Page - 400 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

400 R.Mechler et al. Focus:FloodRisk Theworldisfacingincreasingrisksasglobalisationconnectspeople,economies,and ecosystems.Globally, thenumberofpeopleexposedtofloodseachyearisincreasing atahigherratethanpopulationgrowth.Peoplearedrawntoliveonfloodplainspartly because of economic opportunity (World Bank 2013). However, it is increasingly recognisedthatcommunitiescannot totallyavoidriskandthat livingwithrisksis the imperative. Future socioeconomic and climatic changes are expected to exacerbate floodingandunderminehumanwellbeing.Floodrisksareincreasing,interconnected and interdependent and cannot be enhancedbyone stakeholder alone.Todate, the development and thedisaster riskmanagement (DRM)communitieshave reliedon amixof interventions tohelpcommunitiescopewithflooding:“hard” interventions like building adamorfloodevacuation routes and, to amuch lesser extent, “smart andsoft”interventionslikelanduseplanning,insurance,andearly-warning-systems. Flood-riskmanagement isdominatedbysingle interventions,manyofwhich fail to meet theirobjectivesbecause theydonotconsider thewider socioeconomicsystem within which they operate. In some instances interventions can even be counter- productive in resilience terms, inadvertently undermining development or actually increasing risk inanotherway. Focus:ASystemsPerspectiveonResilience The engagement in theZFRA is organised around concepts andmethods linked to the notion of resilience.While not a new concept (theory andmethods have been developedinthe1970s, importantlycoinedbythinkingonecologicalresilience), the resiliencediscoursehasrecentlybeenstronglyrevived,partiallyalsotriggeredbythe aftermathoftheglobalfinancialcrisis.Emphasis inthisfieldhasbeenonidentifying synergieswith developmental challenges, systemic risks and actions.While some consider resilience the ‘new sustainability,’ it remains to be seen how this promis- ing, if broad conceptualisationmay help to stimulate necessary action on climate change anddisaster risks,while seeking to foster an integrationof social, ecologic andeconomicdimensionsofsustainabilitychallenges. It iswellunderstoodthatdis- asters increasingly impair sustainable development, yet DRMhas often looked at correctivemeasures (rebuilding the status quo and old vulnerabilities), rather than prospectiveefforts tacklingunderlyingriskdrivers, suchasunplannedurbansprawl andasset locationinharm’sway.Theconceptofresilienceprovidesachancetotake asystems’perspectiveand tackleprospective riskcreationby integratingnotionsof up-anddown-side riskavoidanceandmanagementwithupside risk taking.Keating et al. (2016a) document theon-going evolutionwithin the extremeevent riskman- agement community towards embracing theconcept of resilience.Theauthors also suggestanovelconceptualisationandoperationalisationtohelpjointlytacklethekey challenges discussed above, and see resilience as the “ability of a system, commu- nityorsocietytopursueitssocial,ecologicalandeconomicdevelopmentandgrowth objectives,whilemanagingitsdisaster riskover timeinamutuallyreinforcingway” (Keatinget al. 2017).