Facing Conflicting Principles in the Management of Natural Risks
Malvina Ongaro5 February 2026
Managing natural risks is a complex endeavour, targeting risks with very different characteristics and encompassing measures aimed at the emergency or at peacetime. Through semi-structured interviews, we conducted a qualitative study to investigate how the complexity of risk management decisions is addressed by people working with different roles in the Italian civil protection. Our interviews show that there are two fundamental tensions in the field. First, there is a tension between a strongly precautionary mandate to save every life at all costs and the need to set thresholds of risk acceptability with some utilitarian consideration of costs and benefits. Second, there is a tension between the need for flexibility in the face of uncertainty and the increasing demand for standardized protocols that respond to a defensive fear of personal liability in very consequential decisions. Easing these tensions requires the development of decision instruments catering for conflicting needs.
