Gabriela Marques Di Giulio

Experiências brasileiras e o debate sobre comunicação e governança do risco em áreas contaminadas por chumbo

This investigation focused on lead contamination case studies in Brazil. The situations studied involve communities living in Santo Amaro da Purificacao and Adrianopolis, in the north-east and south of Brazil, respectively. These communities have all had to live with environmental contamination and human exposure to lead as a consequence of industrial, mining and processing activities that were conducted by the same company for decades in a manner inconsistent with modern mining and industrial standards, with little control of environmental and human health impacts. The investigation sought to analyze the strategies of risk communication to local people, and to evaluate their engagement in risk management. The methodological approach included the analysis of newspaper articles, and interviews conducted with different stakeholders, such as residents, journalists, researchers and authorities. The results indicated the need to promote public involvement in the debate and in the decision-making process. The results also confirmed the hypothesis that associative models (represented by local neighborhood associations, for instance) are important for promoting and eliciting public participation in risk management.

O papel da mídia na construção social do risco: o caso Adrianópolis, no Vale do Ribeira

This article analyzes the influence of the media on the social construction of risk, from the different perceptions and attitudes of the residents of a community exposed to lead poisoning. The study used a combination of documental analysis and field research to build up an understanding of the role the media had taken in the social amplification of risk in this particular case and to observe how the responses to a situation of risk interacted with psychological, social, institutional and cultural processes. Aside from the direct influence of the media, this case study reveals the importance of other factors in molding the communitys risk perceptions, such as a mistrust of institutions and politicians, the relationship between risk and work activities and cultural and social values.

Contribuições das Ciências Humanas para o debate sobre mudanças ambientais: um olhar sobre São Paulo

This article aims to contribute to the recent debate of environmental and climate change at local level. Drawing on qualitative research in Sao Paulo city, we seek to comprehend how people understand and perceive (or not) environmental and climate change in their daily life, in particular whom are living in densely populated urban areas where climate issues may bring a set of hazards that would further exacerbate the urban problems and risks. In this analysis, we consider some specificities of Sao Paulo (including specificities of two neighborhoods which have been studied in depth), and make references to reflections and critical perspectives from Human Sciences. In this movement of responses to urban and climate issues, we seek to highlight the role of local communities, who are central to the societal and environmental changes to deal with the approaching crisis.

Methodological proposals for research on risk and adaptation: experiences in Brazil and Australia

In this article the authors introduce a debate about focus groups and scenarios planning with stakeholders and researchers as methodological tools for qualitative studies on risks aimed to investigate perceptions and needs, to debate proposals and solutions, as well as to promote the participation of the extended peer community in producing knowledge and dealing with risks associated to extreme events and environmental change. Considering this theoretical and methodological approach the paper focuses on two research projects undertaken in urbanizes coastal areas in Brazil (North Coast of Sao Paulo) and in Australia (Nort Cost of Queensland), between 2011 and 2013. The findings highlight that both methods achieved the proposed goals and improved the dialogue and articulation between scientists and stakeholders.In this article the authors introduce a debate about focus groups and scenarios planning with stakeholders and researchers as methodological tools for qualitative studies on risks aimed to investigate perceptions and needs, to debate proposals and solutions, as well as to promote the participation of the extended peer community in producing knowledge and dealing with risks associated to extreme events and environmental change. Considering this theoretical and methodological approach the paper focuses on two research projects undertaken in urbanizes coastal areas in Brazil (North Coast of Sao Paulo) and in Australia (Nort Cost of Queensland), between 2011 and 2013. The findings highlight that both methods achieved the proposed goals and improved the dialogue and articulation between scientists and stakeholders.

Communicating through vulnerability: knowledge politics, inclusion and responsiveness in responsible research and innovation

ABSTRACTResponsible research and innovation (RRI) has affirmed the value of ‘inclusion’ and ‘responsiveness’ as institutional virtues necessary to ensure that reflexivity towards the social priorities behind innovation processes is made possible. It is argued that this affirmation links RRI to knowledge politics in other domains (e.g. environmental justice and the politics of development). It is suggested that lessons regarding inclusion and responsiveness can be drawn from these domains, focusing on the ways in which marginalised perspectives on need and vulnerability, once articulated, can help reconstitute the public sphere in which social priorities are defined. Three case studies are used to explore how entanglements of needs, vulnerabilities, identity and agency are vital to understanding the impacts of innovation and change more generally. It is argued that social science methodologies sensitised to such entanglements are necessary to help constitute a space of inclusion and responsiveness characte...

Comunicação e governança do risco: A experiência brasileira em áreas contaminadas por chumbo

Considering the contemporary debate on themes involving risk situations in contaminated areas, some relevant concepts about risk communication and risk governance are discussed in this article. A critical analysis of two case studies on communities exposed to lead Brazil is presented: in Adrianopolis (Ribeira Valley, State of Parana) and Santo Amaro da Purificacao (State of Bahia).

