RESILIENCE The terms vulnerability and resilience are highly complementary since greater resilience is what is achieved when vulnerability is reduced The term resilience is derived from the Latin resilio, meaning “to jump back”

This concept of resilience was introduced in 1973 by ecologist C.S. Holling He has drawn this concept from agro- ecology and natural resource management literature This term gained prominence in the disaster literature after Hurricane Katrina, supplementing the concept of disaster resistance

“The capacity that people or groups may possess to withstand or recover from emergencies and which can stand as a counterbalance to vulnerability.” (Buckle 1998) “Not just the absence of vulnerability. Rather it is the capacity, in the first place, to prevent or mitigate losses and then, secondly, if damage does occur to maintain normal living conditions as far as possible, and thirdly, to manage recovery from the impact.” (Buckle et al. 2000)

“The capacity of a group or organization to withstand loss or damage or to recover from the impact of an emergency or disaster. The higher the resilience, the less likely damage may be, and the faster and more effective recovery is likely to be.” (Dept. of Human services 2000) “Resilience to disasters means a locale can withstand an extreme natural event with a tolerable level of lasses. It takes mitigation actions consistent with achieving that level of protection.” (Mileti 1999)

What is the relationship between vulnerability and resilience? Zhou et al. (2010) identify some overlap between these two concepts The ability or capacity to cope with and recover from impacts of disasters is central to the theme of resilience

Resilience is a more encompassing term than coping capacity Capacity to remain functional during an event + Complete recover as quickly as possible

The time takes for a disaster-impacted community to return to its pre-disaster level for a given extent of damage can be measured with the help of a resilience triangle

Framework of Resilience R4 Framework of Resilience Robustness: Inherent strength of a system

Redundancy: The extent to which elements in systems are sustainable

Resourcefulness: Capacity to mobilize needed resources Rapidity: Speed with which disruption can be overcome and service, income, etc. restored This framework highlights the multiple paths of resilience and each one of these components can be improved through investment in hazard mitigation measures

Themes in Resilience Studies Resilience as a Biophysical Attribute Biophysical attribute includes physical components that add redundancy Focuses on key components of systems, such as biodiversity and functional diversity, which provides a system with variety of responses

Resilience as a Social Attribute The capacity of a group or a community to bounce back or respond positively to adversity Social attributes include economic, demographic, and institutional factors in both temporal and spatial context Economic – growth, stability, and income distribution

Demographic: population displacement and mobility (guest workers) The above factors determine whether a given social group is either vulnerable or or more adaptable to extreme events Social resilience can be increased through institutional development, diversification, land reform, and demographic change

Resilience as a Social-Ecological System (SES) Attribute Refers to learning to live with the change and uncertainty Focusing on diversity is another factor in building SES, because it helps increase options for coping with impacts of extreme event

Resilience as an Attribute of Specific Place Refers to all the above attributes of a specific place Zhou, H. et al. 2010. Resilience to Natural Hazards: A Geographic Perspective. Natural Hazards 53: 21-41.