Lessons from other vulnerability and adaptation assessments

1
Lessons from other vulnerability and adaptation
assessments
Ligia Noronha Senior fellow TERI
Pre-sessional consultation on TAR Milan, 27 28
November, 2003
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Internal Capability or Predisposition to
Vulnerability
Assessing vulnerability and coping strategies

• EndowmentsIndividual/Communal/Familial
• Diversification strategies
• Support networksTraditional/
• Extended
• Information and technology
• networks
• Empowerment

• Nature of External Events or threats
• Time scale
• Spatial scale
• Pathways

Individual/ Groups
External Events
(Social Political Economic Climatic)
Watershed (Villages)
Nested hierarchies
Regional
National
Global
a. Multi scale analysis b. Dimensions of internal
capability c. Nature of external event or
pressure D Multi method
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Using a nested hierarchical approach allows one

•      to focus on what people and the communities
  in which they are located do, their choices and
  their internal capability
• to assess the health of ecosystems and their
  ability to cope with external threats and the
  links of this to human well-being
•    to understand the modes of interaction between
  events and trends at higher levels and impacts
  at local levels, so negative externalities can be
  more easily identified and responses at
  appropriate levels framed

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Elements of the internal capability to respond
to stress

• What are the endowments? Individual/Communal
  /Familial
• What diversification strategies are possible?
• What support networks exist? Traditional and
  Extended
• What information networks exist?
• What is the level of empowerment of
  assessments communities?

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Methods perspectives needed

• Multi-stakeholder participatory processes
• To ensure representation, more democratic
  responses more effective interventions
• Gender social sensitivity
• To ensure that those most at risk, disadvantaged
  or vulnerable can be identified
• Multiple methods
• spatial analysis, ecological socio-economic
  assessments, biomedical health analysis, case
  studies and historic documents

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How can such approaches be useful to
assessments of V A to climate change?

• sensitive to the interactions between drivers,
  humans and components of the ecosystems
• enable the identification of key stakeholders
• involve more democratic discourses
• enable the understanding of resilience building
  mechanisms and adaptive strategies

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Suggested priorities for SBSTA to explore
opportunities to improve state of knowledge

• Synergies between development pressures and
  climatic change
• Policies to promote diversification
• Burden on women from stressed environments
• Ways to increase safety nets and support
  systems

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Suggested priorities for regional, national and
local action

• Need of effective training programmes for
  local government on monitoring stressors
  (climatic and developmental)
• Need for partnerships to create diversified
  livelihoods
• Need for partnerships to address emerging
  problems relating to water shortages, quick
  disaster responses , wetland preservation,
  environmental education