The calamity of eruptions, or an eruption of benefits? Mt. Bromo human-volcano system a case study of an open risk perception
Preprint
- 27 August 2014
- preprint
- Published by Copernicus GmbH in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
- Vol. 15 (2), 277-290
- https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-2-5465-2014
Abstract
In this paper we investigate the question not of how, but why people actively choose to live with continued exposure to considerable hazard. A field survey of the human–volcano interaction at Bromo Volcano was based on semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed according to recurrent themes in the answers. Findings from field investigation were then confronted with previous existing concepts of human exposure to natural hazards. The result shows that the interaction between humans and the volcanic environment at Bromo volcano is multifaceted and complex. The Tengger people choose – rather than being forced – to live with volcanic hazards. They are not only exposed to its negative consequence, but also enjoy benefits and opportunities of physical, spiritual and socio-cultural nature that arise within the human–volcanic system. Following this perspective, the concept of risk itself must be revisited and expanded from a one-sided focus on hazardous processes to a more holistic view of risk that includes the various positive aspects that pertain to the entire system. The development of a generic human–volcanic system model could provide the basis for the development of an open-risk concept.Other Versions
- Published version: Version Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 15, preprints
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- The 2007 eruption of Kelut volcano (East Java, Indonesia): Phenomenology, crisis management and social responseGeomorphology, 2012
- Doing social volcanology: exploring volcanic culture in IndonesiaArea, 2010
- Welcoming a monster to the world: Myths, oral tradition, and modern societal response to volcanic disastersJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2008
- Volcanoes and human historyJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2008
- Mountain of sustenance, mountain of destruction: The prehispanic experience with Popocatépetl VolcanoJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2008
- The perception of volcanic risk in Kona communities from Mauna Loa and Hualālai volcanoes, Hawai‵iJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2004
- Hazard estimation of the possible pyroclastic flow disasters using numerical simulation related to the 1994 activity at Merapi VolcanoJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2000
- ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON HAZARDS AND DISASTERSAnnual Review of Anthropology, 1996
- Some aspects of the volcanology and geochemistry of the Tengger Caldera, Java, Indonesia: eruption of a K-rich tholeiitic seriesJournal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, 1995
- Mount Etna Volcano: Environmental Impact and Problems of Volcanic PredictionThe Geographical Journal, 1981