Abstract: Earthquake disaster reduction approach in China is essentially top-down, which is highly effective in mobilizing large-scale disaster reduction activities. However, the overall resilience of a society to earthquake also heavily depends on actions from various bottom-up components/actors(e.g., family, community), pointing to the strong need for a governance model that integrates the existing top-down approach with broad bottom-up engagement of grass-roots and the public. To accumulate research evidences for developing that governance, the overall objective of the work of creating a seismic scenario for Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, China(the Weinan scenario work, in short), was thus planned to address in particular the following two major gaps in earthquake disaster risk reduction in China: (i)between top-down and bottom-up earthquake disaster risk reduction(DRR)approaches, with a particular emphasis on the weak bottom-up aspect, and(ii)between science and earthquake DRR policies and practices, especially the insufficiency in the research and associated applications relevant to various bottom-up components/actors.
Using the paradigm of trans-disciplinary, participatory action research, the Weinan scenario work delivered this objective through direct interactions and close collaborations between two different groups of people: multi-disciplinary UK-USA-China collaboration research team and various local DRR practitioners and other stakeholders. The overall progresses include: 1)Using pan-participatory methodology, the two groups worked closely together to co-identify earthquake risk, co-explore pathways to risk reduction and resilience building, and so on, which ensured the reliability of the scenario results and the local context-appropriateness and then applicability of the scenario work's DRR recommendations; meanwhile, with action research process, the two groups realized synchronous interactions and seamless connections between the three large aspects in risk science of risk assessment, risk communication, and risk reduction practice improvement, which have often been conducted separately, thereby resulted in a kind of direct, immediate, and in-situ/on-site “science research into policies and practices”; 2)By serving both governments and bottom-up actors, and by looking at earthquake DRR issues from multi-scale point of view, the two groups co-addressed how to improve both top-down and bottom-up earthquake DRR policies and practices. Especially, zooming in on community-based disaster risk reduction(CBDRR), school-based DRR, family-based DRR, and broad disaster reduction education-the broadest and most sustainable linkages between top-down approach and bottom-up pathway to earthquake DRR, a large scale of specialized surveys and other relevant investigations were conducted, a series of current baselines and future improvement directions were identified; 3)Focusing on bettering disaster reduction education and improving long-term risk communication, the two groups co-created two versions of storytelling-led and latest science-grounded scenario narratives that are different in both contents and presentation styles/formats: one for government officials, the other for the general public. By constructing the plot of the story to properly highlight the key earthquake risk problems facing Weinan, we hope non-technical readers can easily understand research findings and better follow DRR recommendations provided, further facilitating “science into policies and practices”; by unfolding and illustrating the disaster-amplification or superimposing effects produced by a distinct local vulnerable social element-poor rural family with left-behind children, we hope readers can understand earthquake risk as deeply and comprehensively as possible from multi-perspectives; by incorporating elements of sensibility, emotion, humanity, and artistic appeal into rational but often “dry” sciences, we hope to help intensify resonance, build consensus, inspire emotion, improve DRR attitudes, foster DRR values, and then motivate DRR action and participation; and most importantly to inspire long-lasting learning, reflection, and action improvement among local population-the most direct, fundamental, and broad actors for reducing local earthquake disaster risk.
The participatory action research-guided Weinan scenario work has the utility of “throwing out a brick to attract a jade” for China's earthquake DRR field, it also provides the international similar studies with valuable experience and implications from China context.

Key words: earthquake scenario, participatory action research, storytelling, top-down vs. bottom-up approaches, risk assessment vs. risk reduction policies and practices

摘要： 中国政府层面自上而下的防震减灾管理卓有成效; 但是, 对于提升全社会的整体防震减灾能力而言, 尚需推动基于此而又有民众与基层自下而上广泛参与的全社会治理模式。 为发展这种模式积累经验, 渭南市地震情景构建示范项目借助参与式行动研究范式, 特别关注了中国防震减灾工作当前存在的以下2点广泛不足: 一是社会民众与基层的自下而上办法薄弱, 且与政府层面自上而下对策之间的相互衔接与促进不足; 二是科学研究向实际减灾对策的转化不足, 特别是针对自下而上办法的科学研究与应用转化不足。 取得的主要进展有: 1)基于广泛参与理念, 通过 “研究者”和 “减灾实践者”、 “相关者”、 “当事人”2方面人员间的密切合作, 共同诊断评估了渭南面临的主要地震灾害风险及隐患、 共同提炼了针对性的减灾对策改进建议等, 从而使情景构建所得的结果或认识更加可靠、 所提对策建议更加符合当地实际需要; 借助行动研究过程平台, 尝试了风险评估、 风险沟通和风险对策改进3大环节的无缝衔接与同步互动, 促进了科学研究与实际应用的直接对接与就地转化。 2)基于多尺度、 多层面视角和同时为 “政府”或 “部门”与 “基层”或 “民众”两大类用户服务。 在关注改进自上而下对策的同时, 针对薄弱的自下而上办法, 特别是就这两大对策途径间最广泛与最可持续的接口——宣传教育和家庭、 学校、 社区减灾, 开展了大规模的专项调查分析, 梳理了系列化的现今本底与改进方向。 3)聚焦改善减灾宣教和促进风险沟通, 编创了由 “故事”引导的2版内容与形式均有显著差别的地震情景叙事读本: 政府版和公众版, 以期借助 “故事”和艺术呈现 “故事”带动人们更好地理解与应用情景构建结果和认识, 借助 “故事”演绎社会性灾害脆弱成分——“留守儿童家庭与贫困”之于灾害的强化与叠加效应, 促进人们对地震灾害风险更加全面与深入的认识; 在理性刻板科学中融入感性与人文艺术情怀, 以引导共识与共鸣、 改善减灾态度、 培养减灾价值观, 进而激发减灾行动和减灾参与意愿, 特别是激励人们就相关问题进行长期思考和持续行动改善。 以上3方面进展, 从总体上实现了对中国防震减灾工作存在的前述2点广泛不足的有益研讨与部分弥补推动尝试。 参与式渭南地震情景构建行动研究示范, 对国内相关工作具有抛砖引玉的作用, 也为国际同类工作积累了中国经验。

关键词: 地震情景, 参与式行动研究, 讲故事, 自上而下对策与自下而上办法, 风险评估与风险对策