Social-ecological vulnerability to climate change in the Nepali Himalaya

Coral reef social-ecological systems worldwide face major impacts from climate change, and spatial variation in vulnerability is driven by differential exposure to climatic threats, ecological and socio-economic sensitivity to those threats, ecological recovery potential, and socio-economic adaptive capacity. We assess variation in social-ecological vulnerability to climate change-induced coral bleaching, specifically for reef-based fisheries and tourism, of islands throughout the insular Caribbean, thus providing the first region-wide quantitative analysis of island-scale social-ecological vulnerability to coral bleaching. We show that different components of vulnerability have distinct spatial patterns and that variability in overall vulnerability is driven more by socio-economic than ecological components. Importantly, we find that sovereign islands are less vulnerable on average than overseas territories and that the presence of fisheries management regulations is a significant predictor of adaptive capacity and socio-economic sensitivity, with important implications for island-level governance and policies to reduce climate vulnerability.

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Social-ecological vulnerability to climate change in small-scale fisheries managed under spatial property rights systems

Marine Policy ◽

10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104192 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 121 ◽

pp. 104192

Author(s):

Raquel Ruiz-Díaz ◽

Xiaozi Liu ◽

Alba Aguión ◽

Gonzalo Macho ◽

Maite deCastro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Property Rights ◽

Small Scale ◽

Spatial Property ◽

Small Scale Fisheries ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Ecological Vulnerability

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Socio-ecological vulnerability to climate change/variability in central rift valley, Ethiopia

Advances in Climate Change Research ◽

10.1016/j.accre.2019.03.002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 9-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zenebe MEKONNEN ◽

Teshale WOLDEAMANUEL ◽

Habtemariam KASSA

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rift Valley ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Ecological Vulnerability

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Socio-ecological Vulnerability to Climate Change in South Florida

10.25148/etd.fi14040839 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Emily Eisenhauer

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

South Florida ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Ecological Vulnerability

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Agroecosystems' resilience and social-ecological vulnerability index to climate change in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Climate change impacts and sustainability: ecosystems of Tanzania ◽

10.1079/9781789242966.0034 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 34-43

Author(s):

Kelvine C. Shirima ◽

Claude G. Mung'ong'o

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Social Economic ◽

Economic Status ◽

Farming System ◽

Vulnerability Index ◽

Agronomic Practices ◽

Changing Climate ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Ecological Vulnerability ◽

Agricultural Yield

Abstract The concept of resilience has gained momentum during the current climate change era. Resilience is said to be the measure of the amount of change the system can undergo while still retaining the same controls on function and structure. Taking into account the effects of changing climate, the term resilience has been used to assess the vulnerability of social-ecological systems. Most agroecosystem studies have focused on dryland ecosystems and this prompted the need to shift concern on to mountainous ecosystems whose susceptibility to climate change is not adequately addressed. This chapter assesses the resilience of maize-coffee-banana agroecosystems on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Also, it assesses agronomic practices and the social-economic status of farmers and computes a social-ecological vulnerability index for the ecosystem. The study depicts variation of agronomic practices with altitude due to microclimatic differences, terrain and soil characteristics that determine the type of crops and their farming system which have both positive and negative implications. Climatic shocks (e.g. drought frequency, floods and below average rains) were found to have an impact on agricultural yield. Social-economic indicators (e.g. the number of household dependants, social safety nets, off-farm contribution, possession of land title, usage of wood for cooking energy and access to extension services) have also shown a significant influence on household vulnerability to changing climate which may later affect the agroecosystem productivity as these parameters are associated with the natural environment. Indicators chosen for the vulnerability index depict slight variations of vulnerability altitude wise, except for the mid-lower zone which appears to be more vulnerable.

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Socio-ecological Vulnerability of Smallholders due to Climate Change in Mountains: Agroforestry as an Adaptation Measure

Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems ◽

10.1515/cass-2015-0003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Rajiv Pandey ◽

Dhanraj Meena ◽

Roberta Aretano ◽

Sachidananda Satpathy ◽

Teodoro Semeraro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Adaptive Capacity ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Present Condition ◽

Mountainous Regions ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Ecological Vulnerability ◽

Key Driver ◽

Education And Employment ◽

Specific Contribution

AbstractThe present study aims to assess the socioecological vulnerability of smallholders through an index of Tehri Garhwal Himalaya. The index provides a realistic approach to recognize the contributions of social and ecological factors for household welfare vulnerability to climate change. The approach puts forward various indices for each component of vulnerability to climate change - exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity including two more indices: one for overall impact under the exposure of climate change and another for overall vulnerability. The five indices were proposed to assess the vulnerability status of with and without agroforestry practicing households in Himalayan region. These indices are based on 35 indicators (8 for exposure; 12 for sensitivity, 15 for adaptive capacity), selected through inductive approaches. A questionnaire for households was designed for the above aim and was administered to 121 heads of households through face-toface interviews with 77 households practicing agroforestry and 44 without agroforestry. The questionnaire dealt the general household information, and indicators of the vulnerability including the issues related to agroforestry. The results highlight slightly higher adaptive capacity of agroforestry practicing households due to specific contribution of agroforestry. The low contribution of agroforestry among smallholders was due to small land holding. The study also results that remoteness, specific issues of smallholders’ such as poverty, education and employment are responsible for the present condition. In particular this study clearly shows that poverty is the key driver for vulnerability. All of these issues can be addressed if future programs and policies, include and implement regulations to remedy attributive factors. This paper may be applicable to other mountainous regions providing insights for effective adaptation strategies to climate change.

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