Ixchel: Building understanding of the physical, cultural and socio-economic drivers of risk for strengthening resilience in the Guatemalan cordillera
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Geosciences
Abstract
This project is based on in-depth research in rural and indigenous communities in the cordillera of Guatemala (volcanic arc and southern highlands) that are located close to active volcanoes and in the vicinity of Lake Atitlán. This region has an extraordinarily high level of hazard exposure that intersects with, and is exacerbated by, existing forms of socio-economic vulnerability. People die, suffer and lose livelihoods in disasters in part because of Guatemala's geological and climatological conditions that make it prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes, as well as frequent landslides during the rainy season. The dynamic and interactive nature of these risks are still poorly understood. There is then an urgent need to gain better understandings of physical processes and, in particular, of multihazard interactions in the Guatemalan context from a scientific perspective. However, this hazard exposure cannot be separated from long histories of landlessness, state-led violence and genocide that manifest themselves today in colonial and discriminatory attitudes towards poor indigenous and mixed race (ladino) Guatemalans. Such attitudes result in failures by authorities to protect, warn, evacuate survivors, exhume and properly count the dead, and to relocate or rehouse people with dignity and in culturally appropriate ways. These experiences also mean that local people often do not trust state agencies or western science, and indigenous peoples also have their own knowledge systems and modes of understanding risk and resilience that they deem to be more reliable. The losses and complexities of recent disasters such as the June 2018 eruption of the Fuego volcano and the building of resilient communities urgently require research that brings physical sciences into dialogue not only with social sciences and humanities, but also with diverse cosmovisions and beliefs. This project involves a close collaboration between physical scientists, social scientists, humanities scholars and Guatemalan community leaders in communities exposed to multiple forms of risk. It is based on a shared commitment to reduce the suffering caused by hazards and disasters but involves people who work with very different epistemic, theoretical and methodological approaches and knowledge frameworks. We ask whether we can better understand risk and do research that is both respectful and useful to local people by putting these different knowledge systems on an equal footing. We will therefore combine quantitative monitoring techniques with artistic and ethnographic work and a range of community engagement activities. The scientific and the cultural will be combined in a 8-episode television series produced in collaboration with local organizations, actors and mediamakers in which the complexity of rural community lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples living with risk will be ethically represented and followed up by a range of outreach activities in community spaces and on radio, television and social media. We will produce a cultural product that will provoke high levels of audience engagement and debate by scientists, community members, development practitioners, emergency managers and government agents.
Planned Impact
This project aims to benefit and strengthen capacities of vulnerable populations facing natural hazards and systemic risks and government institutions and civil society orgs. responsible for and working in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Guatemala. Impact will be achieved through a series of research-into-action activities that bring physical sciences into dialogue with social sciences and humanities as well as indigenous cosmovisions. The significant percentage (over 20%) of the budget requested for these innovative activities also reflects their importance within the project design. This proposal has been co-developed with Guatemalan investigators and stakeholders, ensuring knowledge production with end users and grounding in the local context, thus increasing its potential to generate impact in the short, and long term. Co-designed engagement and impact activities include:
1) Three project workshops in Guatemala that will bring together scientific, government, intergovernmental, civil society, private sector and community representatives. These will provide a space for exchange and assessment of the research methods, questions and results and a discussion of pathways to embed that knowledge in practice at the policy level. We will also coordinate a dialogue-focused symposium to share our results and invite collaborators from other GCRF projects, to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-organisational dialogue around DRR priorities.
2) Data collection will take place through a series of interdisciplinary workshops, participatory art and ethnographic research designed to give voices to indigenous and marginalised peoples and acknowledge different knowledge practices and ways of representing risk. This will produce new knowledge about hazards and risk and useful tools to help respond to them (maps, evacuation routes and plans).
3) The capstone docunovela will have multiple forms of impact, both as a process and as a final text. By dealing with the question of risk in a way that takes account of the multiple geographies at play in Guatemala, it will speak to different audiences, not only communities at risk, but also government agencies and emergency managers, development practitioners, hazard scientists and Guatemalan ladino elites. It will put urgent debates on the political agenda and will function as an advocacy and mobilising tool. We will seek to export it to other countries so that its benefits can proliferate globally.
4) Capacity strengthening activities for this project take place at all levels of our engagement with stakeholders. By the end of the project, the government institutes responsible for hazard monitoring, assessment and emergency response will be able to use a range of tools and methods that will outlast the project duration and improve their capacity in the short and long term. Local communities will also have enhanced capacities and be trained in research methods including ethnographic methodologies and knowledge exchange. To ensure lasting impact this project will also engage with the higher education sector in Guatemala. During the technical visits from UK researchers, we plan to impart two short courses targeted at undergraduate students and researchers associated with risk management, to strengthen long-term physical and socioeconomic resilience.
