ABSTRACT
Culture is gaining acknowledgment as a potentially crucial determinant of risk within the disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (adaptation) fields (Bankoff 2011). It refers to religious and traditional beliefs and values, and often drives social structures, livelihood choices, and settlement patterns. Despite this, there is little attention to what culture means in the context of risk to justify why it matters to those working in DRR or adaptation. The literature on the links between culture and risk shows two related and reoccurring arguments: (1) risk is socially and culturally constructed and (2) culture is the root of all behaviors. However, integrating culture into the risk reduction paradigm requires more evidence of those links. This chapter delves into the literature to explore a viable typology.
