Transcript Climate change vulnerability and resilience: Conceptual

Strengthening community
resilience to
climate change
Professor John Wiseman,
Director, McCaughey Centre
VCOSS Congress, Friday 7 August, 2009
The McCaughey Centre
VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Overview
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Understanding community resilience and
vulnerability
Climate change trends, impacts and challenges
Strengthening community resilience to climate
change
-Strengthening the foundations of community resilience
-Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies
-The transformation challenge: from fear to hope to
action
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
What is community resilience?
‘Resilience refers to the ability of a system, from individual
people to whole economies, to hold together and maintain
their ability to function in the face of change and shocks from
the outside’. Hopkins, R. The Transition Handbook, 2008
‘The capacity of individuals, families, communities and
institutions to anticipate, withstand and/or judiciously engage
with catastrophic events and/or experiences; actively making
meaning out of adversity.’ Almeddon and Tumwine, 2008
‘Resilient communities are those which can anticipate, resist,
cope with, adapt to or recover from exposure to new
conditions.’ Department of Planning and Community Development, VIC
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
What is community vulnerability?
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Melbourne School of Population Health
Characteristics of resilient communities
‘A society's general resilience comes from a range of
factors, including the trust and cooperation among its
people, their ability to ‘pull together’ through tough times,
the capacity of the people and the social institutions to
generate and use knowledge to find solutions to new
challenges and to learn from experience, and the extent to
which natural ecosystems are able to continue to support
economic and social welfare while absorbing the influence
of human activities on them.
In addition, specific challenges will require specific
resilience that can only be built if society is able to imagine
what those challenges might be.’
Australia 21: How Resilient is Australia?
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Melbourne School of Population Health
Characteristics of resilient communities
• Income and resources; industry and employment
• Strong, inclusive, broad social networks (bridging and bonding
capital)
• Diverse, well resourced, well linked community organisations
• Responsive, effective information and communication systems,
enabling rapid, flexible decisions and response
• Capacity to learn; strong educational and innovation systems
• Community pride; shared vision for the future
• Self reliance – combined with capacity to identify and secure
external resources
• Broad citizen engagement
• Experienced, widely respected community leadership
Canadian Centre for Community Renewal, The Community
Resilience Manual, 2000; Nelson, Adger and Brown, 2007;
Resilience Alliance
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Household income
Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University
of Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Food Security
Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Satisfaction with feeling part of the
community
Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University
of Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Citizen engagement
Citizen Engagement
Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Sources of community
vulnerability/resilience challenges
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Recession; unemployment
Economic restructuring; Financial crises
Demographic changes
Pandemics
Peak oil
Extreme weather events: fires, floods,
droughts
…..Climate change
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Melbourne School of Population Health
‘There is no doubt in my mind that climate change is
the greatest problem confronting mankind at this
time and that it has reached the level of a state of
emergency.’
Prof. David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, July 2008
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Melbourne School of Population Health
Climate Change International Scientific Congress
Copenhagen, 2009, Key Message 1
‘Recent observations confirm that, given high
rates of observed emissions, the worst-case
IPCC scenario trajectories (or even worse) are
being realised.
For many key parameters, the climate system is already moving
beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society
and economy have developed and thrived. These parameters include
global mean surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean and ice sheet
dynamics, ocean acidification, and extreme climatic events. There is
a significant risk that many of the trends will accelerate, leading to
an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climatic shifts.’
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Climate change in Australia
Eleven of the hottest years in history
have been in the last 12, and we also
note, particularly in the southern part of
Australia, we're seeing less rainfall. All
of this is consistent with climate
change, and all of this is consistent with
what scientists told us would happen.
