This document summarizes a working session on strengthening resilience through learning and transformation. [1] Key factors that contribute to building resilience include constant learning, strengthening local stakeholders and structures, trust between groups, multi-hazard risk management, risk maps linking community and governance, and intersectoral approaches. [2] Learning is seen as key to the process of resilience building. [3] The document discusses how both incremental learning and transformational changes are needed to manage climate risks and uncertainties over the long term.

1. Working Session
Strengthening Resilience in the context of
learning and transformation
With contribution from
IDRC Davos 2012

2. Strengthening resilience in the context of learning and
transformation
Nicole Clot
Advisor DRR and ACC
Environment and Climate Change
IDRC Davos 2012

3. Agenda of the session
• Summarizing the case studies
• Learning and Transformation and its signification
• Key messages
• Plenum Discussion
• Wrap up and closing

4. Features contributing to resilience building
• Constant learning from phase to phase
• Strengthening of existing structures and stakeholders at the local level (key
competence)
• Trust is a precondition for resilience building
• Multi-hazard risk management approaches provide opportunities to reduce
complex and compound hazards in rural and urban contexts
• Risk maps help and link community and local governance (common interests)
• Bridge the gap between national and local stakeholders
• Intersectoral approach is better able to tackle the root causes
 The ability to learn is key in the process of resilience building
(SREX 2012)

5. Learning and Transformation
A resilient future is a choice that involves
proactive measures that promote
transformations, including adaptive
management, learning, innovation, and
leadership capacity to manage risks and
uncertainty.
Actions that range from incremental steps to
transformational changes are essential for
reducing risk from climate extremes.
Source: SREX 2012

6. Learning and Transformation
Learning
• Incremental steps: aim to improve efficiency within existing
technological, governance and value systems.
Transformation
• Transformation involves fundamental changes in the attributes of a
system; meaning value systems; regulatory, legislative, or bureaucratic
regimes; financial institutions; and technological or biological systems.
• Especially in countries where vulnerability is high and the adaptive capacity
low, changes in extreme climate and weather events can make it difficult for
systems to adapt sustainably without transformational changes
Source: SREX 2012

7. Key Messages (i)
From protecting lives to protecting livelihoods
• Exposure and vulnerability are growing, but causalities are decreasing.
Local level is crucial
• In the absence of a functioning state, DRR at the micro level is even
more crucial and can have a significant positive impact.
• The protection of natural hazards is often a higher priority for communities
than reflected in national budgets and plans.
DRR demands a long-term perspective
• Learning and transformation are long-term processes. However, in reality
DRR projects are often short-term (e.g. financial constraints, DRR not a
development issue).

8. Key Messages (ii)
Facilitation of learning and transformation processes are at the core of DRR
interventions
• The intervention of technical aspects is important, but the soft
component is even more crucial. The strengthening of stakeholder‘s
capacities is key and shall be at the core of all interventions.
• NGOs support learning processes and contribute to empowerment; to a
certain extent, they also contribute to pathing the way, but do not trigger
transformational changes (e.g. external mandatory regulations, laws etc.)
• Recurrent crises interrupt learning processes and make it difficult for a
community/country to go through such a process.

9. Questions for plenum
Post Hyogo Framework for Action must focus
more on the community-level and NGO are well
placed to take over a key role.
• How can other stakeholders contribute to a better
process of learning and transformation?
• How do other actors see their cooperation with NGOs
in order to enhance the learning and transformational
process?

10. Thank you