Local Politics of Environmental Disaster Risk Management

Abstract

Why do some local governments successfully address issues related to environmental disaster risk management (EDRM), while others do not? This research contributes to a growing literature about the relationships between institutions, multilevel governance, and EDRM at the local level in developing countries. Supported by the frameworks of institutional analysis and polycentric governance, as well as an in-depth case study of three municipalities in Chile (Cauquenes, Lebu, and Panguipulli) with data from primary sources (e.g., interviews, surveys applied to representative samples of householders, and archival research), this study identifies the types of institutional responses that appear to improve governance outcomes. The analysis reveals that municipal operational rules combined with representation, municipal structures, institutional trajectories, and polycentric relationships between municipal governing councils and society are influential factors for successful EDRM.