APLICACIÓN DEL MAPEO PARTICIPATIVO DE RIESGOS EN UN ESTUDIO DE PERCEPCIÓN SOCIAL DE RIESGOS ECOLÓGICOS

Abstract

A research was developed to characterize the social perception of threats that could affect a particular aquatic environment – a coastal lagoon – by applying a version of the method called participatory risk mapping, simpler than the traditionally used psychometric paradigm method. It consists of interviews in which the interrogated comments on the main environmental problems or threats that he perceives and rank them according to three criteria: severity, urgency and control. For each identified threat category, the incidence rate – the fraction of respondents who cited the problem category – and the indices of severity, urgency and control were obtained. With these indices, graphic maps of threat perception are elaborated according to each criterion. The method was applied to a group of fishermen who make use of the lagoon, who perceive five (5) environmental problems: rivers diversion, rivers obstruction and the temporary closure of lagoon connection with the sea (cases of altered hydrodynamics), the excessive growth of the mangrove and overfishing of juvenile fish; the latter two are perceived as the easiest to control. The benefits of the method are demonstrated.