Civic Ecology Education and Resilient Societies: a Survey of Forest Fires in Greece

Abstract

Forest fires, as all natural disasters, have the potential to seriously affect both the environment and the social structure of a local community. Unlike some of the natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis which are unpredictable, the phenomenon of forest fires could be easily predicted and controlled, since the causes are mainly anthropogenic. This article, focusing on the paradigm of forest fires that occurred in Greece during the summer of 2007, deals in depth with the significant role that Civic Ecology Education plays in the promotion of resilient societies. Given the fact, that the specific forest fires resulted in an unusually high death toll, the article argues about the need for successful environmental education for resilience in order to avoid similar tragedies. Increasing the social tolerance to natural hazards and directing communities’ efforts towards strengthening sustainable development in their area should become common practices everywhere.