Case study – Bega Valley

This case study was undertaken to build and demonstrate resilience investment capabilities in the Bega Valley. Combined with other case studies, this forms the basis for ramping up the development of national capabilities in enabling resilience investment.

The Bega Valley is representative of a growing number of regions around the country experiencing multiple natural hazard disasters in a vicious cycle of disruption and recovery. This highly maladaptive situation is characterised by significant damage to homes and infrastructure and loss of budget, resources and capacity.

Because of these circumstances, people are at different stages of recovery and their recognition and willingness to reimagine their future and do things differently. There is widespread recognition from all sectors of the Bega Valley communities, industries and government of the pressing need to ‘do their recovery, asset management, development planning, and investment decision making differently’. We need evidence-based, credible future pathways to start to build alternative, positive recovery and development trajectories forward.

Phase 1  |  2021  |  Planning for an adaptive future in Bega Valley

CSIRO, Value Advisory Partners and the University of Adelaide worked with local government, businesses, communities and NSW Government agencies to identify and assess investment opportunities in disaster risk reduction and sustainable development for a resilient Bega Valley. Through a process of open inquiry, listening, and active co-learning we designed project activities that contribute to recovery in a way that also builds capability for the future.

These options, once full developed, have the potential to reduce disaster risks, create and realise new value, and enable transitions towards well-adapted and disaster resilient futures. They amplify existing efforts by local and regional stakeholders to collaboratively do disaster recovery differently. In doing so, this work has contributed to building a sense of agency in building resilience and creating future opportunities.

The first phase of the project was funded by Australian Climate Services (ACS).

The report Towards visions, options and pathways for an adaptive future in Bega Valley: Building national capability for Enabling Resilience Investment is now available.

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Phase 2  |  2023-2024  |  Regional asset planning and investments

Bega Valley Shire Council, CSIRO and VAP co-developed a novel approach to resilience investment for the Bega Valley. This project aimed to build capabilities in developing resilient infrastructure investment cases for the Bega Valley.  Following an ERI approach supports council decision-making because resilience thinking helps stakeholders) shift from the current state where stresses combine and amplify to create systemic risk, potentially leading to catastrophic disaster, to managing stressors more effectively. This shift increases the region’s collective capacity to move to a more resilient future by changing the council’s roles, responsibilities and approaches to managing these combined stressors.

Through a series of stakeholder workshops, working groups and analysis undertaken by the project team, two resilience investment cases were developed, and examined using a prototype decision support tool – the Resilience Investment Case Explorer (RICE). The project activities and outputs support stakeholders in their future strategic planning, resilience-building activities, and the development of business cases for investment in disaster risk reduction and resilience across Bega Valley Shire.  

This project was funded under the joint Australian Government – NSW Government National Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction.

You can find more information in the project report and practical manual.