Vulnerability, Coping and Loss and Damage from Climate Events (original) (raw)
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Maereg P2013-2 - Climate change adaptation
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Climatic Change, 2011
The topics of climate change and of what to do about it have been the subject of discussion for over two decades. Much of the focus has been on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the rate and magnitude of changes. Adapting to the impacts of those changes has received much less attention. In recent years, the development assistance community has recognized that climate change poses a stress on economic and social development in poor countries and has turned its attention to addressing climate stress. The US Agency for International Development developed a methodology of working with stakeholders to identify sources of climate related vulnerability and approaches to reducing that vulnerability. The methodology was developed iteratively with several pilot studies looking at vulnerability and adaptation in different sectors and settings.
Household Vulnerability to Climate Change among the Residents of Baringo County, Kenya
International Journal of Innovative Research and Development
This study carried out a local vulnerability assessment or measure to climate change in Baringo County. According to Posey (2009) most adaptive responses are made at the local level by resource managers, municipal planners, and individuals at the household level (household heads). As posted by Fazey et al. (2010) and Yoo et al. (2011) there has been relatively little attention given to how assessments can be conducted in ways that help build capacity for local communities to understand and find their own solutions to their problems. The study sought to address this empirical lacuna by conducting a household vulnerability assessment at the local community level with the focus n establishing household vulnerability among resident of Baringo County Kenya. The evaluation of vulnerability considered the following characteristics the scale of vulnerability. These characteristics conveyed information on diverse natural environments and heterogeneous socioeconomic structure at multiple scales which lacks in aggregate vulnerability indices. This was in line with Boyce (2003) who states that inequality aggravates environmental degradation, including climate change. The scale analysis of vulnerability took into account the bio-physical environmental difference of locations and the socioeconomic contextual differences at the local level. Heterogeneity of locations even within a country or specific region is often responsible for differential response (i.e. coping capability) to that hazard (Adger, (1999); Carina & Keskitalo, (2008) and Engle & Lemos, (2010). Therefore, this study established the scale of vulnerability by looking at the heterogeneity of socioeconomic contexts such as institutions, population, social network and culture, for this may affect the "local" vulnerability to climate change. The vulnerability assessment also involved tools and processes used to assess the vulnerability of a community and its natural resources to climate change. The approach as suggested by (
Regional Environmental Change, 2014
This paper reviews the state of knowledge on social vulnerability to climate change in three hot spots (deltas, semi-arid regions and snowpack-or glacier-fed river basins) in Africa, Central Asia and South Asia, using elements of systematic review methods. Social vulnerability is defined as a dynamic state of societies comprising exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We examine whether the hot spots have specific characteristics that tend to increase or decrease social vulnerability, consider suitable scales of analysis for understanding vulnerability, and explore the conceptions of vulnerability adopted in the climate change literature and the nature of the insights this generates. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps in this literature. All three hot spots are characterized by high levels of natural resource dependence, with increasing environmental degradation. They also exhibit unequal policies and patterns of development, which benefit certain segments of society while making others more vulnerable. Vulnerability is driven by multiple factors operating at different scales; however, characterization of cross-scalar interactions is poorly developed in the majority of studies reviewed. Most studies are either large scale, such as broad comparisons of vulnerability across countries, or local, documenting community-level processes. Detailed understanding of the interactions between climate change impacts on natural systems, and socio-economic trajectories, including adaptation, also emerges as a knowledge gap.
Climate and Disaster Resilience: THE ROLE FOR COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
The World Bank’s goals of reducing extreme poverty and ensuring shared prosperity cannot be achieved without addressing the impacts of climate change. Climate change multiplies the existing vulnerability of the poor, pushing those living on the margins even closer to the edge. The World Bank report “Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C World Must be Avoided” explored the developmental impacts of 2°C and 4°C of warming above preindustrial levels and established that the effects of a 4°C world will not be evenly distributed, nor would the consequences be simply an extension of those felt at 2°C of warming. The report established that the tropics will be most affected, affecting poorer cuntries more and that within wealthier countries, the poor will be harder hit (World Bank 2012c). Poor people in developing countries bear the brunt of climate change impacts while contributing very little to its causes. The World Bank recognizes that climate change is an issue of social justice and is wholly committed to helping those that will be the hardest hit to adapt while continuing to support aggressive mitigation efforts (Mearns and Norton, 2010).
