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Increasing Community Self-Reliance March 2013
Community Resilience Guideline for Developers
Green Cross Australia ABN 45 125 314 614 PO Box 12117 Brisbane QLD 4003 p: (07) 3003 0644 e: [email protected] w: www.greencrossaustralia.org
Contents
1 Foreword 1
2 Purpose of this guideline 2 2.1 About this guideline 2 2.2 Why community resilience is important 3 2.3 Building resilience through community engagement 4
3 Community resilience and natural hazards 6 3.1 Natural hazards in Australia 6 3.2 The Prevention-Preparedness-Response-Recovery cycle 7
4 Developing a Community Resilience Plan 9 4.1 The Community Resilience Plan (CRP) process 9 4.2 Phase 1 - local profile and risk assessment 10 4.3 Phase 2 – writing a CRP and community engagement plan 11 4.4 Phase 3 – Community engagement 13 4.5 Phase 4 – On-going management strategy 13
5 Pilot project case studies 15 5.1 Results and event feedback 16
Appendix A Developer Checkl ist Version 2.0 18
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1 Foreword
Harden Up – Protecting Queensland is a Green Cross Australia project that aims to build community resilience by empowering people to take responsibility for protecting themselves and their families against severe weather, by building a culture of community participation, local hazard awareness and self-reliance skills.
The Harden Up – Protecting Queensland website – www.hardenup.org was funded by Round Two of the 2011 Queensland NDRP. The website was launched by former Attorney General and Minister for Emergency Management, the Hon. Robert McClelland, on 20 October 2011 on behalf of Green Cross Australia.
The Community Resilience Guidelines for Developers was funded under round three of the Queensland Natural Disaster Resilience Program (NDRP).
Green Cross Australia is committed to providing all Australians with information, inspiration, tools and social media outreach from the Harden Up – Protecting Queensland campaign.
Harden Up – Protecting Queensland Improve community preparedness for natural hazards or disaster events with these three key steps:
• Be Aware - understand past weather events and climate change projections for your area.
• Prepare - make a Personal Resilience Plan for your family so you are prepared for major weather events.
• Help Others – learn how to help others action and together you can increase the resilience of your community.
Harden Up – Protecting Queensland provides resources for each of these stages. Visit the website
www.hardenup.org for information on Queensland disasters from the past 150 year, advice on preparedness advice and links to local, state and federal agencies and other emergency preparedness and response organisations.
The website is designed for Queensland but features preparedness information relevant across Australia. Including advice on cyclones, severe storms, floods and bushfires.
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2 Purpose of this guideline
About this guideline
This guideline is designed to assist developers increase the resilience of master planned communities against severe weather. It can be used as a resource for applying for the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Green Star - Communities rating tool credit - GOV- 6 Adaptation and Resilience.
The guideline provides steps for developing a Community Resilience Plan (CRP), which is the primary mechanism for developers to demonstrate they have complied with GOV- 6 Adaptation and Resilience credit and be awarded points.
The guideline is also useful for developers not pursuing a Green Star – Communities rating but looking to improve the resilience of their community. The approach and initiatives in the guide are designed to drive best practice in building community resilience.
Green Star – Communities CRP credit minimum requirements
The CRP must contain as a minimum the following information:
• Potential (project-specific) risks to the community from extreme events.
• Key community contacts (e.g. local police, senior members of community groups, schools and other community-based leaders).
• Emergency contacts (e.g. local authorities, utility providers, insurance, counselling etc).
• Nominated emergency shelter location(s) for the community such as a shopping centre or school hall.
• Information on how to develop an emergency plan and emergency kit for residents, businesses and others occupying the facilities within the community.
• Comprehensive list of communication channels to enable the community to stay informed (e.g. radio, social media).
• Guidelines for disaster prevention at a local level, procedure to follow in the event of an emergency and what to do after an emergency.
• Checklists to support the implementation of the above.
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The guideline is also a useful resource for master planned development community groups, in their role as a connector and facilitator of residents within the development. Community groups wanting to assist residents to prepare for severe weather will find many useful tips and processes in the guideline.
How master planned development community groups can use this guideline
• Section 3 outlines the types of hazards communities need to be aware of. Further information about your community is in Appendix B.
