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Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

As damage and loss caused by natural hazards have increased worldwide over the past several decades, it is important for governments and aid agencies to have tools that enable effective post-disaster livelihood recovery to create self-sufficiency for the affected population. This study introduces a framework of critical components that constitute livelihood recovery and the critical factors that lead to people’s livelihood recovery. A comparative case study is employed in this research, combined with questionnaire surveys and interviews with those communities affected by large earthquakes in Lushan, China and in Christchurch and Kaikōura, New Zealand. In Lushan, China, a framework with four livelihood components was established, namely, housing, employment, wellbeing and external assistance. Respondents considered recovery of their housing to be the most essential element for livelihood diversification. External assistance was also rated highly in assisting with their livelihood recovery. Family ties and social connections seemed to have played a larger role than that of government agencies and NGOs. However, the recovery of livelihood cannot be fully achieved without wellbeing aspects being taken into account, and people believed that quality of life and their physical and mental health were essential for livelihood restoration. In Christchurch, New Zealand, the identified livelihood components were validated through in-depth interviews. The results showed that the above framework presenting what constitutes successful livelihood recovery could also be applied in Christchurch. This study also identified the critical factors to affect livelihood recovery following the Lushan and Kaikōura earthquakes, and these include community safety, availability of family support, level of community cohesion, long-term livelihood support, external housing recovery support, level of housing recovery and availability of health and wellbeing support. The framework developed will provide guidance for policy makers and aid agencies to prioritise their strategies and initiatives in assisting people to reinstate their livelihood in a timely manner post-disaster. It will also assist the policy makers and practitioners in China and New Zealand by setting an agenda for preparing for livelihood recovery in non-urgent times so the economic impact and livelihood disruption of those affected can be effectively mitigated.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee is watching on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee is watching on.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The lived reality of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes and its implications for the Waimakariri District, a small but rapidly growing district (third tier of government in New Zealand) north of Christchurch, can illustrate how community well-being, community resilience, and community capitals interrelate in practice generating paradoxical results out of what can otherwise be conceived as a textbook ‘best practice’ case of earthquake recovery. The Waimakariri District Council’s integrated community based recovery framework designed and implemented post-earthquakes in the District was built upon strong political, social, and moral capital elements such as: inter-institutional integration and communication, participation, local knowledge, and social justice. This approach enabled very positive community outputs such as artistic community interventions of the urban environment and communal food forests amongst others. Yet, interests responding to broader economic and political processes (continuous central government interventions, insurance and reinsurance processes, changing socio-cultural patterns) produced a significant loss of community capitals (E.g.: social fragmentation, participation exhaustion, economic leakage, etc.) which simultaneously, despite local Council and community efforts, hindered community well-being in the long term. The story of the Waimakariri District helps understand how resilience governance operates in practice where multi-scalar, non-linear, paradoxical, dynamic, and uncertain outcomes appear to be the norm that underpins the construction of equitable, transformative, and sustainable pathways towards the future.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood. This was part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee and a contractor are looking on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood. This was part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee and a contractor are looking on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood. This was part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee and a contractor are looking on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood. This was part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee and a contractor are looking on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood. This was part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). Earthquake Recovery Minister Jerry Brownlee and a contractor are looking on.