Psychology, participation, and environmental policymaking: the case of the Prestige disaster

摘要

The present paper deals with political decision-making and its consequences in disasters, taking the sinking of the oil carrier Prestige in 2002 as an example. The effects of political decisions of and on perceived risk and duration of the problem, and on attribution of responsibilities and perceived causes, are examined. More specifically, we look at the effects of two different political decisions on the foregoing, showing how they led to significant changes in the local populations' attitudes and perceptions.The first of these political decisions led to the sinking of the oil carrier. The effects were: (1) an increase in the scale level of the problem, from low scale to large scale, and (2) social mobilization of the population. These were reflected in our findings, identifying poor assessments of the management, political attribution of responsibilities, and distrust in the government. The second political decision was to compensate economically the affected population, once the seriousness of the disaster was fully recognized. This decision led to a significant change in management assessment and attribution of responsibilities, on the part of the population. The implications of our findings for environmental policy-making and their consequences are also examined.