Creating a resilient society｜Earth Report｜Think the Earth

2/15/15, 11:30 AMCreating a resilient society - BeGood Cafe's Challenge｜Earth Report｜Think the Earth

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Sunday, February 15, 2015 Creating a resilient society - BeGood Cafe's Challenge

from Thailandvol.

692015.02.09

Creating a resilient society - BeGood Cafe's Challenge

In the era of global environmental crisis - "Unpredictability" is the new normOff to Asia - in search for "resilience"OpenStreetMap and resilienceIT x resilience is interestingFrom a developing country that faces problems to a developing country that has solved problemsPeople who are open to change can survive

"Resilience" is a post sustainability concept that is drawing much attention in Europe as well as in other regionsincluding Thailand, where the "VISIONS Asia Resilience Forum 2014" was organized in September 2014 by Thai'sChulalongkorn University and the Japanese NPO BeGood Cafe. In recent years, humanity has faced numerous naturaldisasters of unparalleled magnitude. That is why building a "resilient society" - a society that can minimize the impact ofnatural disasters and get right back on its feet - is going to be increasingly important to all regions around the world.

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We asked Jun Shikita of NPO BeGood Cafe, who organized VISIONS Asia Resilience Forum 2014 in Thailand, what"resilience" really means. （（Text by Miwako Sasao））

In the era of global environmental crisis - "Unpredictability" is thenew norm

Many of you may be taken aback by the climatic abnormalities of late.Without doubt, the frequency and impact of natural disasters have risenat an alarming rate. Take the tornado that hit Koshigaya City, SaitamaPrefecture (September 2013), the mudslides in Izu-Oshima caused byTyphoon 26 (October 2013), and the landslides in Hiroshima (August2014) for example. In Japan, we have become quite accustomed totorrential rains and typhoons that they no longer faze us. And inSeptember 2014, Japan also experienced the volcanic eruption of MountOntake. Who could have predicted such an event? When I saw on TVphotographs of smiling climbers who had made it to the peak, I realizedthat natural disasters could affect any one of us at any time. We areall vulnerable to natural disasters, but is there something we could bedoing to better prepare ourselves?

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Landslides in Hiroshima in 2014 　(Photo By Taisyo (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia

Commons)

To prevent global warming, we have, until now, generally been trying tomitigate the situation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But as weface more frequent climatic abnormalities, the world has begun todiscuss the need for measures that help us better adapt. This was also atopic of discussion at the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange) held in Yokohama in March 2014.As we shift from riskmitigation to risk management, the concept of "resilience" hasbegun to draw attention globally.

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At the "VISIONS Asia Resilience Forum 2014," which was held in Bangkok,Thailand for 3 days in September 2014, experts across Asia from variousfields came together to discuss disaster prevention, risk mitigation,revitalization of marginal villages, and resilience.

It was Mr. Jun Shikita of NPO BeGood Cafe who organized this forum. Mr.Shikita established the NPO BeGood Cafe in 1990, and since then he hasplanned and organized events on "sustainable societies and peace" atEarth Day Tokyo and at the Eco-Products Exhibition. And every yearsince 2006, BeGood Cafe has also organized the Ecovillage Conference atwhich participants from around the world including countries such asDenmark and UK who live sustainably get together to discuss how peoplein Japan can create an ecovillage, a sustainable community in Japan.



Penny Velasco shared stories about ecovillage activities in the Philippines at the Ecovillage Conference

Tokyo 2007 (photographs provided by: NPO BeGood Cafe)



Photographs from the Ecovillage Conference Tokyo 2007 (photographs provided by: NPO BeGood

Cafe)

But since the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, hebegan to think bigger, not only about the sustainability ofcommunities, but also of the whole nation. Feeling that people inJapan had become somewhat lethargic, Mr. Shikita wanted to reawakenthe nation with new ideas and business possibilities. That is why hecreated a new platform for discussion that he has named "VISIONS."

"For the first 3 years, I invited Japanese people (heroes) who were helpingto revitalize marginal villages and regions with unique ideas. We wantedthe audience to learn the how-tos from these heroes and test theseideas in their own communities. I was hoping that Japan as a whole



would become revitalized if we could help create more success stories inmore regions. That was when I became intrigue with the keyword,resilience."

How can marginal villages survive? And how can we create strongcommunities that can withstand or recover from natural disasters."Resilience" perfectly embodies Mr. Shikita's desire to revitalizecommunities and to take preventive measures against naturaldisasters.

Off to Asia - in search for "resilience"

Resilience means to be able to bounce back, to recover, or to stand backup. The word takes on a slightly different meaning depending on thecontext in which it is used. For example, bamboos bend with the windand spring back up when winds die down. The environmental journalist,Ms. Junko Edahiro believes resilience means to be like bamboos, to be"strong, but also pliant, supple, flexible." And Mr. Shikita believes thatresilience means to 「「"keep one's chin up and to live life with vigorand zest."

Originally, the term "resilience" was used in the field of ecology, butnowadays it is being used in multitudes of fields including psychology,civil engineering, and economy. For example, Nikkei Woman publishedan article on "How to hone 'resilience' - the ability to bounce back fromany adversity" (October 2014). And the term has also begun to be usedin the business world to refer to a businessman's ability to manage risksand self, to individuals that have the ability to overcome difficult




situations.

And in Europe, interest in "resilience" as a keyword for sustainability hasbeen growing. Sustainability is a static concept that focuses on finding atheoretical equilibrium. But nature is ever changing. Since resilience ismore dynamic, it is better suited to nature and can offer more realisticmeasures.

It is important to be prepared for unforeseeable events, but whendisasters strike, we should not simply reply on existent systems andreserves. Individuals and communities should work together to findways that make sense for them, to bounce back from thecalamity.This is what is meant by a "resilient society."

