Characterising rural resilience in Aotearoa-New Zealand: a systematic review

Abstract

The concept of 'resilience' has recently gained traction in a range of contexts. Its various interpretations and framings are now used to examine a variety of issues, particularly relating to the human dimensions of global change. This can pose challenges to scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers seeking to develop focused research programmes, design targeted interventions, and communicate across disciplinary boundaries. The concept of resilience is widely used in Aotearoa-New Zealand, where it informs both government policy and research programmes. Resilience is particularly relevant in this small developed nation, which is heavily reliant on primary production in rural areas and affected by a range of geological and climatic hazards. To understand the range and extent of application of resilience in the rural context, we use systematic review methods to identify, characterise, and synthesise this knowledge base. Currently, research applying the concept of resilience in the rural context is limited in areal extent, largely quantitative in nature, and led by a small number of researchers. There is limited evidence of collaboration. Research has focused on a small number of hazards, failing to capture the diversity of risks and hazards in addition to their impacts. The results of our analysis and methodology offer important insights for meta-analyses of risk and hazard scholarship. The findings provide a baseline to track the future progress and effectiveness of resilience interventions and help inform current and future research priorities targeting persistent vulnerabilities in rural New Zealand and elsewhere.

A typology of community flood resilience

“…Resilience indicators at the community level are less well studied. Most of the studies in the literature examine only one or two communities, thus providing non-consistent evidence rather than generalizable insight into the characteristics of community disaster resilience (Frankenberger et al 2013;Frazier et al 2013;Joerin et al 2012;Johnson et al 2018;Spector et al 2019;Twigg 2009).…”

Social–ecological inventory in a postdisaster context: the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, Aotearoa-New Zealand

“…Six months on from the event, there was considerable uncertainty about the recovery process and the long-term implications for the community and its economy. Flow-on effects for tourism, productivity in the primary sector, and issues of social and psychological well-being were particularly pronounced, highlighting once again the vulnerability of New Zealand's rural communities to environmental risks and hazards (Dantas and Seville 2006, Smith et al 2011, Thompson et al 2017, Spector et al 2018.…”

“…New Zealand is a small, developed, export-led country, located on and adjacent to several active plate boundaries (Lamb 2015). This combination of high levels of seismicity, its location in the Pacific, local relief, and varied topography result in a dynamic and complex hazardscape (Khan 2012, Spector et al 2018. In September 2010, the first major earthquake in 80 years in an urban area struck Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island.…”

Towards a heuristic for assessing adaptation knowledge: impacts, implications, decisions and actions

“…Some of these act as persistent pressure on enterprises, while others act as short, sharp shocks. Collectively they can have a significant impact on the sector and New Zealand's economy (Stroombergen et al 2006, Spector et al 2018.…”