Catastrophes socio-naturelles et résilience : Représentations et pratiques des habitants du bassin versant de la rivière Gasenyi face au risque d'inondation
Loading...
Date
2025-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UB, FLSH
Abstract
Although the neighborhoods within the Gasenyi river basin are identified as flood risk zone, in the absence of regulation by urban planning services, they continue to be occupied in an unplanned and anarchic manner, in a context of insufficient urban planning. Additionally, these neighborhoods face significant issues with the drainage of rainwater and wastewater, which increases their vulnerability to flooding. Despite recurrent floods and the ongoing risk of future flooding, people live there and continue to settle in the area.
This research questions how the residents of these neighborhoods perceive the flood risk they face, as well as how they perceive their living environment and, to some extent, the motivations or reasons behind their settlement in this zone. It also explores how these perceptions influence residents' behaviors regarding space occupation and flood resilience.
This study highlights that flood risk is often perceived by residents in a concrete and immediate way. Indeed, the concept of “risk zone”, frequently used in the literature and by experts, does not correspond to how the inhabitants of the Gasenyi River basin perceive the risk and their living environment. The increased flood risk is increasingly localized to specific places, which are linked to directly perceptible visual indicators such as ravines or the fact that the dwelling is situated close to the river.
This way of conceiving the risk and the environment at risk profoundly influences behaviors related to space occupation and the decision to adopt or not protective measures. Personal experience with floods, whether experienced or not, the position of living upstream or downstream of the Gasenyi River, the cultural capital associated with socioeconomic status, or attachment to property are also factors that influence residents’ perceptions and their adoption of protective measures. This research also shows that beyond the natural hazard, It is a tangle of social, economic, and political factors that exacerbates vulnerability to floods and motivates the settlement of inhabitants in this risk zone.
Description
Mémoire présenté et soutenu publiquement en vue de l’obtention du diplôme de Master en Socio-anthropologie