• Section 4 describes how to engage with residents, business and others. This can be adapted to suit your needs.
Green Cross Australia recognises that there is a vast amount of literature available on emergency management planning and emergency response. This guideline is a complement to those resources.
Why community resilience is important
Put simply, during disaster events most communities will find there are insufficient resources available to protect assets and individuals. During a major disaster event emergency services need to prioritise where and how to provide emergency services. In many instances emergency staff put their own safety at risk to help others.
Developers and community groups have the ability to assist and influence residents to take practical steps before severe weather occurs. Developing community resilience early and as a collective community effort relieves pressure from traditional emergency response services during disasters.
Community Resi l ience
Is the ability and adaptive capacity of a community to withstand, recover and adapt from stress.
Community resilience refers to the amount of disturbance a community can handle from changes in climate or a disaster without losing functionality.
Communities that are located or have been designed without protection from more intense and frequent weather are considered to be highly sensitivity and lacking resilience.
A community lacking resilience will: • require greater assistance during emergencies
• require greater support services
• be more sensitive to extreme temperatures
• be less able to afford any increases in living expenses.
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Building resilience through community engagement
Research into the best ways to build a community’s resilience to severe weather impacts pinpoints community engagement as a key driver.
Community engagement is the process of developing a connection and the exchange of information between groups of people (stakeholders). This could be between residents, businesses, council or other groups. Community engagement is a two way communication process that should result in better outcomes.
How do you design a community engagement plan? The main point of a community engagement plan is to ensure that people are engaged in a conversation and information/ideas/plans are exchanged. The best way to have this conversation will be different for different groups.
Things to include in a community engagement plan are.
• What are you trying to achieve?
• Who do you want to engage with?
• What do you want to understand or ask these groups?
• What do you want these groups to know?
• How do they like to receive information or have conversations? (methods of engaging)
• What is your timeframe?
• How do you know if you have achieved your goal?
Developing a communication plan is an iterative process. Start with a draft plan and use this for initial engagement with key people. Once you have had initial conversations and gathered some information it is easier to develop a more detailed plan.
What communication methods could I use? There are many communication methods available such as newsletters, community meetings, world café, conferences, phone surveys, information stands, competitions, creative games, websites, social media etc. Deciding on the appropriate method to engage requires a good understanding of your objective, and finding out how the people/groups you want to connect with like to communicate.
Keep information simple and tailor it for different groups so that it resonates. Make sure it is easily available and there is a mechanism for feedback and two-way communication.
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Building community resilience – understanding your community Consider the following four areas and questions when designing an engagement process.
Awareness
What does the community know about extreme weather and potential hazards? Are they aware of potential hazards in general or specifically in their local context?
Generally, people who are not aware of the potential impacts of extreme weather to them personally will be unprepared to manage these events.
Values
What do the community value? Do they think they are at ‘risk’ from extreme weather events? Do they want to prepare for that risk?
How strongly a community views potential risks will directly affect how much effort they will put in to being prepared. If they perceive the risk of something bad happening to be low it will be difficult to build their resilience.
Capacity
What is the community’s capacity? Does the community have the skills, technology and know how to prepare for a disaster?
If the community is aware of a potential hazard and perceives it to be a risk to them and their family, they will want to obtain knowledge and skills to respond to that hazard. Understanding the skill gaps in the community pinpoints where community resilience support needs to be focused.
Regulat ion
What influences the community? Are these influences helping or hindering the community’s capacity to build resilience?
Understanding the external influences on the community will help create effective communication that resonates with the community. Influences could include council regulations or policies, or the use of new technologies. It is that projects to build resilience complement and work with these influences.
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3 Community resilience and natural hazards
Natural hazards in Australia
“Natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, or cyclones constitute real threats to communities. The long-term effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, also constitute potential threats,” states Green Star – Communities.
In the last few years the devastating impacts of natural disasters have highlighted the need for communities to adapt and build resilience to future climate impacts. This guideline and the Harden Up - Protecting Queensland website predominately focus on preparing for natural disasters such as cyclones, severe storms, floods and bushfires.
