Vulnerability, resilience, and the adaptive cycle in a crisis-prone tourism community

ABSTRACT

In light of the growing impact of natural disasters around the globe, the development of sustainable, community-based tourism today requires an understanding of the vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity of communities to manage sudden change. These theories have developed differently over time, and each offers distinct insights and limitations. An analysis of the implications of these three perspectives provides an integrated framework of the time process, structure-agency, and essential meaning that enables an understanding of how communities respond to disasters through three dimensions: (1) sensitivity--stability, (2) maladaptive capacity-recovery, and (3) transformation. In addition, using the theories of vulnerability and resilience along with the adaptive cycle model of change over time, we can reinterpret the four phases of growth, conservation, release, and reorganization as a more logical way of thinking through fluctuation and comprehensiveness. The Shanmei community in Taiwan, following Typhoon Morakot in 2009, provides a case in point. We conducted qualitative research and employed literature reviews, an environmental investigation, observations, and in-depth interviews to gather data and information. The findings indicate that the perspective of exposure in the theory of vulnerability should consider the multiple spatial scale and distinguish socio-economic stability, recovery through social networks, and transformation as sustainable elements of this community-based tourism using the integrated framework of vulnerability and resilience. In the adaptive cycle model, the integration of vulnerability and resilience theory shows that in a tourism landscape in a mountainous area, the cycle between destruction and reproduction becomes more rapid.

摘要

鉴于全球范围自然灾害日趋严重的影响, 对于当今可持续社区旅游的发展更需要理解脆弱性、恢复力和社区管理突发变化的适应能力。这些理论历经不同的发展, 每一种理论都提供了不同的洞见和局限。分析这三种理论视角的启发, 提供了一个包括时间过程、结构-施为和基本意义的综合框架, 这个框架有助于理解社区如何通过三种方式响应自然灾害: (1) 敏感性-稳定性; (2) 不适应性-复原力和 (3) 转化力。另外, 从时间轴线的适应周期模型结合脆弱性和恢复力理论分析, 我们以更符合逻辑的思考方式, 重新解释了增长、保存、释放和重组织四个阶段在脆弱性和恢复力之间的波动与整体性。历经 2009 年莫拉克台风的台湾山美社区便是一个恰当的案例。我们开展了一项质性研究, 使用文献回顾、环境调查、观察和深度访谈收集数据和信息。结果表明, 脆弱性理论的暴露量观点应该考虑到多重的空间尺度, 用脆弱性和恢复力综合性框架区别社会经济的稳定性、社会网络的复原力和转化力, 作为社区旅游可持续性的要素。在适应周期模型中, 综合脆弱性和恢复力理论表明, 在山区旅游景观中, 破坏和再生产之间的周期变得更为迅速。

KEYWORDS:

• Vulnerability
• resilience
• adaptive cycle
• sustainable development
• community-based tourism
• Taiwan

关键词:

• 脆弱性
• 恢复力
• 适应周期
• 可持续发展
• 社区旅游
• 台湾

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the villagers in Shanmei, those who participated, for their cooperation and insights to this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chien-yu Tsao

Chien-yu Tsao is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, National Taiwan University. His research interests focus on sustainable tourism and community development.

Chin-cheng Ni

Chin-cheng Ni is a professor in the Department of Environmental & Cultural Resources, National Hsin-chu University of Education, Taiwan, where he teaches course in tourism geography, island study, and urban and rural analysis. His research interests focus on tourism and community development in marginal regions.