Wildfire preparedness, community cohesion and social–ecological systems

Abstract

The consequences of wildfires are felt in susceptible communities around the globe on an annual basis. Climate change predictions in places like the southeast of Australia and western United States suggest that wildfires may become more frequent and more intense with global climate change. Compounding this issue is progressive urban development at the peri-urban fringe (wildland-urban interface), where continued infrastructure development and demographic changes are likely to expose more people and property to this potentially disastrous natural hazard. Preparing well in advance of the wildfire season is seen as a fundamental behaviour that can both reduce community wildfire vulnerability and increase hazard resilience-it is an important element of adaptive capacity that allows people to coexist with the hazardous environment in which they live. We use household interviews and surveys to build and test a substantive model that illustrates how social cohesion influences the decision to prepare for wildfire. We demonstrate that social cohesion, particularly community characteristics like 'sense of community' and 'collective problem solving', are community-based resources that support both the adoption of mechanical preparations, and the development of cognitive abilities and capacities that reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience to wildfire. We use the results of this work to highlight opportunities to transfer techniques and approaches from natural hazards research to climate change adaptation research to explore how the impacts attributed to the social components of social-ecological systems can be mitigated more effectively.

An experiment in strengthening the networks of remote communities in the face of environmental change: leveraging spatially distributed environmental memory

“…On the one hand, cohesive networks of local bonding reciprocal relationships contribute to the resilience of rural communities (Moser 1996;Prior and Eriksen 2013). On the other hand, external bridging links are useful for accessing locally unavailable information about sustainable natural resource management (Bodin and Crona 2009;Demiryurek 2010;Isaac et al 2007;Isaac and Matous 2017;Newig et al 2010;Newman and Dale 2007).…”

Embodied uncertainty: living with complexity and natural hazards

“…Attributions of responsibility (who is responsible), and trust are also important mediators that underpin whether actions are taken to adjust to an identified risk (Terry, Hogg, and White 1999;Paton 2008). Modelling with substantive data has been used to illustrate how social cohesion affects the decision to prepare for wildfire by facilitating the transfer of information that can influence the social construction of issues or problems (Eriksen and Prior 2011;Prior and Eriksen 2013). This raises the salience of risk issues relative to other everyday considerations among community members.…”

Conceptualizing Dimensions and Characteristics of Urban Resilience: Insights from a Co-Design Process

“…This can be achieved through developing institutional and social capacities to seize uncertain disruptions as opportunities for encouraging experimentation, learning by doing, and reflection [60]. Cohesive societies with high levels of trust and social capital have a higher capacity to deal with irregularities and uncertainties involved in disaster risk management [62].…”