International Journal of Geosciences, 2015, 6, 666-674 Published Online July 2015 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ijg http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2015.67054 How to cite this paper: Spanu, V., Gaprindashvili, G. and McCall, M.K. (2015) Participatory Methods in the Georgian Cau- casus: Understanding Vulnerability and Response to Debrisflow Hazards. International Journal of Geosciences, 6, 666-674. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2015.67054 Participatory Methods in the Georgian Caucasus: Understanding Vulnerability and Response to Debrisflow Hazards Valentina Spanu 1* , George Gaprindashvili 2,3 , Michael Keith McCall 4 1 CRS4, Loc. Piscina Manna, Pula, Italy 2 Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, LEPL National Environmental Agency, Department of Geology, Tbilisi, Georgia 3 Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia 4 CIGA-UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701, Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, Morelia, México Email: * vale.spanu@tiscali.it , gaprindashvili.george@gmail.com , mccall@ciga.unam.mx Received 30 May 2015; accepted 18 July 2015; published 22 July 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Assessment and emergency planning to cope with disaster risks are usually founded primarily on expert evaluations, in part because local governments and public bodies mainly finance the re- covery activities. Local communities affected by disasters are scarcely really involved in the pro- cesses of information collection, problem analysis, or design of emergency plans. However, the development of good practices for incorporating local people’s knowledge into disaster risk man- agement, known as Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM), is becoming more common. Scientific communities increasingly realize the importance of local knowledge, though in Georgia this is still uncommon. Georgia faces frequent natural disasters and threats to its fragile ecosystems caused by unsustainable natural resource management and agricultural practices, improper infrastructure and urban development, as well as by innate geological and climatic fac- tors. In this context, the lack of communication between local communities and public administra- tions is absolutely deleterious. The article analyzes the effectiveness of participatory methods and tools for better comprehension of people’s vulnerability and responses. Fieldwork in mountain areas of Caucasus involved local communities to investigate the direct participation of local people in Disaster Risk Management and assess their availability and interest to engage in hazard map- ping and risk responses. * Corresponding author.