Irasema Alcántara-Ayala

Geomorphology, natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of natural disasters in developing countries

The significance of the prevention of natural disasters is made evident by the commemoration of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). This paper focuses on the role of geomorphology in the prevention of natural disasters in developing countries, where their impact has devastating consequences. Concepts such as natural hazards, natural disasters and vulnerability have a broad range of definitions; however, the most significant elements are associated with the vulnerability concept. The latter is further explored and considered as a key factor in understanding the occurrence of natural disasters, and consequently, in developing and applying adequate strategies for prevention. Terms such as natural and human vulnerabilities are introduce and explained as target aspects to be taken into account in the reduction of vulnerability and for prevention and mitigation of natural disasters. The importance of the incorporation not only of geomorphological research, but also of geomorphologists in risk assessment and management programs in the poorest countries is emphasized.

Modelling mass failure in a Mediterranean mountain environment: climatic, geological, topographical and erosional controls

Extensive mass failures occur in the Alpujarras on the south flank of the Sierra Nevada of southeast Spain, especially in the Guadalfeo valley, even though rainfall is low, about 500 mm/year. There are four major controls on the occurrence of these landslides: structure, climate, topography and erosion. The tectonic control is through the structure and lithology of phyllites and mica-schists with strong lineations providing preferred seepage and failure planes. Climate controls the long-term, seasonal and short-term water-pressure heads. Topography controls the localised head-pressure gradients as a result of seepage and erosion controls the incidence of slope undercutting by fluvial action. The effects of these controls are tested using a hydrological budget model for percolation to ground water, a finite-element model for ground water flows and stability analysis for modelling the actual failures. The results suggest that in this mountainous terrain while climate may be very important for shallow failures, the erosional history and the consequent morphology are in general much more important except for the trimming induced by occasional very large run-off events.

Role of forest conservation in lessening land degradation in a temperate region: The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

With international concern about the rates of deforestation worldwide, particular attention has been paid to Latin America. Forest conservation programmes in Mexico include Payment for Environmental Services (PES), a scheme that has been successfully introduced in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. To seek further evidence of the role of PES in lessening land degradation processes in a temperate region, the conservation state of the Cerro Prieto ejido within the Reserve was assessed by an analysis of changes in vegetation cover and land-use between 1971 and 2013. There were no changes in the total forest surface area, but the relative proportions of the different classes of cover density had changed. In 1971, closed and semi-closed forest occupied 247.81 ha and 5.38 ha, 82.33% and 1.79% of the total area of the ejido, respectively. By 2013, closed forest had decreased to 230.38 ha (76.54% of the ejido), and semi-closed cover was 17.23 ha (5.72% of the ejido), suggesting that some semi-closed forest had achieved closed status. The final balance between forest losses and recovery was: 29.63 ha were lost, whereas 13.72 ha were recovered. Losses were mainly linked to a sanitation harvest programme to control the bark beetle Scolytus mundus. Ecotourism associated with forest conservation in the Cerro Prieto ejido has been considered by inhabitants as a focal alternative for economic development. Consequently, it is essential to develop a well-planned and solidly structured approach based on social cohesion to foster a community-led sustainable development at local level.

Natural Hazards and Risk Communication Strategies Among Indigenous Communities: Shedding Light on Accessibility in Mexico's Mountains

Abstract Attempts to improve risk communication strategies in order to prevent and mitigate disasters caused by natural hazards have been made worldwide. However, most such strategies target non-indigenous populations, while vulnerable communities located in remote mountain areas in the least developed countries lack information in their native language. Awareness of risks associated with flooding and rainfall-induced landslides increased as a result of the tragedy in autumn 1999 in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico, where loods and landslides devastated dozens of municipalities, claiming more than 200 lives. Consequently, a booklet and a radio message focusing on awareness and preparedness in the event of landslides were produced in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, as an accessibility tool to help prevent and mitigate disasters in indigenous communities. Findings from a preliminary acceptance evaluation undertaken in a local community are analyzed and discussed as an initial approach to developing a sound risk communication strategy based on local knowledge.

Landslide risk perception in Mexico: a research gate into public awareness and knowledge

The purpose of this paper is to analyze landslide risk public awareness and knowledge in Mexico based on people’s common understanding and perception of landsliding associated with previous events. The methodology involved the design and application of a risk perception questionnaire in the municipality of Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico, an area that has been historically affected by mass movement processes, particularly during a rainfall induced landslide disaster event in October 1999. Sampling framework comprised two boroughs; Downtown Teziutlán (DTT, N = 65), and San Andrés neighborhood (SAN, N = 72). The former has no evidence of landslide risk, whereas the latter has been affected by landsliding. The questionnaire included the following items: (1) experience, (2) landslide risk awareness, (3) exposure, (4) preparedness, (5) responsibility, (6) response, and (7) trust. Results suggested that all the inhabitants of the sample are aware of risk of landsliding and consider the dwellings situated in the city center as the safest. The latter is consistent with a landslide susceptibility map on which hillslope material properties are reflected and lithological units of highest resistance are located beneath the city center. The need of undertaking different initiatives to achieve disaster risk reduction at community level was clearly expressed by the respondents in terms of ranking all the actions listed in the questionnaire as of high and moderate priority to improve the security of the residents. Highest accountability for actions in case of a landslide disaster was attached to the Mexican Army, as it is in charge of disaster response nationwide. Responses provided by the municipal government, health institutions and the Red Cross in DTT and by the state and municipal government along with civil protection in SAN were perceived as bad or just sufficient. High level of people’s confidence to get information on landslide disaster preparedness and response from the Red Cross and scientists was also perceived in the two communities. From the outcome of the present investigation, it is possible to conclude and reinforce the argument that a better understanding on how landsliding is perceived is one of the most significant issues for enhancing landslide disaster risk awareness and knowledge and to guarantee the advance of resilient communities at individual and collective scales.

