Stratégies d’adaptation et réduction de la vulnérabilité

Abstract

The reduction of flood vulnerability is often presented as an objective. However, the increase of buildings into flooded area highlights the ineffectiveness of global strategies of risk management and the trend often to neglect the changes in natural environments. Our societies are confronted with multiple challenges and tried to solve their problems in emergency with the social crises as legitimate priority. But, as demonstrated by the examples of Condrieu and Chalon-sur-Saône, mutations and social crises are often the time when the vulnerabilities are becoming apparent. The urban development of areas subject to flood risk was strongly conditioned by the response to socio-economic changes such as: (1) the rural depopulation, (2) the need to house the working classes, (3) the will to revitalize territories during socioeconomic crises (petroleum and chemical industry crises, agricultural crisis...). The causal relations between social crisis and « natural » crisis here comes from the separate management of social and environmental risks. Therefore, the strategies of adaptation in relation to environmental risks should be thought with the resolution of social crises, because of the risk of indefinitely repeating the cycle leading from social crises to environmental crises.

Keywords

• inondation
• vulnérabilité
• environnement
• société
• crise
• adaptation