Participatory approaches for disaster risk governance? Exploring participatory mechanisms and mapping to close the communication gap between population living in flood risk areas and authorities in Nova Friburgo Municipality, RJ, Brazil

Participatory approaches evaluating and changing risk appraisal and management are crucial aspects determining disaster risk governance. Due to the wide gap in governance structures in Brazil, the complexity of the institutional arrangements in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and the dynamics of the local and municipal context, more complete information on the existing participatory processes of local authorities and improvement possibilities is required. This study evaluated the influence of participatory mapping and other participatory approaches in the governance of institutions working in flood disaster risk reduction in one of the most affected areas during the 2011 flood and landslide disaster; the Nova Friburgo Municipality in Rio de Janeiro State. Semistructured expert interviews in institutions related to disaster risk reduction revealed 12 institutions in the state implementing 36 participatory approaches or schemes at different levels (in term of authority and power, communication and decision mode, and participants). As a geographical approach encouraging participation, a method for participatory mapping was implemented, and the outcomes gathered were compared to one state and one municipal government participatory process outcome in the same region. Through the implemented participatory mapping, perceived risk areas, evacuation routes, and suggested shelters were identified and compared to official risk maps and information. The comparison between regional (mostly state) and local (mostly municipal) institutions showed the advantages of local institutions in the inclusion of the local population and better levels of communication. On the other hand, authority and power in policies and regional decisions was very low. This was confirmed in the specific case of the outcomes of the participatory flood risk maps; while spatial differences between the three compared maps were small, details on the evacuation points and routes adds value to maps co-created by the local population. The paper shows that the use of participatory mapping not only promotes participation, eases communication and social learning processes among stakeholders, but most importantly, it may create reliable, quantitative, and easy-to-use material useful for comparison and collaborative decision making. This understanding is crucial to identify and implement methods for participatory approaches at all levels that actually promote decision mode and helps institutions to improve work on disaster risk reduction.