However, the principles can be applied to other natural hazards or geological risks such as tsunamis and earthquakes. It is important for developers applying for the Green Star - Communities rating credit to note that the credit covers all climate and geological related disaster events. The rating tool does not cover disasters directly caused by humans (e.g. security / terrorism and spills) nor resilience with respect to resource depletion.
The interrelationship between climate changes and greenhouse gases is outlined in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Primary and Secondary climate effects
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The Prevention-Preparedness-Response-Recovery cycle
There are four corner stones widely accepted in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change literature where action can be taken to reduce the severity of a disaster. These corner stones are known as the Prevention-Preparedness-Response-Recovery (PPRR) cycle as shown fin Figure 2 and are designed to improve the preparedness of individuals, households and communities for disaster events.
Figure 2 The Prevention-Preparedness-Response-Recovery (PPRR) cycle
PPPR Def in it ions Prevention refers to actions to avoid adverse impacts of hazards and minimize related environmental, technological and biological disasters. Depending on the technical feasibility, social circumstances and a cost-benefit analysis, investing in preventive measures is justified in areas frequently affected by disasters. Promoting a ‘culture of prevention’ will require awareness and education programs designed to change attitudes and behavior.
Preparedness refers to the capacity and knowledge of governments, professional response organisations, communities and individuals to anticipate and effectively respond to the impact of likely, imminent or current hazard events.
Response refers to assistance or intervention during or immediately after a disaster to save lives and provide basic subsistence to those affected. Response can be of an immediate, short-term or protracted duration.
Recovery refers to decisions and actions taken to restore or improve pre-disaster living conditions of the affected community, while also encouraging and facilitating the necessary adjustments to reduce disaster risk. Recovery (rehabilitation and reconstruction) provides an opportunity to develop and apply disaster risk reduction measures.1
1 The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response Guidance and Indicator Package for Implementing Priority Five of the Hyogo Framework, 2007
Response
Recovery
Prevention
Preparedness
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Across the PPRR cycle there are a number of opportunities for individuals and communities to play a role (as outlined in Figure 3).
The most significant time for input is preparedness. The outcomes of community and individual input at this stage will effect and ultimately reflect a community’s resilience and their recovery. Actions such as purchasing insurance and securing valuables in the preparedness stage will impact the severity and duration of recovery.
Figure 3 Key stakeholders and activities across the PPRR cycles
This guideline focuses on preparedness and the role people can play at an individual, household and community level to improve their resilience.
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4 Developing a Community Resilience Plan
The Community Resilience Plan (CRP) process
The following process will assist developers plan and prepare a CRP and community engagement activities. A CRP is the primary mechanism for developers to demonstrate they have complied with Green Star - Communities rating tool credit - GOV- 6 Adaptation and Resilience.
Information provided in earlier chapters around building resilience through community engagement and the PPRR will be useful inputs for various sections of the CRP.
Figure 4 Process for development of a CRP
Each phase of the process contains consultation actions, which should be undertaken with key local stakeholders e.g. council. Developers should consider using a communication expert to help them develop a CRP and facilitate activities. Local council, emergency services and local not-for-profit groups may be able to provide resources and assistance to community groups who do not have a consultation expert resource. If this is not available groups are still encouraged to atempt on their own.
The Harden Up – Protecting Queensland website provides links to online resources.
CLIMATE HISTORY AND LOCAL PROFILE
FUTURE CLIMATE PROJECTIONS
CLIMATE RISK ASSESSMENT
INFORMATION GATHERING
• IDENTIFY EXISTING PLANS & RESOURCES
• CONSULT WITH COUNCIL & OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS
• UNDERTAKE RELEVANT STUDIES AS REQUIRED
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
PLAN ENGAGEMENT
PLAN
2. COMMUNITY RESOURCE PLAN
ON-GOING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
1: LOCAL PROFILE & RISK ASSESSMENT
PROCESS
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE REPORT
DOCUMENT: • PROCESS • RESOURCES COLLECTED
& PRODUCED • COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES • ON-GOING MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
DELIVERABLES
3.
4.
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Phase 1 - local profile and risk assessment
There are four activities in this phase.
