The Nature-led Community Resilience (NLCR) Toolkit is designed to support communities and ecosystems in disaster recovery and resilience. It provides guidance for local, state, and national organisations to implement NLCR before, during, and after disasters, promoting social, environmental, cultural, and economic recovery. The toolkit builds on previous Victorian Government initiatives, including the Bushfire Biodiversity Response and Recovery Program and flood recovery programs.
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Nature-led Community Resilience Toolkit
General information
ISIG
Supporting communities and ecosystems in disaster recovery and resilience
Frequent and extreme disasters have caused human tragedy, landscape changes, and ecological impacts. There is a growing need for innovative approaches to recovery that integrate nature and community wellbeing. The NLCR approach emerged from the recognition that nature supports human recovery and vice versa.
Status
Topics For Preparedness
Needs Addressed
Disasters impact both human communities and natural ecosystems, yet recovery efforts often address these separately. NLCR addresses the need for integrated approaches that support both people and nature through recovery and resilience activities.
Stakeholders in NLCR are central to shaping and carrying out recovery initiatives, ensuring that efforts reflect the needs of both communities and the environment. Their engagement supports resilient, adaptive, and sustainable approaches that prepare communities and ecosystems for future challenges.
The methods of engagement include community-led approaches, citizen science, landscape restoration and habitat monitoring. They also involve educational workshops and hands-on activities, community events, the use of digital photo boards, and the creation of multi-stakeholder forums. These are complemented by storytelling and communication initiatives, as well as support through grants and dedicated funding opportunities.
Participants influence the design and implementation of NLCR initiatives by actively contributing knowledge, identifying local priorities, and shaping recovery activities. They engage in co-design processes, provide input on planning and methods, participate in monitoring and evaluation, and help adapt projects to local needs. This ensures that initiatives are community-centred, contextually relevant, and responsive to both human and environmental recovery objectives, while government agencies provide overarching guidance and resources.
NLCR increases long-term resilience by embedding nature-led recovery and community engagement into disaster preparedness, response, and recovery processes. The toolkit also fosters adaptive decision-making by providing evidence-based guidance, monitoring tools, and opportunities for learning from past experiences. Over time, this builds both ecological and community resilience, ensures ongoing participation in recovery efforts, and empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions in managing risks and sustaining natural and social systems.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
The key features and innovations of NLCR include its foundation in evidence and best practice, combined with a scalable and flexible approach that can be adapted across different hazards, locations, and community types. The program is co-designed with communities at its centre, ensuring local needs and perspectives shape recovery efforts. It incorporates psychosocial support elements, including safety, calm, connection, agency, and hope, and is designed to operate across multiple, overlapping disaster phases.
English
The initiative is most effective when coordinated by a central government agency with clear leadership; however, actions included in the toolkit should be implemented directly by different types of local stakeholders.
The implementing organisation for NLCR should have experience in disaster recovery and resilience and knowledge in other fields such as biodiversity and ecosystem management, community engagement, emergency management planning, monitoring and evaluation, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. It should be capable of integrating human and environmental recovery, applying evidence-based approaches, and scaling programs effectively across different contexts.
- Local communities
- Emergency management organisations
- Conservation and environment agencies
- Volunteer groups
- Community-based and social service organisations
- Government agencies (local, state, Commonwealth)
- NGOs and not-for-profits
- Private sector organisations
- Research organisations and universities
- Traditional Owner groups
- Youth groups and schools
- Before Disasters (Preparedness): identify opportunities to integrate NLCR into emergency management plans, develop personalised NLCR roadmaps, engage communities on climate change and disaster resilience, advocate for funding, and promote, support, and evaluate ongoing activities using metrics and stories to strengthen future advocacy.
- During Disasters (Response and Relief): maintain community engagement through relevant agencies, communicate clear disaster risk messages, and implement appropriate volunteer opportunities to support nature.