Lead contamination, the media and risk communication: a case study from the Ribeira Valley, Brazil

Abstract This paper discusses the importance of risk communication in studies of public health issues, and analyses the roles of scientists and the media in communicating scientific data, and their influence on risk perception. The findings are based on a case study from Adrianópolis in the Ribeira Valley (Brazil), conducted between 2005 and 2006, where residents were exposed to lead contamination that originated from a smelter and a sulphide mine. This study had two goals: (1) to understand the impact of information regarding lead contamination on the daily lives of the local inhabitants; (2) to understand and analyse the consequences of an absence of a strategy for risk communication by the researchers involved in the study. Besides drawing attention to the need for studies concerning passive environmental issues, the Adrianópolis case study showed that there was a lack of adequate planning for dissemination of information to local inhabitants that seriously undermined the relationships between researchers, the community and the media, and this caused damage to the various stakeholders.

Percepção de risco: um campo de interesse para a interface ambiente, saúde e sustentabilidade

Neste artigo, os autores discutem o complexo campo da percepcao, em particular da percepcao de risco, a partir de um ensaio de natureza teorica e metodologica que busca destacar a sua relevância em pesquisas que dialogam com a interface ambiente, saude e sustentabilidade. Reconhecendo que fatores sociais e culturais influenciam direta e indiretamente as percepcoes que os individuos tem sobre diferentes riscos, os autores sinalizam que estudos nesse campo podem evidenciar os interesses, os valores e os pontos de conflitos existentes nas arenas e oferecer insights que ajudariam os tomadores de decisao a aperfeicoar processos decisorios com maior envolvimento da sociedade. Para alem da percepcao de risco, o artigo discute tambem exemplos de investigacoes conduzidas pelos autores com enfoque sobre percepcao ambiental. Buscando uma perspectiva critica para tratar o tema, reconhecem a necessidade de compreender nos processos ambientais e em contextos sociais a configuracao dos riscos socioambientais e suas percepcoes.

Medical Geology Studies in South America

“Earth and Health” or medical geology has been promoted worldwide as one of the fundamental themes of the International Year of Planet Earth (2007–2009). This was in response to relevant achievements noted in this new field of applied science from the time of the IGCP 454 project which led to foundation of the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) in 2004. In association with international movements, several academic, professional, and student groups in South America began to study medical geology which started with scientific meetings held in Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay in 2002 and 2003. In this chapter, an attempt is made to describe South American scientists’ relevant contributions to various subjects such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and selenium as well as fluorine and environmental problems affecting different parts of the continent. Some societal issues arising from medical geology studies are also highlighted from the point of view of the international risk communication and risk governance debate and the pioneering ethnographic descriptions of geophagy in the Andean and Amazonian countries. Finally, some ongoing medical geology projects in South America are identified as inspiring initiatives that may encourage future educational and research activities in this science field.

OLHAR NA ESFERA LOCAL: REFLETINDO SOBRE MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS E CIDADES

Mudanças ambientais e alterações climáticas ganham concretude na vida cotidiana dos cidadãos, com intensidade não observada anteriormente, trazendo do ponto de vista teórico e metodológico a necessidade de indagar-se sobre um conjunto de novos riscos e ameaças que podem agravar as situações adversas já existentes nos centros urbanos. O movimento de resposta a esse conjunto de riscos e ameaças parece passar por uma série de elementos que configuram os modos de vida no contemporâneo. Na esfera local, onde as populações são afetadas de forma direta e as ações de ajustamentos e adaptação precisam ser pensadas e implantadas com urgência (Serrao-Neumann et al., 2013; Kasperson et al., 2005; Ribeiro, 2010; Ferreira et al., 2012; Diling e Lemos, 2011; Lemos et al., 2012), esse movimento de resposta precisa lidar com questões-chave da governança urbana. É a partir dessa perspectiva, a de promover uma reflexão sobre as complexas relações estabelecidas entre cidades, problemas socioambientais e mudanças ambientais globais e os desafios colocados às agendas política e científica, que estrutura-se o livro “Mudanças climáticas e as cidades: novos e antigos debates na busca da sustentabilidade urbana e social” (São Paulo: Editora Blucher, 2013, 272p.). Resultado das discussões realizadas por pesquisadores de diversas áreas no âmbito da Sub-rede Cidades, da Rede Brasileira de Pesquisa sobre Mudanças Climáticas Globais (Rede Clima) e organizado pelo demógrafo Ricardo Ojima e pelo geógrafo Eduardo Marandola Jr., o livro busca avançar nas discussões sobre as dimensões humanas das mudanças ambientais globais, privilegiando o enfoque sobre as mudanças climáticas.