Social and ecological resilience: are they related?

This article defines social resilience as the ability of groups or communit ies to cope with external stresses and disturbances as a result of social, political and environmental change. This definition highlights social resil ience in relation to the concept of ecological resilience which is a charac teristic of ecosystems to maintain themselves in the face of disturbance. T here is a clear link between social and ecological resilience, particularly for social groups or communities that are dependent on ecological and envi ronmental resources for their livelihoods. But it is not clear whether resi lient ecosystems enable resilient communities in such situations. This arti cle examines whether resilience is a useful characteristic for describing t he social and economic situation of social groups and explores potential li nks between social resilience and ecological resilience. The origins of thi s interdisciplinary study in human ecology, ecological economics and rural sociology are reviewed, and a study of the impacts of ecological change on a resource-dependent community in contemporary coastal Vietnam in terms of the resilience of its institutions is outlined.