Town and Regional Planning
Climate change in South Africa remains an issue of socioeconomic and environmental concern. An increase in frequency and intensity of climatic events pose significant threats to biophysical and socioeconomic aspects, namely food security, water resources, agriculture, biodiversity, tourism, and poverty. In order to counteract the socioeconomic and environmental concerns pertaining to issues of climate change, emergent insights on climate change strategies suggest that building resilience in human and environmental systems is an ideal way of combating dynamic environmental conditions and future uncertainties. Using the qualitative secondary data approach, this article evaluates whether vulnerable communities in uMkhanyakude District Municipality can become resilient to the implications of climate change. UMkhanyakude District Municipality is predominantly rural and one of the most impoverished districts in KwaZulu-Natal, with the majority of socially and economically marginalised individuals and households experiencing more severe impacts as a result of climate change compared to those in urban areas. Data was analysed using content analysis and a concise summary of the biophysical and socioeconomic aspects is presented. This research suggests that building resilience to climate change is possible when bottom-up, proactive and systematic measures are taken to manage vulnerable areas such as those in uMkhanyakude District Municipality. It recommends that social impact assessments (SIA) be conducted to assist in terms of assessing social consequences that are likely to follow from policy actions.
Assessing current social vulnerability to climate change: A participatory methodology
2015
to analyze the current vulnerability of local communities to climate variability in the context of development processes. This assessment forms the basis for further research on future scenarios of vulnerability and the evaluation of possible adaptation strategies that can provide co-benefits with mitigation efforts in the Congo Basin. The methodology for the regional assessment was developed in collaboration with many partners. Researchers from CIFOR and SEI worked closely with local partners in each site to refine and apply the different methods of the assessment. We would like to thank all local partners: ROSE, INDEFOR, ARECO, AMFN and UEFA. We are also very grateful to all the local communities in the research sites that took part in this research for their time and interest in the research; they really deserve to be coauthors, because we are sharing their knowledge in this report. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) CIFOR advances human well-being, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to help shape policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. CIFOR is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, with offices in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Climate Change and Community Vulnerability
Community Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Local Coping Mechanisms in Khudi Watershed. A. R. Sharma , K .P. Sharma , N.R.Khanal The Khudi watershed lies in western Nepal within 28003’-28030’ north, 84011’-84038’ east and 823 m-3000 m above sea level. The agrarian watershed with seven hundred households was dominated by Bahun/Chettri (51%), Gurung (21%) and several others (28%). Temperature and precipitation data analysis between 1987 to 2006 and 1975 to 2006 respectively showed some changes. Temperature was in increasing trend. The maximum mean temperature was increasing at 0.810C/decade and the minimum mean temperature was increasing at 0.260C/decade. Seasonal temperature data also showed increasing trend, winter temperature was highly increasing trend (1.170C/decade maximum and 0.760C/decade minimum temperature trend). Average Precipitation of two trends of driest months, November and December, was decreasing by 0.58 mm/yr and 0.10 mm/yr respectively while that of wettest month, July showed the increasing trend of 1.91 mm/yr. Regarding the experience of local inhabitants, more than 90 percent respondents have experienced increasing temperature, and 91 percent respondents have experienced unusual rainfall events. Fifty percent respondents believed that rainfall amount was decreasing in recent past with direct impacts on agricultural production and water resources. Most of the farming communities experienced unusual weather patterns with negative impacts on agricultural production, increasing water scarcity and increased frequency of weather related disasters. Local adaptive capacity was poor. Knowingly or unknowingly some coping strategies like use of sprinkle irrigation, use of new varieties of crops, were adopted within the communities. There was an urgent need to formulate adaptive strategies for food securities and for dealing with water scarcities and climate change induced disasters. Key Words: Climate change, Community, Disaster, Vulnerability, People’s perception.