When thinking about how we can become resilient against global issuessuch as climate change and recovery from disasters, it is important tothink beyond national borders. VISIONS Asia Resilience Forum 2014 washeld in Thailand, and Mr. Shikita wishes to organize the next forum inIndonesia. So he is already thinking about the future of Japan from aglobal perspective.



Mr. Jun Shikita from the NPO BeGood Cafe. "First concentrate on Asia, then the rest of the world." He

spoke about the importance of establishing a global network.

"20 years ago, it was ok to only think about issues in terms of Japan. Butnowadays there are many key players around the world, so it has becomeincreasingly important to travel abroad, to many places around the worldso that we can establish rapport with these key players. We will first startin Asia, and then go beyond, but we hope to have a global perspectivewhatever the case may be."

You may remember the massive floods of 2011 that devastated the ChaoPhraya river basin in northern Bangkok, Thailand. According to the WorldBank, the severe flooding that struck Thailand was the world's fourthcostliest disaster after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Great



Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina. Having experiencedthis calamity, Thailand, like Japan, has become very aware of theimpending danger. Moreover, Chulalongkorn University has beenconducting research on resilience. That is why Mr. Shikita decided toorganize the VISIONS Asia Resilience Forum 2014 in Thailand.

Day 1 of the forum featured an academic discussion on resilience.Professor Makoto Taniguchi of Japan's Research Institute for Humanityand Nature gave a keynote speech.

"Demand for key resources like water, food, and energy will continue togrow in the future as population increases and our lifestyles change. Andthere are so many issues we need to address such as biodiversityconservation, measures against disasters, and reducing carbon dioxideemissions in cities."

Researchers discussed issues their own countries are facing. Forexample, the birthrate in Thailand is continuing to decline, and India hadjust experienced a devastating flood in September 2014. Naturaldisasters have indeed taken many lives. Participants reiterated the needto be better prepared by going beyond academia, by encouragingknowledge sharing among experts from a wide range of fields, fromNGOs and NPOs working on regional projects to community leaders.



Day 1. From the left: Dr. Vithaya Kulsomboon of the Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Surichai Wun'gaeo

of RECNA, Professor Makoto Taniguchi of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, and Dr.

Bharat Dahiya from the University of Cambridge.

Speakers on day 2, included activists who have taken a community-based approach to help people overcome natural disasters, who havehelped revitalized marginal villages, and numerous case examples ofapplication of IT technology.

Mr. Jun, Chairperson of the NGO Salon de AManTo in Nakazaki-cho,Osaka, who is helping to develop community ties from his cafe and Mr.Kazuo Nishiguchi, Chairperson of the incorporated NPO Ueyama-tanadadan in Okayama Prefecture, who has helped revitalized terracedrice paddies in deserted arable land shared the results of their activities.



And Mr. Taichi Furuhashi the Chairperson of Race for Resilience, whoruns the "Developing Countries x Disaster Prevention, Mitigation"hackathon introduced the application developed at the hackathonorganized in 2014. And the last panel discussion featured speakers fromvarious countries, who discussed how we can all join hands to help bringabout a resilient society.

Day 2. Audience joined the discussions on how we can create a network in Asia.



Open street map and resilience

On Day 3, the forum moved to Pathumthani, located 1 hour away fromBangkok, for a mapping excursion. Mr. Taichi Furuhashi, the ViceChairperson of OpenStreetMap Foundation Japan served as themoderator for that day. To prevent flooding, villages dot the coastline ofthe 22km canal. After the group inspected these villages, Mr. Furuhashiasked them, "So, do you know where you are right now?"

The map they were given on the bus was divided into 4 areas, and therewere no distinguishing landmarks. And for most people, it wasunfamiliar terrain, so the participants realized that it was very difficult tofigure out where they were.




The intricate network of meandering canals in Pathumthani.



Mr. Taichi Furuhashi explained how mapping works to the workshops participants.

Participants with pen and paper scribbled information about buildings,utility poles, and roads onto the map. Information obtained on site wasthen inputted into the "OpenStreetMap." OpenStreetMap is a free editablemap that anyone can easily view and edit via PCs or smartphones as longas there is an Internet connection. You can also instantly share a mapthat you have created with people all over the world. Since its launch inthe UK in 2004, the number of OpenStreetMap users has continued toclimb, and now the service boasts 180,000 users (as of October 2014).

Maps of the community are very important to disaster prevention.Accurate information about the region is essential in times ofdisaster for surveying and mitigating the damage. Actually, when the



Great East Japan Earthquake struck, many people shared informationusing the OpenStreetMap.

After participants had a go at mapping, Mr. Furuhashi conducted amapping demonstration. Using innovative IT technology such as theGigaPan, which can shoot 360-degree panoramic images, and unmanneddrones it is now possible to obtain even more accurate spatialinformation. When you hold a drone, you will be surprised at just howlight they really are. And they are really simple to build. The participantscried out in amazement when the compact body equipped with a cameratook flight. The program on the third day was quite different from thefirst 2 days, but what was the purpose?



Attaching a small camera to the unmanned drone. The flight distance was pre-programmed. Thirty

minutes later it return to the place from which it took off.

The drone about to take off. It helps provide more accurate spatial information using GPS data and

aerial footage.



Archive > more

Aerial footage taken by the drone (photograph provided by: Mr. Taichi Furuhashi).

As these mapping technologies continue to advance, they will becomemore and more useful in times of disaster, such as fires and floods forsurveying inaccessible areas. Moreover, if maps are old, you may findthat the route by which you were counting on making your escape incase of an emergency may no longer be there, so it could be thedifference between life and death. OpenStreetMap, which allows anyuser to update and edit maps in real-time, is a tool that can trulyhelp contribute to resilience.

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