• 1.1: Prepare a climate history and local area profile
• 1.2: Understand future climate projections and expected changes to the local area.
• 1.3: Undertake a climate risk assessment using information collected in 1.1 and 1.2.
• 1.4: Develop a draft community engagement plan.
1.1 Prepare a climate history and local area profile Develop a profile of the local area that includes the following information as a minimum:
• Local and regional environmental and built form profile (geography, natural hazards, towns/suburbs).
• Local and regional access and transport systems (e.g. road, rail etc.).
• Socio-economic profile (e.g. age profile, education, income and employment. Include the ageing population and culture to identify language barriers).
• Governance profile (local council and government structure, list of key stakeholders such as community groups etc.).
• History of regional and local extreme climate events (minimum last 50 years), which can be used to identify which hazards affect the area.
• Database of existing disaster management and preparedness resources
The use of mapping and GIS is encouraged.
Information sources Census of Population and Housing Surveys www.abs.gov.au/census
Australian Emergency Management Institute – Disasters Database www.disasters.ema.gov.au/Default.aspx
Local Council and Government Websites
1.2 Understand future climate projections and expected changes to the local areas Understand the trends and emerging changes to the area, the local climate and weather.
This activity should include as a minimum:
• Identification of potential changes to the intensity and frequency of extreme events.
• New developments or changes to built form, proposed or underway.
Information sources
Harden Up collects crowd sourced information as well as links to the Bureau of Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au), which provides information on weather events.
New development or changes to built form should be available from local council.
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1.3: Undertake a climate risk assessment Using the information collated in activities 1.1 and 1.2 carry out a climate risk assessment with the following:
• Assess the risk and resilience of access and transport systems.
• Identify socio-economic, built environment or local governance risks to the development or local community.
• Assess the impact of any changes to the built or natural environment to natural hazards.
• Review existing plans, strategies and resources.
• Assess the gaps in existing plans, strategies and resources or the opportunities that could be included in the development area.
• Establish mechanisms to link into existing processes and programs.
Consultation and collaboration with local council, emergency services and other key individuals and groups is essential at this stage. These groups will provide expert knowledge and local experience.
1.4: Develop a draft community engagement plan As a first step develop a simple plan – a document that puts your thoughts in order to begin engaging with the community effectively and at the right time. The information gathered after a first round of engagement will inform a more detailed engagement plan.
The draft engagement plan should consider the following elements:
• Determine your objective i.e. to gather and check data with key people on the ground
• Identify key stakeholders. These are people who can test your assumptions and provide local information. Could include individuals, community groups, council, emergency services, businesses, local area experts etc.
• Gather information about the community to determine their current resilience. Use questions in the breakout box in Section 2.3 as a guide. Speak to individuals/groups who are closely involved in the community and could represent local values, knowledge. Information gathered from these conversations will help shape a detailed engagement plan.
Phase 2 – writing a CRP and community engagement plan
Phase 2 is about information collation and a community engagement plan.
There are two activities in this phase.
• 2.1: Collate all information from Phase 1 into a CRP.
• 2.2: Develop a community engagement plan.
2.1: Write a CRP Information collected in Phase 1 should be collated and written into a format that is accessible and understood by the master planned community. This could include small
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brochures, short step-by-step booklets, foreign languages or braille the inclusion of pictures and diagrams. In summary the information in Phase 1 to include is:
• Climate history and the local profile.
• Future climate projections and changes to local area.
• Climate risk assessment information.
• Existing available plans, strategies and other resources.
• Commitment to future community resilience work by the developer / other stakeholders.
2.2: Develop a community engagement plan Community engagement is the most critical element of developing community resilience. Use the draft plan and information gathered form initial conversations to shape the plan. Use the following points as sections in your plan.
• State the objective of the plan: - e.g. ‘building resilience by working with the community to develop a local context CRP’.
• List key stakeholders – write out names and contact details of people, associations, groups that need to be communicated with. e.g. residents, industry representatives, schools, local businesses or services, council and emergency services etc.
• Group stakeholders – grouping helps identify where information could be tailored. For example information written to communicate with schools may be different to information used for council or local businesses.
