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Hazards
are based on ve main themes of strategic directions — economics of resilience, smarter land use, better building performance and resilient infrastructure.
Informed by Canterbury lessons
Discussions at the 2-day forum were framed by an MBIE Canterbury lessons learned docu- ment and supported by several New Zealand presenters and four international experts.
‘The Canterbury experience highlighted vulnerabilities in the way we build, the land we build on, the fragility of our infrastructure and, above all, the high cost of lack of resil- ience,’ said Dr Larry Bellamy, MBIE Chair of the forum steering committee.
Collaboration is key
‘The forum recognised that strengthening our approach to resilience required collabora- tion between the private and public sectors. Having these people in the same room for 2 days to better understand the issues we’re
facing and what needs to happen to start tackling them was a great rst step.’
A key theme to emerge was the need for a coordinated, multi-agency work programme with clear pathways to implementation, working closely with the private sector and communities, underpinned by robust data and evidence.
Other needs from the forum include:
● a better framework and governance at national level for managing risks to the
built environment
● incentives and tools that justify appropriate
levels of private and public sector invest-
ment in urban resilience
● data and evidence to tell the resilience story
and to develop cost-e ective risk-reduction and mitigation measures.
Challenges for leaders
Andrew Kibblewhite, Chief Executive, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, identi ed four key leadership challenges:
● To understand risks and think through what to do about them.
● To get better at making the case for action. ● To get better at working together.
● To keep learning from Canterbury, from inter-
national experience and from each other. The forum recognised that strengthening the approach to resilience requires collaboration between private and public sectors, profes- sions and strong public engagement.
‘We’re keen to build on that momentum and get some real traction on the resilience discussion,’ said Dr Bellamy.
‘Our ultimate goal is to develop urban resilience so that communities can continue to function at acceptable levels after a natural disaster.’
Action plan for the future
Since the forum, MBIE has held a workshop with key stakeholders to begin developing an action plan and seek agreement on priori- ties and accountabilities.
GREY FRIARS IRONSAND
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