- After Disasters (Recovery): assess community and environmental impacts, raise awareness of NLCR, reconnect communities with ecosystems, integrate NLCR into recovery planning, partner with communities to prioritise and deliver activities, secure funding, implement projects across short-, medium-, and long-term phases, restore conservation group operations, and monitor, evaluate, and share lessons learned.
- The New Before (Embedding and Resilience Building): extend NLCR into business-as-usual resilience practices, embed it in emergency management plans, expand stakeholder participation, broaden awareness and engagement, deliver ongoing community-nature activities and volunteering, and continue monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of lessons.
Implementing the NLCR Toolkit requires a combination of human resources, including skilled staff and volunteers; financial resources for planning, projects, and operational costs; technical tools and equipment for restoration, monitoring, and digital engagement; informational resources such as research, recovery plans, and case studies; and strong partnerships with government, community, and environmental organisations.
- Before disasters: preparedness, planning, and advocacy
- During disasters: response, relief, and safe engagement
- After disasters: short-, medium-, and long-term recovery
- The new before: embedding NLCR as standard practice, expanding, and sustaining activities
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
Implementation challenges for NLCR include engaging diverse communities, coordinating multiple stakeholders, securing adequate funding, ensuring safety during activities, and maintaining continuity amid personnel turnover. These challenges are addressed through community-led co-design processes to increase participation, establishing clear roles and communication channels among stakeholders, advocating for grants and diverse funding sources, implementing strict safety protocols, and documenting processes to preserve institutional knowledge and support training for new personnel. Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and knowledge sharing further help adapt and improve implementation over time.
Common risks associated with NLCR and potential mitigation strategies include:
- Communities may lack interest, awareness, or capacity to engage --> conduct early outreach, provide education and training, and tailor activities to local needs and interests.
- Projects may face delays or reduced scope due to limited financial or material support --> advocate for diverse funding sources, develop grant applications, and build partnerships with government and NGOs.
- Volunteers or participants may be exposed to firegrounds, floodwaters, or other hazards --> provide clear risk communication, follow safety protocols, and restrict activities to safe conditions.
- Conflicting priorities or lack of communication can impede implementation --> establish clear roles, regular meetings, and shared decision-making processes.
- Continuity of projects may be affected --> document processes, provide training, and create knowledge-sharing platforms.
- Without proper assessment, lessons learned may not inform future activities --> implement structured monitoring, evaluation, and feedback systems, and share results with stakeholders.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The NLCR initiative is maintained over time through a combination of financial, governance, and operational strategies. Financially, sustainability is supported by securing ongoing funding and grants for both short- and long-term projects, as well as leveraging partnerships with government, NGOs, and community organisations. From a governance perspective, NLCR is embedded in emergency management and recovery plans, ensuring it becomes part of routine planning and decision-making processes. Operationally, the initiative relies on continuous community engagement, monitoring, evaluation, and knowledge-sharing to adapt and improve activities, while building local capacity and social networks that sustain nature-led recovery and resilience practices over time.
NLCR can be implemented at local, regional, or state levels, offering a flexible approach that adapts to different hazards, locations, and community contexts. Its design makes it highly scalable, allowing initiatives to begin with small, place-based projects and expand into broader regional or state-wide programs, while still remaining responsive to local needs and conditions.
Technology and innovation enhance NLCR by enabling broader participation through virtual volunteering, supporting evidence-based recovery via online citizen science, and fostering connection and knowledge-sharing through digital storytelling tools. The strategy also incorporates innovative elements such as co-designed community-led approaches, integration of psychosocial support, cyclical engagement across disaster phases, and flexible, scalable implementation. However, the framework is equally adaptable to more traditional approaches and can be implemented effectively without relying on advanced technological tools, using in-person workshops, on-ground monitoring, community meetings, and local communication methods.
Detailed information on the expected direct costs is not currently available.
Detailed information on the expected operational costs is not currently available.
Nature-led approaches support the recovery of both communities and ecosystems, while the integration of communities in recovery planning strengthens capacity, builds social capital, and fosters advocacy for nature. NLCR has proven effective across different types of disasters and in diverse geographic contexts.