Challenges for professionalism in civil defense and protection

Abstract

PurposeThis article discusses the professional status of civil defense and protection agents and coordinators in Brazil, their working conditions and demands for professionalization in disaster risk management.Design/methodology/approachTwo online surveys with operators and civil defense and protection managers and documentary analysis based this research. The first survey engaged 1,933 participants who provided information about the working conditions at municipal civil defense, while the second involved 1,344 civil respondents who assessed their roles and duties in disaster risk management.FindingsCivil defense and protection agents pointed to the high turnover in these positions as the main factor for setbacks in disaster risk reduction, allied to precarious working conditions, lack of training, and unclear responsibilities in disaster risk management.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the international debate on the professionalization of civil defense and protection and disaster risk management, bringing some insights from the sociology of professions. It has a policy impact of suggesting pathways to the inclusion of civil defense and protection in the Brazilian Occupational Classification to advance professional patterns and public recognition of disaster risk management careers.

Perceptions About Climate Change in the Brazilian Civil Defense Sector

“…Civil society's perceptions about climate change are important to guide public policies, but usually the perceptions of public officers are not considered in those studies (Márquez 2015;Terorotua et al 2020), despite their views being a key to identifying pathways of implementing public policies, such as those related to disaster risk management (DRM), which includes climate change adaptation (CCA) (Kelman 2015;Kelman et al 2020). There are also few studies focused on the civil defense sector (Valencio 2009;Alexander 2015;Londe et al 2015;Bonelli et al 2022), and we did not find any previous work addressing the civil defense profession's perception about climate change in Brazil. This study aimed to understand how civil defense experts are dealing with the topic of climate change: what they have learned and think about it. Civil defense experts are assigned to carry out DRM activities, which requires knowledge about climate-related hazards (heavy rains, floods, droughts, and so on), as well as vulnerabilities, capacities, and risk mitigation measures (Wisner et al 2012).…”

“…According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE 2021), 4,236 (76%) of 5,570 cities have civil defense units. It is not possible to have statistics about the number of civil defense officers because they are not included in the Brazilian Occupational Classification (CBO) system (Bonelli et al 2022).…”

Untitled

“…According to M.d.G. Bonelli et al (2022), in order to organise a quality, timely and efficient reception of conscripts who are called up for mobilisation, their distribution by equipment and units should be determined by the administration and the deployment of reception facilities by the heads of the local authorised bodies. Accordingly, their location will be determined on the basis of the availability of water sources, road conditions, heating in winter, epidemiological conditions, camouflage and sheltering of personnel, and security conditions.…”

Operation procedures of civil defence authorities in time of war

“…According to M.d.G. Bonelli et al (2022), in order to organise a quality, timely and efficient reception of conscripts who are called up for mobilisation, their distribution by equipment and units should be determined by the administration and the deployment of reception facilities by the heads of the local authorised bodies. Accordingly, their location will be determined on the basis of the availability of water sources, road conditions, heating in winter, epidemiological conditions, camouflage and sheltering of personnel, and security conditions.…”