Our findings will be presented in academic papers and reports in Spanish, Mayan languages and English. The promotion and dissemination of research results and methodologies in different languages has the long-term potential to benefit institutions in Guatemala and those working with populations at risk in similar contexts elsewhere.
To monitor and evaluate project impact we plan to apply the Theory of Change methodology. We have drafted an initial version for the proposed project and we will further co-develop this strategy with representatives of key stakeholder groups who will be invited to participate in this exercise at the first workshop.
1) Three project workshops in Guatemala that will bring together scientific, government, intergovernmental, civil society, private sector and community representatives. These will provide a space for exchange and assessment of the research methods, questions and results and a discussion of pathways to embed that knowledge in practice at the policy level. We will also coordinate a dialogue-focused symposium to share our results and invite collaborators from other GCRF projects, to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-organisational dialogue around DRR priorities.
2) Data collection will take place through a series of interdisciplinary workshops, participatory art and ethnographic research designed to give voices to indigenous and marginalised peoples and acknowledge different knowledge practices and ways of representing risk. This will produce new knowledge about hazards and risk and useful tools to help respond to them (maps, evacuation routes and plans).
3) The capstone docunovela will have multiple forms of impact, both as a process and as a final text. By dealing with the question of risk in a way that takes account of the multiple geographies at play in Guatemala, it will speak to different audiences, not only communities at risk, but also government agencies and emergency managers, development practitioners, hazard scientists and Guatemalan ladino elites. It will put urgent debates on the political agenda and will function as an advocacy and mobilising tool. We will seek to export it to other countries so that its benefits can proliferate globally.
4) Capacity strengthening activities for this project take place at all levels of our engagement with stakeholders. By the end of the project, the government institutes responsible for hazard monitoring, assessment and emergency response will be able to use a range of tools and methods that will outlast the project duration and improve their capacity in the short and long term. Local communities will also have enhanced capacities and be trained in research methods including ethnographic methodologies and knowledge exchange. To ensure lasting impact this project will also engage with the higher education sector in Guatemala. During the technical visits from UK researchers, we plan to impart two short courses targeted at undergraduate students and researchers associated with risk management, to strengthen long-term physical and socioeconomic resilience.
Our findings will be presented in academic papers and reports in Spanish, Mayan languages and English. The promotion and dissemination of research results and methodologies in different languages has the long-term potential to benefit institutions in Guatemala and those working with populations at risk in similar contexts elsewhere.
To monitor and evaluate project impact we plan to apply the Theory of Change methodology. We have drafted an initial version for the proposed project and we will further co-develop this strategy with representatives of key stakeholder groups who will be invited to participate in this exercise at the first workshop.
Organisations
- University of Edinburgh (Lead Research Organisation)
- National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala (Collaboration)
- Map Action (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of the Valley of Guatemala (Collaboration)
- Centro Universitario de Occidente (Project Partner)
- Volcano Friends (Guatemala) (Project Partner)
- PRODECO (Project Partner)
- CUNOR (Project Partner)
- CONRED (Nat Coord for Disater Reduction) (Project Partner)
- University of Reading (Project Partner)
- National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Project Partner)
- Met Office (Project Partner)
- SEGEPLAN (Project Partner)
- Boise State University (Project Partner)
- Xocomil Productions (Project Partner)
- World Bank (Project Partner)
- United States Geological Survey (Project Partner)
- GlobalNews Group (Project Partner)
Publications
Zhu C
(2023)
A granular energy-controlled boundary condition for discrete element simulations of granular flows on erodible surfaces
in Computers and Geotechnics
Armijos M
(2024)
Challenging Global Development - Towards Decoloniality and Justice
Bartel B
(2023)
Children first: women's perspectives on evacuation at Fuego volcano and implications for disaster risk reduction
in Frontiers in Earth Science
P. Scarlett J
(2022)
Defining Disaster - Disciplines and Domains
Huang J
(2021)
DEM-LBM simulation of stress-dependent absolute and relative permeabilities in porous media
in Chemical Engineering Science
Barker T
(2021)
Exact solutions for steady granular flow in vertical chutes and pipes
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Glynn K
(2022)
Stories of decolonial resilience
in Cultural Studies
Naismith A
(2024)
Transitions: comparing timescales of eruption and evacuation at Volcán de Fuego (Guatemala) to understand relationships between hazard evolution and responsive action
in Journal of Applied Volcanology
Charbonnier S
(2023)
Unravelling the dynamics and hazards of the June 3rd, 2018, pyroclastic density currents at Fuego volcano (Guatemala)
in Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Title | First cut of film and docu-series |
Description | First cut of film and docu-series. The film is now in post-production with submission to international film festivals estimated to begin in approximately one year. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Impact | Actors in the film included survivors from the Panabaj disaster of 2005. Although the script is fictional, the filming itself provided a space where those survivors were able to tell their stories of trauma when emotions surfaced during the filming process. A documentary making-of the film is also in production, where actors, film crew and researchers are being interviewed about their experiences. |
