Risk perception—A lens for understanding adaptive behaviour in the age of climate change? Narratives from the Global South

Risk perception, a judgment of how risk is perceived individually and communicated scientifically, helps clarify local knowledge, know-how, and experience. However, community disaster preparedness and DRR planning have often overlooked community risk perception. This study investigates how risk perception at the community level influences and facilitates local DRR initiatives. It explores southwest Bangladesh as a case study, an area highly vulnerable to climatic impacts such as tropical storms, floods, and rising sea-level. This study analyses media and local narratives, in-depth interviews, and field observations. We find that community risk perception (a) tends to be ignored in local adaptation planning and (b) is shaped by four influential factors relating to local residents: their varied interests; socio-economic opportunities; attachment to place and…