Disaster Resilient Outcomes for Rural Aotearoa New Zealand

Rural communities, economies, and infrastructure are vulnerable to a range of natural hazard risks, from earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes, as well as extreme weather, wildfire and coastal hazards. Coupled with unique social, economic, cultural and political factors, this creates complex environments in which to build disaster resilience.

The project team are co-producing innovative solutions for enhancing the resilience of rural Aotearoa New Zealand; developing tools, strategies and resources specifically for rural communities, organisations and businesses.

This project is being carried out in three key work streams:

•  Long-term recovery pathways in North Canterbury
  Tourism and food security play a pivotal role in rural communities by developing social and economic opportunities, reducing disaster risk, and improving wellbeing. Recent disasters, including the Hurunui-Kaikōura-Marlborough earthquake sequence, provide a unique opportunity to explore the implementation of recovery strategies for the region in real-time.
• Breaking out of ‘non-decisions’ for primary industries
  Current policies guiding the recovery of primary industries after natural hazard events may have unintended long-term consequences, by preserving the status quo and locking in undesirable pathways. This workstream is gaining insight into recovery in rural settings and identifying opportunities to enable more resilient responses through three case studies; in Southland (drought), Marlborough (drought and earthquake) and Bay of Plenty (flood).
•  Protection and recovery from localised natural hazard events
  This project seeks to identify the economic, environmental and wellbeing implications of localised natural hazard events. Our case study will investigate the recovery path of farmers and rural households affected by adverse events in the Hawke’s Bay region, to identify potential tools that could increase preparedness, reduce risk, and aid recovery for farmers, industry groups, and relevant agencies.

These research priorities have been developed in consultation with our stakeholders and partners in the primary sector.