Description | GCRF End of Financial Year Award |
Amount | £170,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | Collaboration with MapAction NGO |
Organisation | Map Action |
Country | Mali |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Multi-disciplinary research collaboration to build understanding of the physical, socio-economic and cultural drivers of risk of mass flows (e.g., landslides, mid flows, pyroclastic flows) in the Guatemala highlands. |
Collaborator Contribution | Map Action are supporting the GIS needs of the Ixchel GCRF-funded project through the contribution of skilled personnel time and computing resources. Past outcomes and outputs associated with the collaboration with Map Action include a three-dimensional, interactive digital volcano hazard map hosted on a web platform, which was co-developed following the disaster in San Miguel Los Lotes at Fuego Volcano on 3rd June 2018, and was the first of its kind globally. |
Impact | Outputs and outcomes from this collaboration have been associated with previous awards, such as the interactive digital volcano hazard map from Fuego volcano (https://arcg.is/0418vK) which was the first of its kind globally, and a website hosting a collection of three-dimensional, interactive digital volcano hazard maps (https://volcanichazard-mapaction.opendata.arcgis.com/). There are no outputs and outcomes associated with the GCRF-funded "Ixchel award yet" as the collaboration is ongoing. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary: geosciences, geography, anthropology, urban studies, landscape architecture, GIS. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Collaboration with Universidad del Valle de Guatemala |
Organisation | University of the Valley of Guatemala |
Country | Guatemala |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Research collaboration through the GCRF-funded project, currently working on development of a formal collaboration agreement during this first year of the award so that designated GCRF funds can be transferred. |
Collaborator Contribution | Research collaboration with time and salary contributions on a good-faith basis while the collaboration agreement in in development. |
Impact | No research outputs or outcomes to report yet as the collaboration agreement is in the final stages of development. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary: geosciences, anthropology, geography, media studies, urban studies, history, landscape architecture. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Collaboration with the volcanological and seismological monitoring agency of Guatemala (INSIVUMEH) |
Organisation | National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala |
Country | Guatemala |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | In the Ixchel GCRF-funded project, this is a research collaboration to study the physical drivers of risk of mass flows (e.g., mud flows, landslides, pyroclastic flows) in the Guatemalan cordillera. Our research team is providing multi-disciplinary support for developing models of physical hazards, probabilistic event trees, and expertise in hazard maps. Past collaboration was focussed on studying the risk of volcanic hazards around Fuego volcano. The current collaboration is broader and involves a greater number of researchers from a wider range of institutions. |
Collaborator Contribution | INSIVUMEH are contributing substantial time of their personnel to supporting the project outcomes, including better understanding of the physical drivers of risk in the Guatemalan highlands. |
Impact | There are no outputs or outcomes associated with the GCRF-funded "Ixchel" project to report yet as the collaboration is still in process. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary: geosciences, geography, geophysics, meteorology, GIS. Past outputs and outcomes have involved the co-development of an interactive digital, 3D volcano hazard map of Fuego volcano for use by local authorities and humanitarian agencies following the disaster at San Miguel Los Lotes on 3rd June 2018 (https://arcg.is/0418vK). |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | Universidad del Valle de Guatemala |
Organisation | University of the Valley of Guatemala |
Country | Guatemala |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Our Partner Universidad de Guatemala has provided with two interns who have worked as research assistants for the project. They have benefited from the activities and learned new methodologies and research approaches. |
Collaborator Contribution | We have also benefited as these students in their final year have supported various research activities in including organising meetings, workshops, and methodology design. |
Impact | We have reported a series of workshops and other activities in other sections. This is an ongoing project that will have more results in the next two years. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Engagement with local communities associated with the project case studies in Guatemala |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Multi-disciplinary teams of researchers (6-12 people) involved in the project (from UK and Guatemala) made a series of visits to local communities in the Guatemalan highlands associated with the project case studies, in order to introduce the research project and investigators and begin to form connections with key stakeholders, actors and community-based researchers in the communities. The following places were visited: - Case study of Panabaj landslide: the communities of Panabaj, Santiago de Atitlán, Chuk Muk; - Case study Fuego volcano: the communities of Panimaché I, Morelia, Los Yucales, La Trinidad, Santa Rosa; - Case study Santiaguito volcano: the communities of El Viejo Palmar, El Nuevo Palmar. Outcomes: for each community we have established a list of key local contacts with whom we have co-developed specific aspects of the research to be undertaken, and established in some cases specific community-based researchers who are or will be involved in our research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |