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Beyond the University Walls: Risk and disaster management and the role of universities in Brazil

According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (CRED / UNISDR, 2015), between 1995 and 2015 more than 51 million people were affected and harmed by natural disasters in Brazil. In the same period, more than 1,800,000 homes were damaged and 180,000 destroyed, in addition to losses caused in agriculture, livestock, industry and services, which exceed R$ 182.8 billion (UFSC, 2016). In 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, the Integrated Disaster Information System accounted 23,037 municipalities in Emergency Situations and 173 in States of Public Calamity, in addition to situations not identified by the National Secretariat for Civil Defense and Protection.

The presence of these events in cities shows the strong relationship between human activities in the territory - including changes in their natural characteristics of climate and vegetation - and how they can potentiate the occurrences of disasters, through an intense process of urbanization and disorderly occupation, combined with inefficient planning and prevention actions by the State. In addition, the vulnerability to these events also involves power relations and social and economic issues present in the territory, exposing certain areas and populations to greater chances of risks and selectively affecting certain sectors of society.

The characteristics of disaster events in Brazil and their risk and response management are peculiar to the country's federative structure. Many times materializing in a small and local territorial extension, the necessity to mitigate the results of disasters finds the most fragile and technically unprepared entities for their management: the municipalities. In cases of extreme events, the numerous responsibilities related to the aid and assistance to those affected and the restoration of public infrastructure conflict with municipal state capacities (IBGE, 2013), also highlighting the few existing cases of regional integration of joint actions in these cases. It is estimated that 48% of Brazilian municipalities do not have any planning instrument that includes the prevention, reduction and management of risks and disasters. (IBGE, 2014).

The network of actors involved in risk management actions became more complex after an international movement towards a paradigm shift in the area of ​​disasters since the 2000s, changing the exclusive focus on response and migrating to the construction of a culture of prevention and resilience. Between 1980 and 2009, it is estimated that 90 billion dollars have been spent on disaster assistance worldwide, but only 3.6% of this amount being invested in prevention and preparedness initiatives (UNISRD, 2015). In 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR / UN) is founded on the principle that an extreme event cannot be prevented from happening, but efforts can be made to prevent it from becoming a disaster and mitigate its impact.

In 2002, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the so-called United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, structuring a network of responsibilities involving governments and other sectors of society aimed at promoting a sustainable life. In 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction listed as a priority the promotion of dialogue and cooperation between the scientific community, public managers and stakeholders for the development of research in the area and the incorporation of these contributions in local and regional decision making. In addition, they indicated the inclusion of knowledge for disaster risk reduction in the school curriculum and encouraged practical learning and training activities.

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction reinforced the importance of the interface between science and public policies, reiterating the role of the scientific community and research entities for the study of risk factors and disasters and their local, regional and national application (UNISDR, 2015).

The paradigm shift from a response culture to a prevention culture opened up the possibility of a more active role for teaching and research institutions in the subsystem, the ‘epistemic communities’, becoming a strategic partner capable of supporting government decisions in structuring its policies to reduce risks to disasters, to guarantee public managers a closer look at their reality, to carry out projects that require capacity and technical knowledge, and to develop and disseminate knowledge on the subject to society, contributing to a prevention culture.

In the same context of legal advances and the maturation of the new, specialized groups for its study were instituted in Brazilian public universities, as in the year 2000 with the creation of the Center for Studies and Research in Engineering and Civil Defense of Federal University of Santa Catarina (CEPED UFSC); in 2009 with the creation of the University Center for Studies and Research on Disasters of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (CEPED / RS); in 2013 with the creation of the University Center for Studies and Research on Disasters, linked to the State University of Paraná (Unespar) (CEPED / PR); and the Center for Studies and Research on Disasters in São Paulo, linked to the University of São Paulo (USP), among others.

The complexity and multi-causality of problems in contemporary societies indicate the necessity for inclusive participation by different actors in their dynamics. We live in a risky society, where cooperation and joint work are decisive for solving problems. The reflections contained in this work serve to indicate new horizons and possibilities on the role of the Brazilian scientific community in the construction of public policies. Public universities, as state and federal autarchies, have a strategic potential still little explored, with the capacity to build technical knowledge that assist managers in their decisions, bring innovations to processes and new perspectives, not only in articulation with the public sector, but with other partner educational institutions, civil society organizations, the community and the media. The public resources invested in its maintenance need to be rewarded by the transfer of this knowledge beyond the walls of the university, in order to improve the quality of life of the population.

The expansion of this role in risk and disaster management in Brazil involves the creation of more efficient mechanisms under current legislation that encourage the creation of Centers for Disaster Studies (CEPED) in different regions of the country linked to state and federal universities, taking into account local peculiarities and their main challenges. These groups could support the municipalities in the construction of methodologies, instruments aimed at mapping their areas of risk, letters of susceptibility and training for members of the civil defense and other bodies involved. The dialogue with the community needs to take place in order to prepare them and make them aware of risks, stimulating more resilient territories and community participation in warning systems. The study on disasters also needs to be included in courses in the field of public, urban planning, environmental management, in addition to the dissemination of specialization in public safety, exploring the intersectoral interfaces and the various meanings that the topic of disaster and accident prevention is being debated inside and outside epistemic communities and broader subsystems.

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References

CRED/UNISDR - Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015). The Human Cost of Weather Related Disaster, 1995-2015. Genebra. Disponível em: <http://www.unisdr.org/files/46796_cop21weatherdisastersreport2015.pdf>

UFSC – Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2016). Relatório de Danos Materiais e Prejuízos Decorrentes de Desastres Naturais no Brasil: 1995 - 2014. Centro Universitário de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre Desastres; Banco Mundial [Organização Rafael Shadeck] - CEPED UFSC. Florianópolis. Disponível em: <http://www.ceped.ufsc.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/111703-WP-CEPEDRelatoriosdeDanoslayout-PUBLIC-PORTUGUESE-ABSTRACT-SENT.pdf>

IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2013). Pesquisa de Informações Básicas Municipais (Munic). Rio de Janeiro.

IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2014). Pesquisa de Informações Básicas Municipais (Munic). Rio de Janeiro.

UNISDR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015). Sendai Framework for Disaster Risck Reduction 2015 – 2030. Disponível em <http://www.preventionweb.net/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf>. Acesso em: 21 de novembro de 2017.