“What is a Sociologist Doing Here?”An Unconventional People-Centered Approach to Improve Warning Implementation in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 recommends several actions for early warning systems(EWSs). However, there is a lack of information about their means of implementation. This article used institutional ethnography to analyze the 2012–2018 implementation of a national warning system in Brazil. The challenges related to daily activities, and the interdisciplinary works in the four axes of EWSs towards multi-hazard and people-centered approaches are discussed. This national experience is then discussed in the light of the global challenges of EWSs considering two main issues:(1) experiences of implementation and barriers related to people-centered warning systems;and(2)types of national/regional warning systems and hazards/threats that are being monitored as an important input for multi-hazard approaches. There are few multi-hazard warning systems in place and EWSs are focused on hydrometeorological hazards, mainly related to floods. The Sendai Framework needs to improve access to data and information, identify views from the frontline, consider political threats and vulnerabilities, and find ways to talk about disaster risk creation processes at a larger scale.

Participatory Early Warning Systems: Youth, Citizen Science,and Intergenerational Dialogues on Disaster Risk Reduction in Brazil

Building national people-centered early warning systems(EWS) is strongly recommended by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction(UNISDR). Most of the scientific literature is critical of the conventional view of EWS as a linear model with a topdown approach, in which technological features are given more attention than human factors. It is argued that EWS should be people-centered, and used for risk prevention,with an emphasis on resilience, rather than only being triggered when a hazard occurs. However, both the UNISDR and the literature fail to say how a people-centered EWS should be built, and what steps are needed to put EWS into effect. This article examines the obstacles and measures required to promote people-centered EWS,with a focus on the situation in Brazil. After assessing the institutional vulnerability of EWS, we analyze some measures that can be taken to reduce institutional vulnerability,based on experiences with a participatory citizen science educational project that involved high school students.Some guidelines are developed for adopting a bottom-up approach towards achieving the four elements of EWS—risk knowledge, monitoring, communication of warnings,and response capability—with the help of school curricula.