Can We Measure Resilience?

The document proposes a framework for measuring agricultural resilience in eastern Ontario, Canada, moving beyond traditional risk-reduction to a holistic, system-based approach. It identifies 36 indicators across six themes—climate change, population, farmland production, market and economy, rural infrastructure, and natural environment—to track the capacity of rural systems to absorb shocks and adapt. The authors emphasize that while some data is readily available, significant gaps exist in detailed farm economic data. The briefing argues for cross-sectoral collaboration to break down government 'silos' and suggests that these indicators are transferable to other agricultural regions across Canada.

• Resilience is defined as the capacity of a system to absorb shocks and the ability to prepare for, cope with, adapt to, and potentially transform in response to stresses.
• The study developed a suite of 36 resilience indicators categorized into six themes: climate change, population, farmland production activities, market and economy, rural infrastructure, and natural environment.
• The indicators shift from traditional static measures, such as average rainfall, to those that capture regionally meaningful changes in the timing and features of impacts, such as the proportion of barns with air-conditioning to reflect heat coping capacity.
• Data availability for the 36 indicators varies: approximately 50% are readily available, while others are missing, inaccessible, or require significant processing. A specific gap was noted in accessing detailed farm production and economic data.
• The research indicates that resilience indicators for agriculture often overlap with other rural sectors, suggesting that a cross-sectoral approach is necessary to overcome traditional government 'silos' and optimize planning.
• While developed for eastern Ontario, the indicators are considered highly relevant for other Canadian agricultural regions because they focus on broad natural and socioeconomic changes rather than highly specific regional indicators.

APA

Bizikova, L., Waldick, R., & Larkin, P. (2017). Can We Measure Resilience? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/reducing-agriculture-vulnerability-climate-change.pdf

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, Ruth Waldick, and Patricia Larkin. Can We Measure Resilience? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/reducing-agriculture-vulnerability-climate-change.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=Waldick |first2=Ruth |last3=Larkin |first3=Patricia |title=Can We Measure Resilience? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/reducing-agriculture-vulnerability-climate-change.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2017can, author = {Bizikova, Livia and Waldick, Ruth and Larkin, Patricia}, title = {{Can We Measure Resilience?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/reducing-agriculture-vulnerability-climate-change.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }