Dr. Elisabeth Maidl

The analysis of risk awareness should be the initial stage in integrated natural hazard risk management to promote appropriate and effective measures for mitigating risks and strengthening social resilience inside the multi-risk framework. Nevertheless, earlier studies focused on cross-sectional data and overlooked the changes in risk awareness levels and associated independent variables with time. This study analyzes for the first time a balanced nationwide panel dataset of 1612 respondent-year observations from Switzerland (period 2015–2021, including the epidemic of COVID-19) to examine and compare the effects of potential independent variables on the four dimensions of natural hazard risk awareness (NHRA), ranging from the broadest dimension of Relevance to higher dimensions of Perceived Probability of an event, Perceived Threat to life and valuables, and Perceived Situational Threat. The analysis in this study incorporates multiple methods of Random-Effect Model (RE), Generalized Linear Model (GLM), and mediation analysis. Results show that NHRA increased in Switzerland to different extents (up to 23.24%) depending on the dimension. Event memory, perceived information impact and reported individual informed level appeared to be the most consistent independent variables positively influencing panel NHRA. Among these, perceived information impact as an important indicator of risk communication, was also found to serve as a mediator from risk preparedness to risk awareness. By encouraging residents to engage in “Begin Doing Before Thinking” (BDBT) programs to leverage subliminal effects and self-reflection, this study proposes that behavior-cognition feedback loops may facilitate a virtuous cycle. Our promising observations provide recommendations for an effective awareness-rising strategy design and suggest extensive insights from potential short-interval panel analysis in the future.

In most studies, forest attractiveness is determined by visual aspects. However, forest perception is not only influenced by visitors' visual impressions - all sensory dimensions play a role. In order to capture other sensory perceptions, we conducted seven go-along interviews, during which forest visitors were accompanied by an interviewer on their normal route through the forest and prompted to comment on what they saw, smelled, heard and felt. In addition, a pilot survey provided some initial insights on the influence of sounds on visitors' perceived visual attractiveness of forest plots. The pilot study was part of a larger quantitative forest visitor survey across the whole of Switzerland aiming to link forest visitor data to forest characteristics according to the Swiss National Forest Inventory NFI. At a subset of 29 forest plots, sounds were recorded in addition to the questionnaire survey and the data on forest characteristics. This enabled us to link forest visitor data provided in the questionnaires with forest characteristics and sound parameters, in an attempt to explain between-plot variability in the perceived visual attractiveness of forest plots.

Hazard risk managers in Switzerland face multiple challenges due to increasing damage potential resulting from climate change. This calls for a new integrative risk management paradigm that targets involvement of all relevant actors. An innovative program to strengthen knowledge was introduced in 2011 by the Federal Office for Environment and Nature (FOEN), in which locally anchored lay persons are trained as local natural hazard consultants (LNHC). The key objective of the program is to complement LNHCs’ on-site experience with professional knowledge to support community crisis committees and tighten networks between actors. This study takes a social learning perspective in the context of this training program and interprets actors as a Community of Practice (CoP) in a social learning system. We evaluated the program with regard to its stated knowledge transfer goals and effects on the CoP. Applying a mixed-method study design, we conducted semi-structured interviews with cantonal training program coordinators (n = 12), followed by a quantitative survey of LNHC (N = 194). Results show an increased availability of knowledge, but the effects show better stability when participants are continuously involved in the CoP. We conclude that sustainable learning is enhanced by fostering the CoP and that risk awareness plays a crucial role in the implementation of the program.

Building a culture of risk is an essential objective within the integrated risk management paradigm. Challenges arise both due to increasing damage from natural hazards and the complexity in interaction of different actors in risk management. In Switzerland, the Strategy for Natural Hazards Switzerland, aims to establish efficient protection of the population, natural resources and material goods. This requires that all responsible actors are recognized and aware of their role in risk management. However, previous studies indicate that risk awareness and preparedness levels are rather low within the general population. For the first time, our nationwide survey provides empirical data on factors that influence individual risk preparedness in the general population. Multivariate analysis shows that taking responsibility for natural hazard risk prevention is not only related to personal experience and perceived probability of hazard events, but also crucially influenced by social forms of communication and integration. Therefore, we conclude that social capacity building needs to include such factors in order to render integrated risk management strategies successful.