Penny Wong, Minister for Climate
January 2009
Change,
Rodney Dekker
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Impacts of climate change on
community health and wellbeing
•Physical and mental health:
Death, injury, disease,
trauma, anxiety, depression
•Food and water security:
Access, quality, price
•Access to services:
Emergency, health,
transport, housing, education
•Jobs and livelihood:
Agriculture, emissions
intensive industries
•Community connectedness:
Participation, infrastructure
recreation, volunteers,
support networks
Angela Wylie
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times
Impacts of climate change on community
health and wellbeing
‘Living with what has been 10-15 years of dryness
for some areas is about a lot more than failed crops
and skinny sheep.
It is also about losing your neighbours, your friends,
your employees and your family to the mines, the
city or foreclosure.
It is about losing your local shops, services, schools
and sports clubs.
It is about growing isolation, having no water in the
house, and worrying about your children.
It is about not being able to sleep, to talk, to move
because of the uncertainty and stress.’
Lauren Rickards, RMCG Consulting: ‘Agriculture under water
scarcity: What does it mean for farmers?’ February 2009
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Strengthening community resilience to
climate change
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Strengthening overall foundations of
community resilience
Local climate adaptation strategies
Restoring a safe climate
 From mitigation to transformation
 From fear to hope to action
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Local community climate adaptation
strategies
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Health
Livelihood: Employment and Income
Housing
Energy
Water
Food
Communications
Transport
– Impacts on most vulnerable places and population
groups
– Importance of local knowledge, conversations,
solutions and leadership
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Limits of climate adaptation strategies?
‘An adaptable society is
characterised by awareness of
diverse values, appreciation
and understanding of specific
and variable vulnerabilities to
impacts and acceptance of
some loss through change.
The ability to adapt is
determined in part by the
availability of technology and
the capacity for learning but
fundamentally by the ethics
of the treatment of
vulnerable people and
places.’
Adger, N et al, ‘Are there social
limits to adaption to climate
change?’, Climate Change,
September 2008
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Limits of climate adaptation strategies
‘Diverse and contested values – underpinned by ethical,
cultural, risk and knowledge considerations – underlie
adaptation responses and thus define mutable and
subjective limits to adaption.
Given diverse values of diverse actors there is a
compelling need to identify and recognise implicit and
hidden values and interest in advance of purposeful
adaption interventions.
As a consequence there is a a requirement for
governance mechanism that can meaningfully
acknowledge and negotiate the complexity arising from
the manifestation of diverse values – for example
deliberative platforms for adaptive action involving wide
sets of stakeholders.’
Adger, N et al, ‘Are there social limits to adaption to
climate change?’, Climate Change, September 2008
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
‘Firefighters know that it is better to prevent an emergency
than to have to rescue people from it. We urge state and
federal governments to follow scientific advice and keep
firefighters and the community safe by halving the country’s
greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.’
Peter Marshal, National Secretary, United Firefighters Union
February12 2009
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
‘We are standing at a moment in history when a
GREAT TRANSFORMATION is needed to respond
to the immense threat to our planet. This
transformation must begin immediately’.
Potsdam Nobel Laureates Symposium, 2008
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Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Great transitions – learning from history
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Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
Strengthening community resilience
to climate change
• Resilience to climate change depends on strengthening the
foundations of community resilience
• The specific challenges of climate change require urgent action
to improve local community adaptation capabilities
• There are however limits to the capacity of local communities
to adapt to climate change
• Building community resilience to climate change is not just
about ‘coping’.
• Strengthening community resilience to climate change also
requires support for mitigation – and transformation to
contribute to the restoration of a safe climate
• The journey from fear to hope to transformation requires a
shared vision, a shared belief that transformation is possible
and clear plans and pathways.
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health
© Copyright The University of Melbourne 2008
Safe Climate Australia
www.safeclimateaustralia.org
Safe Climate Australia aims
to mobilise Australia’s
technological, economic
and political expertise and
resources in planning the
transition of the Australian
economy to zero net
carbon, the sequestering of
dangerous levels of existing
carbon from the
atmosphere, and in
assisting the building of a
global consensus for
restoring a safe climate.
The McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing
Melbourne School of Population Health