Perception of Social Stakeholders of Itajaí (SC) on Climate Variability and Floods

Abstract

The scientific community has reinforced the conviction that climate variability has intensified in recent decades as a result of human activities. The state of Santa Catarina, in recent decades, particularly in 2008 and 2011, was the scene of the largest floods ever recorded in its history. In this study, we sought to analyze the perception of different social stakeholders in Itajaí about climate variability and how this municipality has been adapting itself after flood events. This research study has a cross-sectional, quantitative and qualitative character, by administering a semi-structured questionnaire to social stakeholder representatives of twelve governmental institutions and twelve non-governmental institutions. A saturation technique was used to define the samples, as well as the Collective Subject Discourse method for data analysis. It was possible to state that respondents from both governmental institutions and non-governmental institutions consider that global climate variability is acting on the city of Itajaí, as they perceive changes in temperature, poorly-defined seasons, as well as more frequent flooding. The two groups acknowledge that the municipality has invested in infrastructure such as drainage, deepening and dredging of the river. However, non-governmental institutional stakeholders perceive a lack of commitment by the municipal government. The damage and property losses in Itajaí intensify the feelings of powerlessness, but contribute to making those affected by the floods more resilient individuals; however, they remain poorly socially organized, since collective acts are maintained only during extreme events. Educational programs or actions are extremely important, because they can minimize environmental problems, especially those associated with the silting of the river and soil sealing.