The term "risk" is connoted with divergent meanings in natural hazard risk research and the practice of risk management. Whilst the technical definition is accurately defined, in practice, the term "risk" is often synonymously used with "danger". Considering this divergence as a deficiency, risk communication often aims to correct laypersons' understanding. We suggest to instead treat the variety of meanings as a resource for risk communication strategies. However, there is however to date no investigation of what laypersons' meanings of risk actually comprise. To address this gap, we examine the meanings of risk by applying a social representations approach within a qualitative case study research design. Results of the study among inhabitants of Swiss mountain villages show that differences in meanings were found according to hazard experience and community size. We found commonly shared core representations and peripheral ones. We conclude with suggestions on how to make usage of the knowledge on SR in risk communication.

The EU Floods Directive and Swiss water law both stipulate that non-structural prevention measures should be accorded a high priority in risk management. Several studies, have, however, found that, following flood events, the affected population tend to call for massive structural measures. Which factors can help to convince the local public to view integrated risk management more positively? We conducted a household survey in two Swiss Alpine valleys in which a disastrous flood event had taken place two years before. A total of 2100 standardized questionnaires were sent to all households in the Lötschen Valley and to a random sample of the households in the (larger) Kander Valley. The response rate was 30% with 647 completed questionnaires returned. The analysis showed that, after the flood event, the local populations in both valleys mostly favoured traditional measures of hazard control; but support for non-structural prevention measures also appeared to be rather high. A regression analysis revealed that the level of trust in the federal and cantonal authorities, and that of negative emotional experiences during the flood event were the main predictors for this support. Active information behaviour, in contrast, appeared to have only a marginal influence. Interestingly, however, the belief that floods will occur more frequently due to climate change and the support for ecological river management were also found to be relevant predictors. Communicating with the locals about these more graspable issues might be a promising way to increase their support for integrated flood risk management.

Introducing integrated hazard management implicates that the population also actively participates in hazard prevention by adopting individual prevention measures such as complying to behaviour rules or by supplying themselves with appropriate prevention tools. People’s motivation for individual prevention, however, requires that they are aware of the local hazard risks, that they feel responsible for their self prevention and that they know how to achieve this best. Recent studies suggest that these social capacities are rather poorly developed in the Swiss population, and there is a lack of knowledge how they might be enhanced. With our study, we wanted to establish the state of hazard risk awareness and the individual prevention motivation in the Swiss population, reveal the main influence factors on these social capacities and provide the baseline data for a longitudinal study, which will allow for identifying the casual influence mechanisms. Based on recent research literature and questionnaires of prior studies we developed a standardised questionnaire that included scales on risk awareness and risk preparedness as well as a wide range of possible influence factors of these parameters. The questionnaire administered in January 2015 to a large random sample of the Swiss population (N =10 000). The data of the realised sample (n = 2137) was analysed using multivariate statistics. To refer the reported data to factual data, the geo-referenced survey data was compared with data of the hazard maps as well as data of the WSL spatial hazard damage database using GIS. The analysis revealed that the Swiss population supports prevention measures prioritised by the integrated hazard management strategy as much as traditional prevention measures used for hazard control. The data, however, also showed that the level of risk awareness and risk preparedness in the Swiss population was still rather low. Direct experiences appeared to be as expected the main influence factor for risk awareness and risk preparedness, but also respondents’ integration into their local community was found to be a relevant and so far unknown predictor. Risk communication, however, appeared to have an only marginal influence on both dependent variables, with the exception of dialogic forms of risk communication that showed a substantial association with risk awareness and risk preparedness. The analysis of the comprehensive survey data provide detailed insights about Swiss population’s attitudes towards natural hazards and hazard management that will help to optimize the risk communication in Switzerland.

