Pathways to Resilient Communities

Kia ora koutou,

A group of committed individuals - including representatives from community groups, transition towns members and Councillors with a strong interest in supporting the development of sustainability - have put together an event with the aim of assessing the Wellington region’s resiliency preparedness, and to explore ideas to improve our position. The objective is to enable our region to identify the community’s most important vulnerabilities. The event will be held in the Te Papa, Oceania Room, on 7 March 2009 and will be no charge for attendees although koha or sponsorship is welcome to help cover costs.

The agenda can be found at the Pathways to Resilient Communities Event website: http://www.resilientpathways.org.nz

We are asking for your participation as an individual, or representing your community group. For those who are just hearing of the event for the first time, I encourage you to register for this valuable event by visiting the website or send an email to the coordinator christina.bellis3@gmail.com.

The past few years have seen significant global paradigm shifts. We are at risk from increasingly likely external shocks. If resilient actions are explored and put into effect now with the knowledge we have, there is a significant chance that damage from problematic situations will be reduced. We are already seeing global economic crises, soaring food prices, erratic weather patterns, and rise in ocean levels and temperatures.

This event will create a space for open dialogue and the formulation of collective ideas for forward direction. It will address issues related to bringing transition groups closer to the work being undertaken by local government staff in fields such as climate mitigation, adaptation, and emergency management and disaster risk reduction. These groups have similar aims and there will be many mutual benefits from coordinating our efforts to create a sustainable and resilient Wellington region.

The event will begin with a high level speaker, followed by a short video (DVD) update from Richard Heinberg. This will be followed by scenarios presentations, World Cafe discussion sessions, “Birds of a Feather” group opportunities, and exploration of pathways to meeting the challenge (Susan Krumdieck).

We invite you to investigate sample scenarios using a four-pronged approach - these are linked on our web site - http://www.resilientpathways.org.nz

Scenario One: Power to the People - Global Cooperation: where New Zealand and the world adapt and thrive in a changing environment.

Scenario Two: New Zealand takes forward steps and is self-sustaining, but the rest of the world fights over resources, management, food, etc.

Scenario Three: The world is adapting and following new pathways while New Zealand doesn’t change and is sinking.

Scenario Four: All Over Rover – Global disarray: the entire world continues business-as-usual; resources run out; food is scarce; wars are fought. It’s doom and gloom for the planet.

I also encourage you to talk with your co-workers about the event, ponder ideas for the future of the wider Wellington area, talk to your community and seek their ideas to incorporate and bring with you.

Arohanui
Paul Bruce

"A new economic world requires new institutions and new thinking. These will take a while to emerge. We can lay the conceptual groundwork now (as the ecological economists and localists have been doing for some time), but implementation will require cool heads and collective effort...

...and it's not the end of the world - yet. There is still a possibility to manage economic collapse in such a way as to lay the groundwork for a recovery to low-flow sustainability. But not if we concentrate our efforts on denial, blame, or the propping up of old institutions and industries that have no chance of survival..."
- Richard Heinberg