Natural Resource-Based Communities, Risk, and Disaster: An Intersection of Theories

ABSTRACT

Natural resource-based communities are often theoretically assumed to be vulnerable to the negative effects of environmental and social change. Such communities are also seen as being especially vulnerable to risks and disasters. Disaster research perspectives echo this in their emphasis on environmental and social vulnerability. Also, theories of risk largely fail to illuminate community level experiences. To address this gap, a community-based approach is advanced that incorporates vulnerability, risk perception, and the capacity for local action in a framework for understanding community response to risk. The intersection of an interactional theory of community and perspectives from risk and disaster research is explored in the context of natural resource-based communities.

Keywords:

• community interactional approach
• disaster
• natural resource-based communities
• risk

This research was supported by The Kenai Community Project, which was funded by USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station (Project # PNW 03-CA-11261975) and by the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station (Project # 3870). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, July 2003. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the anonymous reviewers and co-editor.

Notes

Wilkinson (1992) described an ethic of place as a shared community value that promotes respect for divergent opinions and is premised on recognition of subtle and intangible aspects of place.