Building Resilience to Environmental Vulnerabilities: Insights into Communication Gaps in Contexts of Extreme Precipitation

Effective communication is pivotal in environmental management, particularly in strengthening community resilience to climate-related vulnerabilities. Communication is understood not merely as the exchange of information, but as a nuanced process shaped by environmental, social, cultural, and institutional dimensions. This study analyzes three international case studies to assess how communication strategies influence resilience outcomes.

A qualitative approach guided the selection of case studies, based on four criteria: (1) relevance to cross-sectoral communication, (2) diversity of stakeholder involvement, (3) availability of triangulated data from academic literature, media sources, and firsthand narratives, and (4) potential to derive broadly applicable insights.

Drawing from longstanding research in science communication and insights from the case studies, the study proposes a structured framework comprising five interrelated pillars: Co-creation, Redundancy, Trust-building, Contextualized messaging, and Feedback integration. This model is intended to support the practical implementation of communication strategies across diverse scenarios.

Findings confirm that effective communication transcends information delivery, functioning as a cognitive process embedded in environmental, social, cultural, and institutional contexts. Recurring challenges, such as breakdowns in communication and governance limitations, are identified, alongside innovative practices, such as gaming, creative activities, and dialogues among researchers and civil society, which have proven effective in specific contexts.

The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating qualitative insights and contextual sensitivity to inform communication strategies that effectively foster environmental resilience. It underscores the need for inclusive, interdisciplinary approaches and suggests integrating communication training across academic and professional fields.