Resilience in the Face of Environmental Disasters in the Age of COVID-19

  • 2,624

    Total Downloads

  • 19k

    Total Views and Downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The global spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) took parts of the world by surprise. It now adds an increased level of uncertainty and complexity to the way we communicate and operationalize resilience. Compounding this is the increased frequency and magnitude of environmental disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, and forest fires that, when combined with a pandemic, means the potential for critical events such as famine. Climate change experts and other scientists now find themselves in a position where data have become weaponized leading to vastly divergent forms of communication to the public. As great power competition quietly wages a war of words and economies, a recent landmark report published by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has asked for urgent actions to be implemented by governments and communities around the world to combat the pressing issues of climate change. None of these specify what types of actions will lead to resilience at community scales and the message is often garbled by disinformation.

As the world emerges from its pre COVID-19 state to a post COVID-19 dynamic it has never been more critical to understand the different approaches that diverse communities take to prepare for, react, and respond to environmental disasters. This includes the need for a new set of collaborations and partnerships between experts in the fields of climate and environmental change, security, defence, communication and systems science to better understand “community resilience”, which is broadly defined as the capacity of a community to retain desired functionality in the wake of a disaster or a crisis. This definition encapsulates several important notions. First, the idea of “retained functionality” reflects a return to pre-crisis baseline levels of well-being and functioning in the face of a temporary disturbance caused by a disaster. Second, the concept of resilience reflects the inception of a new “post-crisis baseline”, which is a key component of adaptability. Indeed, a disaster can alter a community’s pre-crisis “baseline reality” and subsequently forge a new one while still retaining desired functionality in key services, social and cultural identities, and a sense of well-being.

The literature has pointed out how community resilience is usually only evident after the event takes place; however, it also highlighted a key component of resilient communities which is the capacity to foresee potential vulnerabilities and then predict and plan actions ahead of a disturbance event. Moreover, further studies have shown that a community’s overall resilience rests squarely with the resilience of its organizations, families, and individuals, as well as the communication and interconnections between these community stakeholders, thus making it a collective endeavour. The embeddedness of a community in its bio-geophysical environment can limit or enhance resilience thus adding a layer of complexity to planning and preparing for disasters.

Past research has examined the concept of community resilience from the perspective of the adaptation process with a focus on the adaptive capacities that contribute to collective recovery post-disaster, such as information, communication, community competence, social capital, and economic development. Other research has studied community resilience from the perspective of awareness, support resources and the effect of these on the transformation potential of communities in disaster management. However, ultimately, the collective nature of community resilience makes “communication” a key concept in quantifying, fostering, and enhancing community resilience. The literature further emphasizes the need to study the role of perceptions formed through communication means, such as social media in either enhancing or decreasing overall resilience.

The roles of communication and perceptions have not been well-studied specifically with respect to the effects of critical incidents and community responses that result in resilience and vulnerability. As importantly, it is unclear how communities differ in taking lessons learned from past experiences to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disasters in the future. For example, it is well-documented that communities who retain clear, factful, and consistent communication methods and content retain a better collective memory of past events and more accurate application of lessons learned to future challenges. Resilient communities incorporate these changes into planning for recovery, often leading to more functional and closer-knit networks built on trust. We know little about how such effects contribute to changes post-disaster where options are: move, adapt or deteriorate. The extent to which such complex interactions of often intangible variables such as perceptions, communications and organizational responses predict the resilience of a community are relatively unknown.

This Research Topic is inspired by the current rapidity of environmental and climate change and the effects such changes are causing in the frequency and magnitude of disease and other critical events. It is focused on a broad range of avenues of research reflecting the immense complexity of the Topic. It welcomes contributions from various disciplines like communication, information and data science, economics, sociology, psychology, urban and landscape planning, political science, computer and environmental science, and other related disciplines. We encourage contributions of all sorts, including but not limited to, original research papers, opinion pieces, and case studies.

Research Topic Research topic image

Keywords: Resilience, Disasters, Communication, Climate Change, Community Resilience

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and they fall under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

      In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 19kTopic views
  • 14kArticle views
  • 2,624Article downloads
View impact