• Key messages – the CRP is now populated with lots of information. Use the information to create key messages about natural hazards, the local context, challenges, opportunities etc. Key messages are the information you want to communicate to people. A key message document can just be a list of paragraphs, with each concisely describing an idea or describing a topic. These paragraphs can be used in your written material.
• Determine engagement methods to communicate with the community - program introduction letter, newsletters (of other organisations or newly created), websites, information stands, advertising, word of mouth through networks or training. Use feedback gathered in Phase 1 from your initial engagement to determine how the community like to receive information. As you engage with more people methods may change.
• Feedback - determine how you will encourage input and feedback through your engagement process.
• Timing of engagement - develop a schedule. Identify the different engagement periods and who should be engaged when. Perhaps some groups should be engaged first as they are more important than other groups.
• Frequency of engagement - there should be a constant presence or ability for the community to connect with the owners of the CRP. Determine how often updates or events will occur to ensure people remain engaged. This is key to building resilience.
• Review – a communication plan is an iterative document. As you engage with more people, new engagement approaches, the length of time required to engage and the
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messages may change. Put in time to review how the plan is working and if the objective is being achieved.
The ‘Pilot project case studies’ section of these guidelines provides lessons learnt from the pilot engagement events.
Phase 3 – Community engagement
Once you have an engagement plan it now has to be implemented. At this point you will have already engaged in both Phases 1 and 2, however that was with a smaller and targeted group. Engagement in this phase is wider, possibly the whole community. Below are some tips for different types of engagement.
A method for reviewing the effectiveness of community engagement should also be implemented. For instance use post-event surveys, or online feedback forms.
Community engagement t ips
The community engagement activity should be tailored to meet the needs of the local community:
• The best engagement is a two-way conversation listen to people as their input is invaluable.
• Ensure language in both written material and presentations is conversational and simple. Use ‘plain English’ this means reducing adjectives and using simple and direct sentences.
• Keep words in documents to a minimum.
• Create a key messages document with concise and simple language. Have variations of messages that are tailored to different audiences – consider, age, lifestyle, location.
• Ensure all helpers understand the objective of communication materials or events. This helps them use the materials correctly.
• Use diagrams and pictures to describe information.
• Remember that you do not need to include all the science and everything you know about hazards when writing or speaking to people. It is important not to confuse people and only explain what they need to know.
• Planning is in the detail! Ensure documents are checked by someone outside of the process for readability and ease of understanding. For events have a checklist and ensure all helpers have clear responsibilities.
• If using a training workshop ensure it is designed to reflect the current knowledge, values or capacity of the attendees. Training is a good method for developing resilience and gathering input into a CRP.
• Provide opportunities in all communication materials/activities for feedback and input and explain how feedback will be incorporated into the CRP or other projects.
Phase 4 – On-going management strategy
Phase four is about developing an on-going management strategy.
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This activity is related to the recognition that developers’ involvement in a master planned development is time-bound. Depending on the development, involvement may cease prior to the residents moving in or it may continue over a longer time frame e.g. 20 years when the majority of residents have taken up residence.
The on-going management strategy is intended to ensure that there is some ownership and action taken to continue the process of disseminating information to the community regarding natural hazards and disaster risks over the long term when the developer may or may not still be active in the development.
The on-going management strategy should:
• Consider how the plan will be maintained or updated over time, including transition to another responsible stakeholder i.e. local community group, council.
• Clearly outline the governance and accountability process for the future.
• Identify the resources that are being made available to facilitate the process, and to implement actions identified including specific volunteer programs.
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5 Pilot project case studies
Below is a summary of three community engagement activities across three master planned communities. These are examples of how a community can be engaged to build resilience around climate hazards. The developers in these examples had followed this Checklist and already completed Phase one and Phase two of the process. These engagement activities are part of Phase three.
Location: Fitzgibbon, Brisbane Location: Varsity Lakes, Gold Coast
Developer: ULDA
Size of development: 1500 dwellings/114 hectares
Current phase: YR 4 of 8 (2016 completion)
Resident populat ion at t ime of event: 300+ residents
Development type: Greenfield
Event date and t ime: Thursday 12th July 2012, 5:30-7pm
Market ing: Newsletter drops to every house, 2 weeks before event
RSVPs: None
Attendance: 8 people (9 pre-survey forms were completed)
Presenters: SES, Local Council, Green Cross, Manidis Roberts, ULDA.
