Community participation and citizen strategies for Disaster Risk Management. Local experiences for sustainability in Pandora Oeste, El Valle La Estrella, Limon, Costa Rica

Abstract

The article analyzes the connections between community participation and citizen competencies in the development of actions for sustainability and the design of local projects for Disaster Risk Management. The study approaches vulnerable territories such as Pandora Oeste de El Valle La Estrella in the province of Limón, Costa Rica. The paper is organized in three sections. The first section analyzes the concepts of territory, risk, and sustainability. The second offers insights into the role of environmental education in strengthening citizen competencies for organizing and managing community disaster risk. The third investigates the function of (historical) knowledge for planning and the development of future strategies in local in local projects for prevention, mitigation, and disaster response. Methodologically, the investigation used bibliographic analysis with sources coming from libraries as the Centro Regional de Información sobre Desastres para América Latina y el Caribe and the Red Latinoamericana de Centros de Información en Gestión de Desastres. Some findings show that applied knowledge becomes a necessary tool in order to search for strategies and action plans for territorial self-management and environmental governance.

Keywords

• competencias ciudadanas
• ciudadanía ambiental
• participación comunitaria
• gestión prospectiva del riesgo de desastres
• sustentabilidad