Risk and culture in the andes: Differences between indigenous and Western developmental perspectives

Abstract

In the paper the perception and management of risks by indigenous people from the Andean highlands will be compared with the Western influenced attitudes and activities of development agents, who work in the same region. Differences exist between the indigenous and the Western experts perspective in regard to the spectrum of risk domains which they take into account, their explanation of risks and their coping strategies. In proceeding this intercultural comparison the paper aims at emphasizing the cultural embeddedness of risk perception. It also wants to show which consequences this cultural embeddedness has for the handling of risks.

Citation

Göbel, B. (2001), "Risk and culture in the andes: Differences between indigenous and Western developmental perspectives", Böm, G., Nerb, J., McDaniels, T. and Spada, H. (Ed.) Environmental Risks: Perception, Evaluation and Management (Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 191-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-1152(01)80029-6