| Phase of disaster cycle: Multiple |
| “Resilience describes an active process of self-righting, learned resourcefulness and growth―the abilityto function psychologically at a level far greater than expected given the individual’s capabilities and previous experiences.” Paton, Smith and Violanti, 2000 |
| “Qualities of people, communities, agencies, infrastructure that reduce vulnerability. Not just the absence of vulnerability rather the capacity to 1) prevent, mitigate losses and then if damage occurs 2) to maintain normal living conditions and to 3) manage recovery from the impact.” Buckle et al., 2000 |
| “The concept [of resilience] has been used to characterize a system’s ability to bounce back to a reference state after a disturbance and the capacity of a system to maintain certain structures and functions despite disturbance. […] resilience of the system is often evaluated in terms of the amount of change a given system can undergo (e.g., how much disturbance or stress it can handle) and still remain within the set of natural or desirable states (i.e., remain within the same ‘configuration’ of states, rather than maintain a single state).” Turner et al., 2003 |
| “The capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. This is determined by the degree to which the social system is capable of organizing itself to increase its capacity for learning from past disasters for better future protection and to improve risk reduction measures.” UN/ISDR, 2004 |
| “Ecosystem resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbance without collapsing into a qualitatively different state that is controlled by a different set of processes. A resilient ecosystem can withstand shocks and rebuild itself when necessary. Resilience in social systems has the added capacity of humans to anticipate and plan for the future.” Resilience Alliance, 2005 |
| “The capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. This is determined by the degree to which the social system is capable of organising itself to increase this capacityfor learning from past disasters for better future protection and to improve risk reduction measures.” UNISDR, 2005 |
| “The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions.” UNISDR 2009, p. 24 |
| “The ability of assets, networks and systems to anticipate, absorb, adapt to and/or rapidly recover from a disruptive event.” Cabinet Office, 2011 p. 14 |
| “The ability of countries, communities and house-holds to manage change, by maintaining or transforming living standards in the face of shocks or stresses―such as earthquakes, drought or violent conflict―without compromising their long-term prospects.” DFID, 2011 p. 6 |
| “The ability of a system and its component parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions.” IPCC, 2012 p. 563 |
| “Resilience is the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.” The National Academies, 2012 p. 1 |