Social capital and community disaster resilience: post-earthquake tourism recovery on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the hypothesis that social capital can be a foundation for community disaster resilience with an analysis of empirical findings from the August 2018 earthquake recovery on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, a globally known coastal tourism destination. Positive links between community social capital and community disaster resilience are hypothesized, but the extent to which an iterative and interdependent relationship is co-shaping both is less understood. Social capital can enable collective action, providing self-organized social, psychological, financial and material resources following a disaster, that may otherwise need to be provided externally. In turn, disasters create collective action problems where collective response and recovery process are needed, creating an institutional space where the degree of usefulness, meaning and function of social capital can be shaped, recognized and drawn upon, often where external aid is insufficient. These relationships can be observed following disasters, because individuals and communities are often linked through emotive and meaningful sequences of common experiences, actions and activities. Findings descriptively detail Gili Trawangan’s response and recovery process through the events and activities that occurred, and are then theoretically analyzed with a social capital framework including bonding (within group), bridging (between group) and linking (across power and institutional) ties. Three conclusions can be summarized. (1) Community social capital and disaster resilience are iteratively co-shaped through collective experiences, actions and activities. (2) Understanding context is critical for understanding if and to what degree this relationship exists. (3) The mechanism through which social capital enhances resilience is that it can enable collective action that can lead to the provision of needed aid and services. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11625-020-00854-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Farmers’ Disaster Mitigation Strategies in Indonesia

“…Earthquake impacts are being felt in economic where the goods distribution is disturbed or cut. The challenge of this disaster type is all kind of infrastructure such as road, settlements and public building are destroyed, and can affect other sectors [10,54].…”

“…Collective action is needed for disaster risk reduction management. Indonesia, as an eastern country, has unique characteristics with high collective action [54,103]. Rather than doing everything by themself, many people will lend their hand to help others.…”

The Role of Social Capital in Handling Covid-19 at the Local Level in Indonesia

“…The pillars are networks, norms, and social trust that encourages social collaboration (coordination and cooperation) for the common good. Theoretically, there are social capital factors such as social networks, social trust, and shared goals (Partelow, 2021).…”

“…Online-based social networks are becoming increasingly popular and are used as a means for various activities in social life (Partelow, 2021). Therefore, the participation of individuals involved in interactions and networks can generate profits.…”

Living in Huntara during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Communication Ethnography of the PASIGALA Earthquake Victims Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic)

“…This event became known as the Pasigala earthquake, an abbreviation of the three affected areas, namely Palu City, Sigi Regency, Parigi Regency, and Donggala Regency. This incident has changed the social life of the people directly affected by the natural disaster (Wekke et al, 2019;Partelow, 2021). However, this research will deepen the study in terms of communication, how the communication phenomenon is, how they build communication, the content of the touch, and the mechanism of communicating with new people, meeting in new places and new ethnic groups.…”