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Science 12 August 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5737, pp. 1036 - 1039
DOI: 10.1126/science.1112122
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Social-Ecological Resilience to Coastal Disasters

W. Neil Adger,1* Terry P. Hughes,2 Carl Folke,3 Stephen R. Carpenter,4 Johan Rockström5

Social and ecological vulnerability to disasters and outcomes of any particular extreme event are influenced by buildup or erosion of resilience both before and after disasters occur. Resilient social-ecological systems incorporate diverse mechanisms for living with, and learning from, change and unexpected shocks. Disaster management requires multilevel governance systems that can enhance the capacity to cope with uncertainty and surprise by mobilizing diverse sources of resilience.

1 Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
2 Centre for Coral Reef Biodiversity, School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811, Australia.
3 Centre for Transdisciplinary Environmental Research and Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
4 Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706–1492, USA.
5 Stockholm Environment Institute, Box 2142, SE 103 14 Stockholm, Sweden.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: n.adger{at}uea.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)