Vor gut 10 Jahren hat der Bund beschlossen, die Strategie Naturgefahren Schweiz und das darin geforderte integrierte Naturgefahren-Management umzusetzen. Ein wichtiges Element dieses neuen Ansatzes besteht darin, dass die Bevölkerung sich aktiv an der Risikovorsorge beteiligt. Um in Erfahrung zu bringen, inwieweit die Schweizer Bevölkerung aktuell bereit ist, Vorsorgemassnahmen gegen Naturgefahren zu treffen und zu ermitteln, von welchen Faktoren dies abhängt, hat die WSL eine umfangreiche gesamtschweizerische Befragung durchgeführt. Die Analyse der Daten zeigt, dass die Schweizer Bevölkerung öffentliche und individuelle Vorsorgemassnahmen, die integriertes Naturgefahrenmanagement ermöglichen, grundsätzlich befürwortet, dass aber die Bereitschaft zur individuellen Vorsorge in der Bevölkerung noch ziemlich schwach entwickelt ist. Als begünstigende Einflussfaktoren erwiesen sich wie erwartet insbesondere persönliche Erfahrungen mit Naturgefahren und – wie bisher noch kaum erkannt – die Integration der Befragten in ihrer Gemeinde. Kommunikative Massnahmen zeigten hingegen kaum Effekte auf Risikobewusstsein und Vorsorgeverhalten, mit Ausnahme von dialogischen Formen der Risikokommunikation. Die detaillierten Ergebnisse der Befragung stellen eine geeignete Grundlage dar, um die Risikokommunikation in der Schweiz zu optimieren.

During the last decade, most European countries have produced hazard maps of natural hazards, but little is known about how to communicate these maps most efficiently to the public. In October 2011, Zurich's local authorities informed owners of buildings located in the urban flood hazard zone about potential flood damage, the probability of flood events and protection measures. The campaign was based on the assumptions that informing citizens increases their risk awareness and that citizens who are aware of risks are more likely to undertake actions to protect themselves and their property.
This study is intended as a contribution to better understand the factors that influence flood risk preparedness, with a special focus on the effects of such a one-way risk communication strategy. We conducted a standardized mail survey of 1500 property owners in the hazard zones in Zurich (response rate main survey: 34 %). The questionnaire included items to measure respondents' risk awareness, risk preparedness, flood experience, information-seeking behaviour, knowledge about flood risk, evaluation of the information material, risk acceptance, attachment to the property and trust in local authorities. Data about the type of property and socio-demographic variables were also collected.
Multivariate data analysis revealed that the average level of risk awareness and preparedness was low, but the results confirmed that the campaign had a statistically significant effect on the level of preparedness. The main influencing factors on the intention to prepare for a flood were the extent to which respondents evaluated the information material positively as well as their risk awareness. Respondents who had never taken any previous interest in floods were less likely to read the material. For future campaigns, we therefore recommend repeated communication that is tailored to the information needs of the target population.

Over the last few decades, Europe has suffered from a number of severe flood events and, as a result, there has been a growing interest in probing alternative approaches to managing flood risk via prevention measures. A literature review reveals that, although in the last decades risk evaluation has been recognized as key element of risk management, and risk assessment methodologies (including risk analysis and evaluation) have been improved by including social, economic, cultural, historical and political conditions, the theoretical schemes are not yet applied in practice. One main reason for this shortcoming is that risk perception literature is mainly of universal and theoretical nature and cannot provide the necessary details to implement a comprehensive risk evaluation. This paper therefore aims to explore a procedure that allows the inclusion of stakeholders' perceptions of prevention measures in risk assessment. It proposes to adopt methods of risk communication (both one-way and two-way communication) in risk assessment with the final aim of making flood risk management more effective. The proposed procedure not only focuses on the effect of discursive risk communication on risk perception, and on achieving a shared assessment of the prevention alternatives, but also considers the effects of the communication process on perceived uncertainties, accepted risk levels, and trust in the managing institutions.
The effectiveness of this combined procedure has been studied and illustrated using the example of the participatory flood prevention assessment process on the Sihl River in Zurich, Switzerland. The main findings of the case study suggest that the proposed procedure performed well, but that it needs some adaptations for it to be applicable in different contexts and to allow a (semi-) quantitative estimation of risk perception to be used as an indicator of adaptive capacity.

