School and Student Disaster Vulnerability Index in the Context of Climate Change and early warning

• Grant number: 23/15717-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: CNPq - INCTs
• Principal Investigator: Jose Antonio Marengo Orsini
• Grantee: Viviana Aguilar-Muñoz
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Nacionais (CEMADEN). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Cachoeira Paulista , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50848-9 - INCT 2014: INCT for Climate Change, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

The education sector is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and associated climate-related disasters, such as floods, flash floods, storms, and landslides. However, the specific needs of children worldwide in the face of such disasters are often overlooked, even though citizens under the age of 18 incorporate a significant portion of the victims. Consequently, international organizations have identified this topic as a top priority in their strategies, as highlighted in international agreements and agendas aimed to mitigate socio-environmental disasters, as well as in the context of sustainable development goals.Therefore, the field of Education for Disaster Risk Reduction (ERRD) has gained prominence as an emerging and urgent topic. Within the scope of ERRD, tools such as vulnerability and exposure indices serve as valuable instruments for designing mitigation (preventive) and adaptation (compensatory) measures. These measures are essential to minimize the adverse impacts of the climate emergency on educational institutions and the well-being of students.In the scope of the proposed research, we aim to establish a comprehensive vulnerability index adapted to high schools and their students. The main objective is to provide valuable information about demographic and geographical characteristics of school populations in Brazil, particularly with regard to exposure to geological and hydrological risks. The aim of the index is to expand the scope of relevant information included in early warning of disasters provides by the National Early Warning and Monitoring Centre of Natural Disasters - CEMADEN at the national level.The development of the vulnerability index falls within the scope of citizen science, aiming to reach a broader audience with the overarching goal of building capabilities to mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters across the country. Consequently, the index proposed will also serve as a valuable resource for local-level initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the climate emergency within school communities.The construction of the index will include a multidimensional approach, in line with the global vulnerability framework proposed by Wilches-Chaux (1993). This approach encompasses eleven key dimensions of vulnerability, incorporating natural, physical, economic, social, political, technical, ideological, cultural, educational, ecological, and institutional aspects. (AU)