Descript ion: The event was held on a weeknight. There was very poor weather on the day that may have contributed to the level of attendance.
Feedback: Positive feedback from attendees on usefulness of event. Suggestions for improvement were made.
Developer: Lend Lease
Size of development: 3000 dwellings, 8000people, 376 ha
Current phase: Close out. All residential land sold
Resident populat ion at t ime of event: Approx 8000 residents
Development type: Master planned development
Event date and t ime: Sunday 2 December- this event was a tent at the community
Event: Christmas carols
Market ing: Extensive marketing on the Christmas Carols, emails to residents, posters around development
RSVPs: NA for this type of event
Attendance: 2000-3000 residents attended the Christmas Carols and afternoon events
Presenters: Local business, local schools, SES, Green Cross Australia, Gold Coast City Council Disaster Management
Descript ion: This event was extremely successful with good engagement from a broad range of residents. The one detraction from this method of engagement was that the engagement was not as in depth as a targeted workshop.
Locat ion: North Shore, Townsvi l le
Developer: Stockland
Size of development: will be home to 15,000 residents at completion
Current phase: (YR 4 of 15)
Resident populat ion at t ime of event: 1600 residents
Development type: Greenfield
Event date and t ime: Saturday 25th August 2012, 3
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- 5pm
Market ing: Newsletter drops to every house 2 weeks before event; Facebook promotion; flyer distribution at the farmers market the morning of the event; and marketing material at Stockland’s office in North Shore.
RSVPs: None
Event Attendance: None
Presenters: SES, Local Council, Green Cross Australia, Manidis Roberts, Stockland
Descript ion: Engagement via Facebook for this event was positive, however this did not convert to attendance on the day. Whilst afternoon snacks and drinks were provided as was the opportunity to win an Emergency Kit, the weather on the day was perfect which made it difficult to draw the community away from outdoor activities. Feedback from local disaster management experts was that whilst spring is the best time to prepare the community for the coming storm season, it is difficult to draw community attention to the issue at this time.
Results and event feedback
Reviewing the event details and lessons learned provides a good example of the need to plan and ensure that the community area engaged using a method that resonates with them.
The pilot events had mixed responses with event attendance being lower than expected despite attempts to market the events throughout the community using print and social media.
These events were in support of the development of this document and were constricted by scheduling due to grant conditions. It is anticipated that developers holding their own events will be able to maximise attendance.
Feedback on attendance levels
Reasons for lower than anticipated levels of attendance
• Stage of development – Fitzgibbon is at a very early in development with a low population.
• Weather – both poor weather and good weather (i.e. first weekend of spring).
• Timing / coordination – conflicts with other events, weekend conflicts, seasonal timing.
• Community interest – low for a number of reasons in addition to the above factors, such as lack of current concern i.e. not storm season.
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These reasons may differ between the communities, as some of these factors were present in only one of the communities.
However, feedback from attendees was very positive with most indicating that the information was useful to them and assisted them to understand better how to prepare for disaster events and emergencies. All attendees indicated that they would take action as a result of the information they received.
Further, several attendees stated that they had attended the event in order to meet more people from their local community reinforcing the belief that such events are useful in supporting the development of community networks.
Lessons learnt • Method of engagement: community events are preferred methods of engagement as
they allow a two-way dialogue between attendees and a range of stakeholders including
SES and local Council, as opposed to mail outs or email notices. However, the event
timing and location should be leveraged to coincide with large community events or other
local attractors i.e. community markets, community film nights. This increases the
chances of attendance. Weeknights after 6pm and weekends are traditionally preferred
as they allow people working to attend. However there are many demands on people’s
time and coordinating the event with another community event which has a large existing
patronage is advisable.
• Timing of engagement: Over the lifecycle of the development it is likely that the residents
will change which is why it is recommended that more than one event occur (see
frequency below). However, it is also important that developers do not wait for too long
before beginning their engagement with residents. Although attendance is likely to be low
in the initial stages of a development when population is still small it is recommended that
engagement occur as soon as possible to begin to grow community awareness.
