The nexus between risk-perception and adaptive action: New lessons from slowly proceeding land subsidence

Abstract

To gain a comprehensive picture of coastal multi-hazard risk environments and human responses towards them, not only fast-onset events need to be examined but also slowly emerging hazards such as land subsidence, which have the potential to strongly amplify the overall risk constellation.

There is a general assumption in hazard research that risk perception is a first determinant of whether adaptive action is taken or not. However, in our research in Indonesia, we found, that in contrast to fast-onset events, constantly proceeding subsidence becomes normalized in peoples’ perceptions and responses are integrated into day-to-day habits. Thus, risk perception is a far lesser determinant of responses towards slowly proceeding subsidence than it is for fast-onset events. Hence, our results relativize former assumptions that risk perception and not actual exposure lead to action.