, exposure and commitment with reference to landslide risk perception in México

Abstract

Risk perception plays a significant role not only in terms of behaviour, but as a basic element for enhancing awareness and preparedness and achieving disaster risk management. Disasters are produced by the combination of hazards and the different dimensions of vulnerability. Recognizing the social and cognitive construction of risk turns out to be a requirement for the identification and implementation of adequate strategies for risk awareness and preparedness and hence for reducing vulnerability of communities exposed to hazards. As risk perception has not been yet taken into account as a baseline for delineating strategies for disaster prevention in Mexico, in this paper, attention is paid to the relationships among the different realms of landslide risk perception—as a function of hazard exposure, experiences and commitment to disaster risk reduction—so that outcomes can be incorporated into future risk management agendas. This approach was applied in Teziutlan, Puebla, a municipality historically affected by mass movement processes. The findings of this research provide significant evidence to argue that previous experience and exposure to risk affect the perception of people and also influence the patterns associated with preventive and coping actions. Identifying specific characteristics of population segments within the context of risk perception is useful for tailoring public policies, mitigation strategies and integrated disaster risk reduction efforts.