Title: Capacity building approaches to emergency management in rural communities: recommendations from survivors of the British Columbia Wildfires, 2003

Authors: Robin S. Cox

Addresses: Counselling Psychology Program, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Abstract: This paper responds to the ongoing calls within emergency management for more community-driven and capacity building approaches to the response to and recovery from natural disasters. Moving from the rhetoric of community-driven approaches to the practice, this paper highlights and draws on specific practice recommendations made by residents in two rural Canadian communities affected by a devastating forest fire. The recommendations made by the survivors of the McLure Fire, in British Columbia, Canada, provide a concrete framework for engaging with rural communities in developing emergency management practices that are more relevant to and congruent with the unique challenges and strengths of their communities.

Keywords: community capacity building; community recovery; emergency management; psychosocial response; Canada; rural communities; wildfires; forest fires; natural disasters.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2007.013993

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2007 Vol.4 No.2, pp.250 - 268

Published online: 07 Jun 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article