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Roger-Mark De Souza Discusses the Value of Resilience

Roger-Mark De Souza

From Southeast Asia in the wake of the 2004 tsunami to the southeastern United States after Hurricane Katrina, we find stories of community resilience in the face of adversity. In a recent presentation to USAID’s Adaptation Community at the Wilson Center, Roger-Mark De Souza explained how policies that foster resilience benefit communities, allowing them to “bounce back better.”

From Southeast Asia in the wake of the 2004 tsunami to the southeastern United States after Hurricane Katrina, we find stories of community resilience in the face of adversity. In a recent presentation to USAID’s Adaptation Community at the Wilson Center, Roger-Mark De Souza explained how policies that foster resilience benefit communities, allowing them to “bounce back better.” “We talk very often about ‘a resilience dividend,’” said De Souza, but there are actually “triple dividends”: avoiding losses when disaster strikes, stimulating innovation and economic activity, and social and environmental co-benefits.

The complete audio and PowerPoint of De Souza’s presentation is available here.

About the Author

Roger-Mark De Souza

Roger-Mark De Souza

Global Fellow and Advisor;
Former Director of Population, Environmental Security, and Resilience
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