Cultural aspects of risk to environmental changes and hazards: a review of perspectives

The document examines the role of culture—defined as religious and traditional beliefs, values, social structures, and livelihood choices—within disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation. It identifies two primary arguments in existing literature: that risk is socially and culturally constructed, and that culture is the root of all behaviors. The text argues that while culture is a crucial determinant of risk, more evidence is needed to justify its integration into risk reduction paradigms, specifically regarding how culture influences the perception of hazards, the assignment of responsibility, and the prioritization of risks against daily needs.

• Culture is recognized as a potentially vital factor in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, encompassing traditional and religious beliefs, values, and the drivers of settlement patterns, social structures, and livelihood choices.
• Existing literature on the intersection of culture and risk primarily revolves around two recurring claims: that risk is a social and cultural construct and that culture serves as the foundation for all behaviors.
• The social construction of risk suggests that cultural factors determine how individuals or communities perceive and respond to disasters; specifically, risk is created when a hazard is handled in a non-resilient manner. Key cultural influences include the determination of risk severity relative to other priorities, which risks merit attention, and where responsibility for the hazard and response is located.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Cultural aspects of risk to environmental changes and hazards: a review of perspectives. https://www.sei.org/publications/cultural-aspects-of-risk-to-environmental-changes-and-hazards-a-review-of-perspectives/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Cultural aspects of risk to environmental changes and hazards: a review of perspectives. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/cultural-aspects-of-risk-to-environmental-changes-and-hazards-a-review-of-perspectives/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Cultural aspects of risk to environmental changes and hazards: a review of perspectives |date=12 May 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/cultural-aspects-of-risk-to-environmental-changes-and-hazards-a-review-of-perspectives/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015cultural, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Cultural aspects of risk to environmental changes and hazards: a review of perspectives}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/cultural-aspects-of-risk-to-environmental-changes-and-hazards-a-review-of-perspectives/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }