A Discussion ofCommunity ResilienceWhat is it? How do we assess it? Does it relate to sustainability?

Robert EmanuelOregon Sea Grant Extension

So, what do we mean by community resilience?

State, Capacity & Change

“We define resilience, formally, as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure and feedbacks - and therefore the same identity.” --Walker et al. 2004

Blue Ball = “State”

Basins + Ball = “Regime”Basins = “Attractors”

Watershed Local Economy

Fishery

WasteshedAgricultural Cooperative

Transportation system Local Government

Local Timber Industry

PastureForest

School District

Downtown District

Health Care Providers Network

Energy Grid

Thresholds or tipping points

Slow moving variables

Fast moving variables

Climate

Economic patterns

Credit shifts

Input Prices

Tree growth rates

Diseases

Natural Disasters

Forest Fires

Weather

Biological InvasionsLand ownership

Bankruptcy

Election

Market changesWar

Loss of a leader

Demographics

Stored

Released

Resilience Assessment is:

1. Which basin are we in?2. Where in that basin?3. How to navigate the basin?4. Can we control the shape of

the basin? 5. Can we transform to a new

state if necessary?

Assessing Resilience

• Identify a system• Describe desirable & undesirable states• Identify fast variables in system• Identify slow variables in system• Identify the thresholds in system• Identify vulnerabilities to change• Can we reduce or avoid these?

Sustainability meets Resilience

Resilience Sustainability

• Sustainable Energy Use*• Sustainable Transportation*• Sustainable Infrastructure**• Sustainable Economics*• Sustainable Natural Resources*• Sustainable Solid Waste Management*

Sustainability Community Basics

Tillamook CountyCommunity Sustainability & Resilience Action Plan

Strategic Vision

Community Vitality

Community Resilience & Community Sustainability

Overlap Examples

Estuarine health

Strong local food systems

Conservation of natural resources

Well planned infrastructure

Strong social capital

Local sourcing of resources

Clear Floodplain Planning

Sustainable businesses

Local energy sources

Inclusive, transparent governance

Multiple modes of transportation

Appropriate, well-placed development

Good Communications Networks

“Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

ResourcesResilience Alliancewww.resalliance.org/index.php

NOAA Coastal Services—Hazards & Climate Adaptationwww.csc.noaa.gov/climate/

How Resilient is your coastal community?www.csc.noaa.gov/psc/riskmgmt/resilience.html