• Frequency of engagement: Attendance is more likely to occur when particular hazards or
weather related events are on people’s minds. Townsville City Council hosts an annual
event ‘Cyclone Sunday’ just before storm season. This event has proven very popular
and has a large amount of local media support. A one-off event is unlikely to gain any
traction. It is recommended that at least an annual event be held as local populations
change, and risks and hazards can also change.
• Attendance of stakeholders: The attendance of local Council representatives, SES, and
Emergency services proved invaluable. Their local knowledge and ability to engage with
local residents as a local expert was extremely well received by audiences.
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Appendix A Developer Checkl ist Version 2.0
Land Developer “Community Resilience Report” Checklist for Green Star- Communities PILOT Rating Tool Prepared by Green Cross Australia with assistance from Manidis Roberts
June 2012
This checklist has been prepared to guide developers in documenting and implementing a Community Reslience Process for their new community.
Australia has a history of extreme climatic events, such as cyclones, bushfires, droughts, thunderstorms, heatwaves and floods. Historically, the nature of these events differs from location to location and some events may have extreme impacts only at a local level (such as localised thundershorms). In order to respond to these events, there is a need for increased preparedness, independence and self-reliance of communties.
The Community Resilience process aim to address this need by providing a new community with information on the local climatic context and by increasing community self-reliance through all phases of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Developers have the ability to facilitate increased community resilience through community liaison personnel and through information provision.
The checklist below outlines the key sections of a Community Resilience Report. In their Green Star- Communities submission, the developer is to use this checklist and nominate the section of the “Community Resilience Report” that addresses each of the items below.
Contents of Community Resilience Report Section of Report
Context and background
Outline what commitment has been made to ensure the community being developed will have the capacity to be resilient and self-reliant. Generally the the overall goal should be self-resilience and inter-connectedness with existing plans and the surrounding community.
Identify resources that document the regional and local extreme event history for the area (minimum 50 years), addressing types of events, frequency and severity2 of events such as cyclones, heatwaves, thunderstorms, floods, earthquakes and bushfires.
Identify resources that identify potential changes to the intensity and frequency of extreme events to assist in preparing for a changing climate3.
Document other relevant external changes to the area and any impact(s) these may have on the sensitivity of the development to a changing climate (such as new major infrastructre, changes to vegetation management, other new developments in the area).
Document the local and regional profile in terms of town/suburbs, watercourses, proximity to coastal zones, bushfire prone areas and existing flood plains.
2 Note: Projects in Queensland are able to source this information from www.hardenup.org. 3 Note: The BOM/CSIRO publication “Climate Change in Australia” publication is a useful reference http://climatechangeinaustralia.com.au/.
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Contents of Community Resilience Report Section of Report
Document the local and regional access and transport systems and the resilience of these systems to different extreme events (including whether local or regional access has been impacted by previous events).
Document the proposed likely demographic, socio-economic, built form and local governance profile for the new community and for the adjacent community, including specific reference to language and cultural challenges for increased self-resilience that will need to be addressed.
Identify and review the current local emergency/disaster plan (if in existance) and consider whether it covers all potentially locally and regionally relevant extreme events.
Identify and review available state, regional and local prevention, preparedness, response and recovery resources including emergency phone numbers.
Identifiy and document key relevant stakeholders (community, SES, council etc).
Identify the entity preparing the Community Resilience Report.
Consider how the Community Resilience process will be maintained or updated over time including transition to other entities when the development is complete. Governance and accountability should be clearly outlined, as well as mechanisms to resource identified actions including specific details of volunteer programs.
Council (or equivalent) Consultation
Identify consultation undertaken with the local council regarding increasing the resilience of the new community and integrating the community within existing emergency management processes. Specifically address any local access risks and associated proceedures and responsibilities.
Document any impact of the development on existing community risks such as through increases or decreases in the nature and extent of vegetation and drainage.
Community Consultation, Education and Engagement
Provide details of how the Community Resilience process has been communicated amongst the community to educate and raise awareness, including where the information is available from in future.
