The Evolution of the “Disaster Resilience” Concept and its Implications for Disaster Risk Reduction

This study reviews the evolution of the “disaster resilience” concept and attempts to draw implications for disaster risk reduction from it. First, the concept of disaster resilience was influenced by ecology and brought into disaster management research as a concept of system stability. The irreversible damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. has led to disaster resilience being considered not as the ability of a society to “bounce back,” but as the ability of a society to adapt to or transform toward a desirable future. However, the inclusion of transformative capacity in the resilience concept raises several issues in disaster risk reduction practice. Finally, it creates three conflicts: between transformative and maintaining capacity, between the subjects of resilience, and sometimes between transformative capacity and societal values such as justice and equality. This study suggests three conditions that justify transformation under the name of resilience: (1) sustainability, (2) welfare, and (3) dignity.