Chapter 17
Adapting to Climate Change by Building
Back Better in Disaster Recovery: Case
Study of Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Sandeeka Mannakkara
Abstract The world has witnessed increasing magnitudes and frequencies of
disaster events, of which the exacerbation of weather-related events can certainly
be attributed to the impacts of climate change. A large component of responding and
adapting to climate change lies in attempts to successfully prepare for and recover
from severe weather events such as hurricanes, storms and cyclones, and acclimate
to gradual changes such as sea-level rise. The solutions to address these issues can be
found in the intersection between climate adaptation practices as recommended by
the UNFCCC Secretariat, and disaster risk reduction mandates set by the UNISDR
Sendai Framework. This paper presents the concept of Building Back Better (BBB)
as a fitting solution to adapt to climate change. BBB is a holistic concept that aims
to build resilience in a community’s physical, social and economic environments,
enhancing the ability to adapt to climate change impacts. A case study looking at the
climate change challenges of coastal businesses on the island of Rarotonga, Cook
Islands was conducted using the “BBB Framework” developed by Mannakkara and
Wilkinson (2014) to identify best practices for climate adaptation. Findings were
obtained through qualitative semi-structured interviews with coastal businesses and
relevant Government authorities. The results showcased that framed under BBB, a
combination of approaches is necessary to prepare for and respond to climate change
impacts such as innovating and re-designing the built environment, re-thinking landuse, appropriate education, effective early warning and evacuation practices, community cohesion, social and business networks, adaptive business practices, collaboration and alignment between all stakeholders involved, appropriate legislation and
long-term monitoring and evaluation. The findings advocate for policymakers to
adopt BBB as an effective concept to guide climate adaptation practices.
S. Mannakkara (B)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland,
New Zealand
e-mail: s.mannakkara@auckland.ac.nz
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Djalante et al. (eds.), Integrated Research on Disaster Risks, Disaster Risk Reduction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55563-4_17
313
Adapting to Climate Change by Building
Back Better in Disaster Recovery: Case
Study of Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Sandeeka Mannakkara
Abstract The world has witnessed increasing magnitudes and frequencies of
disaster events, of which the exacerbation of weather-related events can certainly
be attributed to the impacts of climate change. A large component of responding and
adapting to climate change lies in attempts to successfully prepare for and recover
from severe weather events such as hurricanes, storms and cyclones, and acclimate
to gradual changes such as sea-level rise. The solutions to address these issues can be
found in the intersection between climate adaptation practices as recommended by
the UNFCCC Secretariat, and disaster risk reduction mandates set by the UNISDR
Sendai Framework. This paper presents the concept of Building Back Better (BBB)
as a fitting solution to adapt to climate change. BBB is a holistic concept that aims
to build resilience in a community’s physical, social and economic environments,
enhancing the ability to adapt to climate change impacts. A case study looking at the
climate change challenges of coastal businesses on the island of Rarotonga, Cook
Islands was conducted using the “BBB Framework” developed by Mannakkara and
Wilkinson (2014) to identify best practices for climate adaptation. Findings were
obtained through qualitative semi-structured interviews with coastal businesses and
relevant Government authorities. The results showcased that framed under BBB, a
combination of approaches is necessary to prepare for and respond to climate change
impacts such as innovating and re-designing the built environment, re-thinking landuse, appropriate education, effective early warning and evacuation practices, community cohesion, social and business networks, adaptive business practices, collaboration and alignment between all stakeholders involved, appropriate legislation and
long-term monitoring and evaluation. The findings advocate for policymakers to
adopt BBB as an effective concept to guide climate adaptation practices.
S. Mannakkara (B)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland,
New Zealand
e-mail: s.mannakkara@auckland.ac.nz
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Djalante et al. (eds.), Integrated Research on Disaster Risks, Disaster Risk Reduction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55563-4_17
313