Eija Meriläinen, Jacquleen Joseph, Marjaana Jauhola, Punam Yadav, Eila Romo-Murphy, Juliette Marin and Shyam Gadhavi
The neoliberal resilience discourse and its critiques both contribute to its hegemony, obscuring alternative discourses in the context of risk and uncertainties. Drawing from the…
Abstract
Purpose
The neoliberal resilience discourse and its critiques both contribute to its hegemony, obscuring alternative discourses in the context of risk and uncertainties. Drawing from the “ontology of potentiality”, the authors suggest reclaiming “resilience” through situated accounts of the connected and relational every day from the global south. To explore alternate possibilities, the authors draw attention to the social ontology of disaster resilience that foregrounds relationality, intersectionality and situated knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Quilting together the field work experiences in India, Indonesia, Nepal, Chile and Andean territories, the authors interrogate the social ontologies and politics of resilience in disaster studies in these contexts through six vignettes. Quilting, as a research methodology, weaves together various individual fragments involving their specific materialities, situated knowledge, layered temporalities, affects and memories. The authors’ six vignettes discuss the use, politicisation and resistance to resilience in the aftermath of disasters.
Findings
While the pieces do not try to bring out a single “truth”, the authors argue that firstly, the vignettes provide non-Western conceptualisations of resilience, and attempts to provincialise externally imposed notions of resilience. Secondly, they draw attention to social ontology of resilience as the examples underscores the intersubjectivity of disaster experiences, the relational reaching out to communities and significant others.
Originality/value
Drawing from in-depth research conducted in six disaster contexts by seven scholars from South Asia, South America and Northern Europe, the authors embrace pluralist situated knowledge, and cross-cultural/language co-authoring. Thus, the co-authored piece contributes to diversifying disaster studies scholarship methodologically.
Details
Keywords
Chandra Lal Pandey and Anoj Basnet
Managing disasters using modern science and traditional knowledge systems in silos has several prospects and limitations. Despite the catalyst role of the traditional knowledge in…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing disasters using modern science and traditional knowledge systems in silos has several prospects and limitations. Despite the catalyst role of the traditional knowledge in reducing the risks of disasters and adapting to climate change, this knowledge has not featured prominently in any of the existing disaster policies and disaster science. The authors demonstrate how traditional knowledge and modern science can be integrated for holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative research method complemented by thorough literature review, this article captures traditional knowledge and practices of communities in the Narayani Basin for flood disaster risks reduction and management and shows ways to integrate traditional knowledge and modern science for holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.
Findings
The authors found that traditional knowledge system and practices have worked as an alternative to modern technoengineering approaches of disaster risk reduction and management and hold immense potential to contribute against disasters; therefore, this knowledge system of the communities not only needs to be recognized, conserved and documented but also is to be incorporated into efforts to formulate effective disaster management strategies and be amalgamated with the technoengineering practices for a holistic approach so that it can ensure disaster safety and security of the communities.
Research limitations/implications
The authors conducted this study collecting primary data from Narayani basin only; however, the authors believe that these practices and findings of the research may still be representative.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this research is that traditional knowledge system needs to be integrated with technobureaucratic knowledge of disaster management, enabling to develop a more robust and holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.
Social implications
This research documents being extinct traditional knowledge system and empowers communities by supporting them to integrate and use both traditional knowledge and modern technobureaucratic knowledge for building communities flood resilient.
Originality/value
This research is based on both primary and secondary data and original in case of its findings and conclusion, and no similar research contextualizing the role of traditional knowledge system in flood disaster management has been conducted in Narayani Basin of Nepal in the past.