Resilience: buzz word or useful concept?

23/10/2012

The currently fashionable term of ‘resilience’ is a positive antidote to the negative connotation of ‘vulnerability’ as it refers to the potential and capacities of each community. Nevertheless, the concept remains controversial. Everyone seems to have their own definition of ‘resilience’, and there is a risk that rather than bringing clarity, it will only bring confusion. Though improving the capacity of communities to resist shocks is a common objective of organizations working in different operational sectors, does this concept help them to work together and improve their coordination? Rather than considering climate change, natural disasters and poverty to be independent problems, combining and linking these three areas could, theoretically, contribute to meeting the challenges related to risk and change which have a direct impact on the lives and work of local communities. But to what extent can these three areas be combined? What are the risks and opportunities of doing so? Will this allow resilience to be strengthened? With each community seeming to have its own specific way of understanding what is behind our labels, what effect do these concepts have at the local level?