Implementing Gilbert White’s Vision?

some thoughts going forward…

Implementing Gilbert White’s Vision? Two views…

• Strait jacket

Implementing Gilbert White’s Vision? Two views…

• Strait jacket

(remember what I once said)

• Point of departure

(think for yourselves)

It’s about problem solving, not labels

• “scientist”

• “practitioner”

• “general public”

Earth does business through extremes

recent human success: recent human success: itself an extreme eventitself an extreme event

in a short period of time…• growth in numbers• resource use per capita• accelerating pace of social change, science, and technology, including…• the invention of “natural” disasters

Natural disasters...

…reflect social decisions

• disruptions of entire communities

• persisting after the hazard has come and gone

• exceeding the communities’ ability to recover unaided

disaster loss trends: people

disaster loss trends: dollars

Why, despite the fact we know so much more about the natural and social causes of disasters, do losses continue to mount?

The standard answer…

• Population increase

• Migration to more hazardous areas

• Growth in wealth over time

• But… additional factors are at work…

White, Kates, and Burton 2001*

• we haven't learned as much as we think• knowledge is available but unused• knowledge is used ineffectively, and/or • growth in costs may reflect a time lag

between the acquisition of new understanding and when it can be put into practice.

*White, GF, et al. (2001), ‘Knowing better and losing even more: the use of knowledge in hazards management,’ Environmental Hazards, (3). 81-92.

…learning from experience

Learning from experience… …continued

The problem (continued)…

• need to move from efforts to manage emergency response and recovery of greater scope and complexity

• to reducing the need for such measures

• extremes: the new

eco-tourism

“private sector” and NGO’s, FBO’s must be full partners• Victim

• Vector

• Critical infrastructure provider

• Emergency responder

• Recovery

• Strategic planning partner?

• Marketer?

Increasingly, …

• …building resilience will – require all sectors of the community– be much more than emergency response

• …disasters will be about social justice/equity

Increasingly, …

• …building resilience will – require all sectors of the community– be much more than emergency response

• …disasters will be about social justice/equity

• …disasters will be, at their core, a spiritual/cultural matter

Extremes: the new eco-tourism

Extremes: the new eco-tourism

Extremes: the new eco-tourism

The “white paper” embodies these notions

• Building resilience to extremes is not a sideshow but mainstream

• Challenge is not to change but to reawaken the culture

• Resilience/hazard mitigation are in our DNA