Geographies of the Anthropocene : geoethics and disaster risk reduction tools applied to Mediterranean case studies

Abstract

This chapter seeks to analyze the new processes of the Anthropocene epoch by examining, in the first part, the relationship with human geography and geoethics. In fact, Anthropocene is also faced with an ethical and cultural perspective. Geoethics focuses on how scientists (natural and social), arts and humanities scholars working in tandem can become more aware of their ethical responsibilities to guide society on matters related to public safety in the face of natural hazards, sustainable use of resources, climate change, and protection of the environment. Furthermore, some case studies in the Mediterranean basin, where the transformations imposed by human action and society on the Earth’s environment are evident, will be analyzed in relation to Disaster Risk Reduction practices: social perception and communication, community resilience, participative approaches, using CIGIS and neogeographic technologies. These case studies constitute some examples of “geographies and cartographies of the Anthropocene”. In this framework, two case studies in the Central Mediterranean will be analyzed with the support of Web 2.0 and geohydrological risk perception using Community Integrated GIS.