Vor acht Jahren entging Zürich grossen Hochwasserschäden nur knapp. Um ein Haar hätte die Sihl weite Teile der Stadt überschwemmt. Seither hat sich an der Limmat in Sachen Hochwasserschutz einiges getan. Die Stadt arbeitet heute departementsübergreifend an einem integralen Risikomanagement. Eine Schlüsselrolle kommt der Kommunikation zu.

During the last decade, most European countries have produced risk maps of natural hazards, but little is known so far about how to communicate these maps most efficiently to the public.
In October 2011, Zurich's local authorities sent official letters to the owners of buildings located in the urban flood hazard area, containing information on potential flood damage, the probability of flood events, constructional safety measures, and guidelines for taking appropriate action should flooding occur. Owners were also encouraged in the covering letter to identify the location of their property within the hazard area using a GIS-based online risk map. The campaign was based on the assumptions that informing citizens increases their risk awareness and that citizens who are aware of risks are more likely to undertake actions to protect themselves and their property. There is, however, little empirical evidence about the effects of such a one-way communication strategy.
This study is intended as a contribution to understanding the factors influencing flood risk preparedness better, with a special focus on the effects of risk communication. We conducted a standardized mail survey in collaboration with the city authorities, and sent questionnaires to 1500 owners of buildings in the hazard zones in Zurich. The addressees represent a sample of 14% of all the people who had previously received information from the city authorities. The questionnaire comprised items measuring respondents' risk awareness, flood experience, information behaviour and knowledge, evaluation of the information material, risk acceptance, preparedness to implement particular measures, kind of property, attachment to the property, trust in local authorities, and sociodemographic items.
Multivariate data analysis revealed that the average level of risk awareness and preparedness was low, but our results confirmed that the campaign had a statistically significant effect on the level of preparedness. The main influencing factors were the extent to which respondents evaluated the information material and weighed up the costs and benefits, as well as their risk awareness.
Our results also provide detailed insights into the underlying factors that influenced the respondents' preparedness. For instance, respondents who reported having a high level of trust in the local authorities evaluated the campaign more positively and were more likely to consider implementing the recommended safety measures. Overall, most respondents said that they had read the information letter, but that they had only spent a little time studying the material. Moreover, those respondents who had never taken any interest in floods previously were less likely to read the material. For future campaigns, we therefore recommend tailoring information according to the information needs and preferences of the target population.

Heute liegen für die Schweiz beinahe flächendeckend Gefahrenkarten vor. Basierend auf der Eintretenswahrscheinlichkeit sowie der Intensität von Naturgefahren wie Hochwasser, Lawinen, Rutschungen oder Felsstürzen machen sie Risiken in Siedlungsgebieten erkennbar. Gefahrenkarten sind daher ein sehr nützliches Instrument in der Vorbeugung von Schäden für Menschen und materielle Güter. Dieser Nutzen wird aber erst wirksam, wenn die Gefahrenkarten u.a. in die Praxis der Raumplanung einbezogen sowie zur Sensibilisierung der Bevölkerung genutzt werden (siehe vorhergehenden Artikel «Integrales Risikomanagement für den Hochwasserschutz in der Stadt Zürich»). In der Stadt Zürich ist die Hochwasser-Gefahrenkarte in einem kooperativen Pilotprojekt umgesetzt worden. Die WSL hat diesen Prozess wissenschaftlich begleitet und Interviews mit Teilnehmenden über ihre Erfahrung in der Umsetzungsorganisation geführt. Diese Erfahrungen dienen als Anregung für die Praxis in Gemeinden, in denen die Umsetzung der Gefahrenkarten noch ansteht. Insbesondere die gemeinsame Bewältigung von Aufgaben über verschiedene Dienstabteilungen hinweg ist hierbei ein vielversprechender Lösungsansatz. Der vorliegende Artikel stellt das Potenzial wie auch Grenzen eines solchen Ansatzes dar.