The complex and often contradictory realities of the red zone; three cases around Fuego Volcano, Guatemala.
Eliza S Calder1,Teresa Armijos1, Rudiger Escobar-Wolf2, Amilcar Roca3, Cristina Sala Valdes4, Ana Cabrera Pacheco1, and Roberto Merida3
Affiliations: 1School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh,UK; 2Michigan Tech University, USA; 3INSIVUMEH, Guatemala; 4University of East Anglia, UK.
Presentation type: Talk
Presentation time: Friday 09:45 - 10:00, Room S160
Programme No: 6.7.6
Abstract
Red Zones, "exclusion zones", or areas deemed by state authorities as being "uninhabitable" around volcanoes remain home to many people. While these demarcated spaces are no-go areas in geological or disaster risk management perspectives, the reality and immediate needs of those who inhabit them is more complex. With no viable alternative living spaces provided by the government or municipalities, people continue to live in these areas. The sustainability of livelihoods is a key driver for remaining despite the threat of volcanic activity. This work will present learnings from a transdisciplinary project working with people from three communities around Fuego volcano, as well INSIVUMEH and CONRED the Guatemalan civil protection organisation. We follow some of the long-term impacts in the communities of La Trinidad, Las Palmas, and El Rodeo, two of which are formally exclusion zones, through ethnographic and practical action work with community leaders. In these communities, people left for periods of time, returning when the immediate danger was past, and/or life elsewhere became too difficult. Risk assessment decisions taken after the Fuego 2018 eruption have led to, in many cases, problematic and unintended outcomes. The results of work on the impact of evacuations, resettlement, and fragmented communities as well assessments of the level volcanic hazard are now being brought together to inform a review of the risk assessment procedures for managing risk around this persistently active volcano.