Broadening the Scope of Industrial Risk Assessment and Management
Résumé
Abstract This short chapter describes risk governance in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. It highlights the social, political and economic complexity that underlies current governance practices, and why it is so difficult to break away from the established order. This case illustrates the importance of decompartmentalizing risk analysis and risk management. When it comes to risk, and in this case industrial risk, other factors always come into the equation. In Esmeraldas, everything outside the industrial facilities is somehow directly or indirectly involved in the risk situations that arise there. This case argues for greater openness and integration in industrial risk analysis and management, which are usually handled internally, within the very structure of the organizations in question. The hypothesis is that what is gained in terms of lasting and significant impact (by working on structural and fundamental mechanisms) can make up for what is lost in terms of simplicity (in taking an industry-focused approach).