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Contents of Community Resilience Report Section of Report
Outline details of the opportunity provided for the community to aggregate to discuss and be provided with information about disaster prevention, household and neighbourhood preparedness, response and recovery. Must include information about all phases of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery4. Examples include identification of relevant early warning systems, risks specific to the area (such as cyclones or bushfires), details of local emergency evacuation centres, resources for pets. Provide details of how of relevant online community and official agency resources have been shared within the community, for example:
www.hardenup.org www.redcross.org.au/files/REDiPlan_booklet.pdf www.emergencyvolunteering.com.au www.rspcansw.org.au/services/inspectorate/floods,_bushfires_-and-_emergencies www.disaster.qld.gov.au/getready www.fesa.wa.gov.au www.disasters.ema.gov.au www.vic.gov.au/emergencies-safety/emergency-management.html
Specifically detail the resources and/or incentives provided for residents to develop an emergency plan and emegency kit consistent with the requirements of the relevant local and state Emergency Plans.
Document the process used or promoted for the identification or self-identification of vulnerable persons or groups and the climatic events each may be particularly vulnerable to (such as the elderly who need support through all major events and tradesmen who are particularly vulnerable to heatwaves). Processes could include through neighbour-to-neighbour identification, registration with local community group or through service providers such as Red Cross or Meals on Wheels. Online engagement could be encouraged through websites such as http://www.hardenup.org and http://www.emergencyvolunteering.com.au.
Document the process developed or promoted to help local vulnerable residents in the case of an emergency such as through a buddy systems, phone tree or volunteer network. For example resources could be provided or promoted to assist in the establishment of processes to contact the elderley during heatwave events to ensure they are managing and have access to water, food and necessary medication.
Document the process developed or promoted for the identification of those within the community with the ability or assets to assist (eg. generators, water tanks, bushfire fighting pumps, residents with specific relevant skills such as medical, police, SES etc).
4 Information on property resilience measures including measures that can be taken to protect and retrofit existing homes is available from www.hardenup.org
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Appendix B
Resources and references There is a wide range of resources and reference material available in addition to those available on the Harden Up site http://hardenup.org/. At a state and federal level there are agencies dedicated to emergency planning and management. At a council level there are also responsible agencies and individuals for undertaking emergency planning and management activities.
The majority of resources available are on emergency management, focusing on response and recovery immediately after an event has occurred. To varying degrees they involve some discussion of preparation.
There are also a number of not-for-profit or community organisations such as the State Emergency Services (SES) that provide valuable resources relating to activities across the PPRR cycle.
Emergency management resources The Australian emergency handbook and manual series (AEMs) have been developed to assist in the management and delivery of support services in a disaster context. The principles, strategies and actions within the AEMs have been compiled by practitioners and managers with extensive service delivery experience in a range of disaster events.
This series has been developed by a national consultative committee representing a range of State and Territory agencies and is sponsored by the Attorney General's Department. Each title within the series is reviewed on a regular basis (www.em.gov.au/Publications/Australianemergencymanualseries/ ).
Nat ional The Australian Council of State and Territory Emergency Services (ACSES) http:///www.acses.org.au Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au
Australian Emergency Management Knowledge Hub http://www.emknowledge.gov.au/disaster-information
Australian Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.au/prepare.aspx
ACT ACT State Emergency Service http:///www.esa.act.gov.au
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In October 2013, Green Cross Australia will release a dedicated disaster resilience portal for the ACT. Please check the Green Cross Australia website for updates http://www.greencrossaustralia.org/
New South Wales New South Wales State Emergency Service www.ses.nsw.gov.au
Northern Terr i tory The Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services (Tri-Service) www.nt.gov.au
Queensland Queensland Government Disaster Management http://www.disaster.qld.gov.au/
Queensland State Emergency Services http://www.emergency.qld.gov.au/ses/
South Austra l ia South Australian State Emergency Services http:///www.ses.sa.gov.au/
Tasmania Tasmania State Emergency Service http:///www.ses.tas.gov.au/
V ictor ia Victoria State Emergency Service www.ses.vic.gov.au
Western Austra l ia Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia - www.fesa.wa.gov.au
SES Volunteers Association of WA www.ses-wa.asn.au