Flowing Mountains in Mexico: Incorporating Local Knowledge and Initiatives to Confront Disaster and Promote Prevention

Disasters associated with mountain hazards have had considerable impact throughout the world, especially in least favored regions such as Asia and Latin America???as illustrated by the case of Puebla Province in the Sierra Norte, Mexico, devastated by an extreme precipitation event in October 1999. The effect of disasters on mountain areas depends on the spatial and temporal distribution of hazards, as well as the degree of vulnerability faced by the population. Given the nature of the planet, it is rather difficult to control hazards in terms of actual processes. The key to reducing disasters and their impacts is thus to focus on decreasing vulnerability and promoting prevention. The latter can be achieved to some extent by incorporating local knowledge and initiatives into the framework of public policy and decision-making.Abstract Disasters associated with mountain hazards have had considerable impact throughout the world, especially in least favored regions such as Asia and Latin America—as illustrated by the case of Puebla Province in the Sierra Norte, Mexico, devastated by an extreme precipitation event in October 1999. The effect of disasters on mountain areas depends on the spatial and temporal distribution of hazards, as well as the degree of vulnerability faced by the population. Given the nature of the planet, it is rather difficult to control hazards in terms of actual processes. The key to reducing disasters and their impacts is thus to focus on decreasing vulnerability and promoting prevention. The latter can be achieved to some extent by incorporating local knowledge and initiatives into the framework of public policy and decision-making.

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

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 México, 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 Teziutlán, 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.

Landslide risk perception and communication for disaster risk management in mountain areas of developing countries: a Mexican foretaste

The increasing impact of disasters at local, national, regional and global scales in recent decades has provided enough evidence to urgently direct attention towards the necessity of disaster risk reduction and management, and this requires knowledge. Knowledge without communication is barren, and to communicate the risk of disaster it is necessary to understand the perception of the people at risk. In particular, this paper deals with the necessity to delineate strategies of risk communication in pursuance of risk knowledge as a core of disaster risk reduction and management, especially in mountain areas of developing countries. To portray this issue, an analysis of landslide risk perception in terms of experience, landslide risk awareness, exposure, preparedness, and risk communication and trust was undertaken in the municipality of Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico, an area that has been affected for several decades by episodes of mass movement. Analysis of the responses to a risk perception questionnaire has offered valuable insights in terms of the information and knowledge most required by the people living in the area of interest, in order to devise a realistic and functional strategy to communicate the risk of a landslide disaster. This includes better understanding of controlling factors and drivers of this risk, and the establishment of potential trusted sources of risk communication. Beyond considering practical matters of risk assessment and management, risk perception and communication can increase the resilience of vulnerable people, and can enhance capacity building for present and future generations.

Disasters in Mexico and Central America: A Little Bit More than a Century of Natural Hazards

Notwithstanding the wide variety of definitions of the term disaster (Westgate and O’Keefe, 1976), it is evident that in areas such as Mexico and Central America (M&CA), high levels of risk are controlled by the combination of hazards and vulnerability. Clearly, the character of the landscape plays a major role in the occurrence of natural hazards, given that mountain terrains occupy large extensions of land subjected to tectonic and volcanic activity, and surface processes take place driven by tropical climate. Furthermore, the social, economic, political, and cultural conditions of populations determine their vulnerability to those hazards. Different analyses concerning the impact of disasters associated with natural hazards suggest that the number of fatalities is greater in developing countries. At the global scale, consequences also point toward a trend in which the number of disasters has increased, whereas the number of fatalities is decreasing, but the number of affected people and economic losses are increasing to a major extent. Latin America, and especially Central America and Mexico, are not the exception. Therefore, in order to have a better understanding of the impact of disasters in this region, this chapter seeks to provide general insights into the spatial and temporal dimensions of disaster occurrence in M&CA in the course of about a century. Data analysis indicates that during the period between 1902 and 2007, 465 disasters associated with natural hazards occurred in the region of interest. Droughts, earthquakes, floods, mass-movement processes, storms, and volcanic eruptions that took place in highly vulnerable communities caused more than 160,000 fatalities and involved a total affected population of about 32 million. Estimated damages amounted to US

Population Landslide Vulnerability Evaluation: The Case of the Indigenous Population of Pahuatlán-Puebla, Mexico

43,109,000,000.