scholarly journals Rethinking the interplay between affluence and vulnerability to aid climate change adaptive capacity

2020 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Eriksen ◽  
Gregory L. Simon ◽  
Florian Roth ◽  
Shefali Juneja Lakhina ◽  
Ben Wisner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Psychosocial Characteristics ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

Abstract Affluence and vulnerability are often seen as opposite sides of a coin—with affluence generally understood as reducing forms of vulnerability through increased resilience and adaptive capacity. However, in the context of climate change and an increase in associated hazards and disasters, we suggest the need to re-examine this dynamic relationship—a complex association we define here as the Affluence–Vulnerability Interface (AVI). We review research in different national contexts to show how a more nuanced understanding of the AVI can (a) problematize the notion that increasing material affluence necessarily has a mitigating influence on social vulnerability, (b) extend our analysis of social vulnerability beyond low-income regions to include affluent contexts and (c) improve our understanding of how psychosocial characteristics influence people’s vulnerability. Finally, we briefly outline three methodological approaches that we believe will assist future engagement with the AVI.

scholarly journals A new approach to assess the impact of extreme temperature conditions on social vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The objective of this research is to develop a set of vulnerability indicators and to analyze the effect of climate factors on social vulnerability. While the main aim of the study is to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability, it also represents a novel scientific contribution in the field, as it delimits for the first time in the Romanian literature the most vulnerable areas from this point of view. This study aims to facilitate the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. By applying the principal component analysis, we have selected 45 variables and have constructed four aggregated indexes. The Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) has pointed out that the largest impact on the current vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty, the most vulnerable areas being represented by the eastern and north-western parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities' efforts should concentrate on reducing the vulnerability of these regions and preparing them to cope with- and adapt to the impact of climate change.

scholarly journals Vulnerability to climate change in smallholder farming households: a case study of Eritrea

2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 11005
Author(s):  
Debesai Ghebreselassie ◽  
Vlad Makeev ◽  
Tatyana Kushnarenko
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Low Income Groups ◽  
Female Headed Households ◽  
Access To Food ◽  
Farming Households

Climate change is adversely affecting smallholder farming households in Eritrea mainly due to the dependence their livelihood to the climate-regulated activity. This study examines the degree of vulnerability of smallholder farming households in Eritrea using a Vulnerability Livelihood Index (VLI). Major components of vulnerability to climate change were identified as Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity. More than 88% of the farming households were found to be vulnerable or highly vulnerable to climate change as a result of the combined effect of their exposure to external factors, sensitivity to internal factors, and lower adaptive capacity. Female-headed households and those belonging to disadvantaged low-income groups were more vulnerable and in need of being preferentially targeted by policy measures. Improving human resource development by focusing on education and health, and enhancing adaptive capacity by focusing on access to food and water can develop the resilience of the farming households.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Extreme Temperature Conditions on Social Vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8510
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

This research aims to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability by developing a set of vulnerability indicators. It delimits for the first time in Romania the most vulnerable areas from this point of view and facilitates the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. We selected 35 variables and constructed four aggregated indexes by applying the principal component analysis, and then the Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) index was derived. It pointed out that the most significant impact on the vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty. The most vulnerable areas are located in the northern and south-eastern parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities’ efforts should reduce the vulnerability of these regions and prepare them to cope with and adapt to the impact of climate change.

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