Book Review: “Realising the ‘Triple Dividend of Resilience”

Summer reading materials have been piling up on my desk, and among them is an interesting Springer publication that is a little older, but the start of a newly developing series on Climate Risk Management, Policy and Governance. The first book in this series came out in 2016 and is titled “Realising the ‘Triple Dividend of Resilience’ – A new business case for disaster risk management (DRM)”, edited by Swenja Surminski and Thomas Tanner. Swenja is the Head of Adaptation Research at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, part of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Thomas is Research Associate in Adaptation and Resilience at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

Springer’s ‘about this book’ states the following: “Why aren’t we investing more in disaster resilience, despite the rising costs of disaster events? This book argues that decision-makers in governments, businesses, households, and development agencies tend to focus on avoiding losses from disasters, and perceive the return on investment as uncertain – only realised if a somewhat unlikely disaster event actually happens. 

This book develops a new business case for investment based on the multiple dividends of resilience. This looks beyond only avoided losses (the first dividend) to the wider benefits gained independently of whether or not the disaster event occurs. These include unleashing entrepreneurial activities and productive investments by lowering the looming threat of losses from disasters and enabling businesses, farmers and homeowners to take positive risks (the second dividend); and co-benefits of resilience measures beyond just disaster risk (the third dividend), such as flood embankments in Bangladesh that double as roads, or wetlands in Colombo that reduce urban heat extremes.”

In seven chapters, known thought leaders of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), ODI, Columbia University, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the University of Southern California, and Earthmind present a compelling case for this new DRM narrative departing from multiple dividends.

The first chapter explains the triple dividend thinking, and it does make sense from not only a humanitarian perspective - avoided losses, but also from an environmental/ecological and economic perspective. Especially the co-benefit thinking, and the example presented, grabbed my attention.

Skipping the second chapter, chapter three further deep-dives into the various types of DRM co-benefits. It starts by linking types of DRM investments / activities to potential co-benefits. It discusses various methods for identifying environmental and socioeconomic co-benefits and related challenges, and touches upon the need for a DRM co-benefits framework.

The resilience of fiscal policy and public DRM investments has the focus in chapter four. I appreciate the paragraph on the need for broader-based decision-making tools to inform a more holistic view of DRM and development investments, then linking to various entry points for improving fiscal resilience and focusing on fiscal co-benefits.

While all chapters provide examples and case studies, it is chapter six where the ‘how’ of the triple dividend thinking is simplified, presenting a decision framework with a focus on adaptation and development dividends and trade-offs. The chapter ends with a useful discussion on the optimal timing of investments, and the value of waiting for new information - and it rightfully points out that the postponement of an investment is in itself also an active policy choice, with its own set of risks and potential for regret.

As a novice on fiscal policy and public investments I appreciate that the authors provide sufficient background information, making this a very readable publication for . For example, in chapter two the difference between welfare and asset losses as disaster losses at the microeconomic level is explained concisely. Chapter four provides a useful discussion on integrating DRM within fiscal risk management, and chapter five provides a good overview of the shortfalls of private sector investment in DRM, possible incentivizing policies and related obstacles.

All in all, “Realising the ‘Triple Dividend of Resilience’ – A new business case for disaster risk management (DRM)” was a very interesting read, and a good start of a promising new Springer series on climate risk management, policy and governance. I look forward to reading the next publication in the series, titled “Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options”

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