Socio-environmental practices in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): pathways to climate justice

Abstract

In the Brazilian context, socio-environmental research indicates that Environmental Education significantly contributes to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) by promoting citizenship, social participation, and a critical understanding of vulnerabilities. Extreme climate events, such as floods, landslides, droughts, and wildfires, have intensified, highlighting the impacts of climate change on territories marked by inequalities. This study adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive approach, aiming to analyze the potential of educational institutions in Pernambuco to address socio-environmental risks, based on projects linked to the Cemaden Education Program between 2016 and 2024. The corpus consists of 68 projects, mostly developed in public schools, with emphasis on the municipal network and concentration in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, especially in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. The results highlight the leading role of public schools in promoting educational practices focused on prevention, mitigation, and adaptation to disasters, pointing to pathways toward climate justice.