As experts predict that at least some irreversible climate change will occur with potentially disastrous effects on the lives and well-being of vulnerable communities around the world, it is paramount to ensure that these communities are resilient and have adaptive capacity to withstand the consequences. Adaptation and resilience planning present several ethical issues that need to be resolved if we are to achieve successful adaptation and resilience to climate change, taking into consideration vulnerabilities and inequalities in terms of power, income, gender, age, sexuality, race, culture, religion, and spatiality. Sustainable adaptation and resilience planning that addresses these ethical issues requires interdisciplinary dialogues between the natural sciences, social sciences, and philosophy, in order to integrate empirical insights on socioeconomic inequality and climate vulnerability with ethical analysis of the underlying causes and consequences of injustice in adaptation and resilience. In this paper, we set out an interdisciplinary research agenda for the inclusion of ethics and justice theories in adaptation and resilience planning, particularly into the Sixth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6). We present six core discussions that we believe should be an integral part of these interdisciplinary dialogues on adaptation and resilience as part of IPCC AR6, especially Chapters 2 ("Terrestial and freshwater ecosystems and their services"), 6 ("Cities, settlements and key infrastructure"), 7 ("Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities"), 8 ("Poverty, livelihoods and sustainable development"), 16 "Key risks across sectors and regions"), 17 ("Decision-making options for managing risk"), and 18 ("Climate resilient development pathways").: (i) Where does 'justice' feature in resilience and adaptation planning and what does it require in that regard?; (ii) How can it be ensured that adaptation and resilience strategies protect and take into consideration and represent the interest of the most vulnerable women and men, and communities?; (iii) How can different forms of knowledge be integrated within adaptation and resilience planning?; (iv) What trade-offs need to be made when focusing on resilience and adaptation and how can they be resolved?; (v) What roles and responsibilities do different actors have to build 3 resilience and achieve adaptation?; (vi) Finally, what does the focus on ethics imply for the practice of adaptation and resilience planning?

The South African disaster management legislation advocates the importance of implementing pro-active disaster risk reduction strategies that will ensure a safe and sustainable society. One key strategic activity identified is the use of simulation exercises to improve overall societal readiness and inter-agency coordination in case of major incidents or disasters. However, very little is currently understood or planned especially at South African local government level, on what simulation exercises entail and the methodology behind their implementation. This paper aims at conveying some crucial methodological inputs that disaster risk managers or emergency response agencies should consider when planning, designing and implementing simulation exercises by analysing a hazardous chemical spillage simulation in the Tlokwe Local Municipality, NorthWest Province, South Africa. The research found that in the South African context attention needs to be paid to methodological issues such as scenario development, role-player selection, fidelity during simulation delivery, data collection and participant (de)briefing.

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The Merafong Local Municipality (MLM) has historically suffered financial and human losses because of the presence of dolomite and the consequent formation of sinkholes. There is a great need for the MLM to address the risk posed by sinkholes to ensure the continued safety of communities. However, as the risk is so pervasive, the MLM needs to coordinate their risk reduction strategies with a wide array of stakeholders in the municipality. Efficient stakeholder management is thus crucial if the sinkhole risk is to be addressed appropriately. This article reviews the current status of stakeholder management in the MLM as it pertains to the formulation of a holistic sinkhole risk reduction strategy. Findings indicate that there are serious deficiencies in the MLM’s stakeholder management relating to key risk management processes such as community involvement in risk management structures, disaster risk assessment, training and awareness, and early warning and response. Improved stakeholder management could be characterised by the following factors: improved two-way communication between the municipality and community stakeholders, fostering a relationship based upon trust and equality amongst stakeholders, participation by a wide array of stakeholder groups affected by the sinkhole risk and a mutual commitment by all stakeholders to address the risk. These factors could contribute to enhancing current and future sinkhole risk reduction strategies.

The responsibility for building community resilience cannot and should not rest with the public sector alone. It requires all sectors to collaborate for the benefit of the entire community. Specifically, it is important for private sector organisations to participate in building community resilience because they have vested interest in the area because of their physical assets, suppliers, customers and corporate value of social responsibility. This article explores collaboration between private companies and community of Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa, to build disaster resilience in the community. The study applied qualitative research methods. Data were collected through focus group interviews with the community of Diepsloot and semi-structured individual interviews with representatives of private companies operating in the vicinity of Diepsloot. A total of 55 respondents participated in the study. Respondents included five corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers from private companies and 50 community members. The findings of the study showed that private companies are involved in addressing socio-economic challenges in Diepsloot. Addressing such challenges contributes a great deal to reducing exposure to hazards and the vulnerability factors to disasters, thereby contributing to building resilience. Whereas some respondents preferred the private companies to work with the communities directly, the study recommends the use of community structures such as Community Based Organisations (CBOs) when private companies engage in community initiatives. The article contributes to better understanding of the private sector’s contribution to build community resilience.