Nature as Defense

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Introduction

Natural disasters perpetrate sudden change, destruction and reorganization of both human communities and ecological systems. The catastrophic results from these forces are directly proportionate to the lack of resiliency in the defense systems and human destruction of nature’s innate protection. For a system to be resilient, it is critical to maintain “the capacity to cope with unanticipated dangers after they have become manifest, learning to bounce back” (Wilkdavsky, 1991) while also employing the ability to “adapt existing resources and skills to new situations and operating conditions” (Comfort, 1991). Since natural disasters inflict sudden change, a disaster resilient system does not have the luxury of adapting to change over time, but must absorb abrupt shock and high levels of stress. Disaster resilient communities are those that endure sudden change without sacrifice of its overall function, effectiveness and program.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current practices in disaster prevention, discuss weaknesses in manmade systems and explore natural systems as a model for built systems. Resilient ecologies are examined for the opportunities to be applied to manmade communities and increase the effectiveness of defense systems. Specifically, ecosystems that maintain a natural state of diversity and can compensate for the failure of one species without failure of the system, are explored for their practical application. An effective ecosystem must be viable before massive change, as well as after destruction when certain members are compromised. This internal concession holds true for any manmade defense mechanism designed to withstand natural disasters. Finally, a system relying on the diversity of both...

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ten Brink, P., Badura, T., Farmer, A., and Russi D., 2012. The economics of ecosystem and biodiversity for water and wetlands. A briefing note.

van Heerden, I., 2007. The failure of the New Orleans levee system following Hurricane Katrina and the pathway forward. Public Administration Review, 64(s1), 24-35. http://10.1111/j.1540-6210.2007.00810.x

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