A review of vulnerability indicators for deltaic social–ecological systems

Sebesvári, Zita; Renaud, Fabrice G.; Haas, Susanne; Tessler, Z. D.; Hagenlocher, Michael; Kloos, Julia; Szabo, Sylvia; Tejedor, Alejandro; Kuenzer, Claudia

doi:10.1007/s11625-016-0366-4

Cited by 74 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 85 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Out of the 105 articles that were reviewed, only 18 (17%) applied an SES perspective. This confirms a persistent gap in vulnerability and risk assessments that was recently highlighted by Sebesvari et al (2016) in their review of vulnerability assessments in coastal river deltas.…”

Section: Conceptualization Of Drought Risksupporting

confidence: 78%

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Hagenlocher

Meza

Anderson

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

194

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reducing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of droughts and identifying pathways towards drought resilient societies remains a global priority. A common understanding of the drivers of drought risk and ways in which drought impacts materialize is crucial for improved assessments and for the identification and (spatial) planning of targeted drought risk reduction and adaptation options. Over the past two decades, we have witnessed an increase in drought risk assessments across spatial and temporal scales drawing on a multitude of conceptual foundations and methodological approaches. Recognizing the diversity of approaches in science and practice as well as the associated opportunities and challenges, we present the outcomes of a systematic literature review of the state of the art of people-centered drought vulnerability and risk conceptualization and assessments, and identify persisting gaps. Our analysis shows that, of the reviewed assessments, (i) more than 60% do not explicitly specify the type of drought hazard that is addressed, (ii) 42% do not provide a clear definition of drought risk, (iii) 62% apply static, index-based approaches, (iv) 57% of the indicatorbased assessments do not specify their weighting methods, (v) only 11% conduct any form of validation, (vi) only ten percent develop future scenarios of drought risk, and (vii) only about 40% of the assessments establish a direct link to drought risk reduction or adaptation strategies, i.e. consider solutions. We discuss the challenges associated with these findings for both assessment and identification of drought risk reduction measures, and identify research needs to inform future research and policy agendas in order to advance the understanding of drought risk and support pathways towards more drought resilient societies.

show abstract

Section: Conceptualization Of Drought Risksupporting

confidence: 78%

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Hagenlocher

Meza

Anderson

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

194

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Commonly, droughts are classified into four major types, i.e., (i) meteorological, (ii) hydrological, (iii) agricultural, and (iv) socio-economic [12]. Since drought development cannot solely be attributed to climate drivers, the consideration of Sustainability 2020, 12, 752 2 of 23 socio-economic preconditions through a coupled perspective on human-environment systems is crucial [13][14][15]. However, these fields are often considered in isolation from each other, ignoring the complex feedback between natural and human drivers [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought Risk to Agricultural Systems in Zimbabwe: A Spatial Analysis of Hazard, Exposure, and Vulnerability

Frischen

Meza

Rupp³

et al. 2020

Sustainability

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The devastating impacts of drought are fast becoming a global concern. Zimbabwe is among the countries more severely affected, where drought impacts have led to water shortages, declining yields, and periods of food insecurity, accompanied by economic downturns. In particular, the country’s agricultural sector, mostly comprised of smallholder rainfed systems, is at great risk of drought. In this study, a multimethod approach is applied, including a remote sensing-based analysis of vegetation health data from 1989–2019 to assess the drought hazard, as well as a spatial analysis combined with expert consultations to determine drought vulnerability and exposure of agricultural systems. The results show that droughts frequently occur with changing patterns across Zimbabwe. Every district has been affected by drought during the past thirty years, with varying levels of severity and frequency. Severe drought episodes have been observed in 1991–1992, 1994–1995, 2002–2003, 2015–2016, and 2018–2019. Drought vulnerability and exposure vary substantially in the country, with the south-western provinces of Matabeleland North and South showing particularly high levels. Assessments of high-risk areas, combined with an analysis of the drivers of risk, set the path towards tailor-made adaptation strategies that consider drought frequency and severity, exposure, and vulnerability.

show abstract

“…The social, economic, and political setting(S) is the Kinakomba Ward context, in Tana River County. The nature and magnitude of drought as well as the vulnerability of the SES determines the impacts experienced by the SES (community) and its sub-systems and also the risk to experience harm (Sebesvari et al 2016). Hazards might originate within a given SES or could be generated outside an SES.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hazards might originate within a given SES or could be generated outside an SES. According to Sebesvari et al (2016) these interactions from outside and SES internal processes might lead to transformations and tipping processes which greatly influence the vulnerability context. This conceptual SES framework aims to synthesize the Sensitivity index on the socioeconomic characteristics of the smallholder farmers in Kinakomba Ward for the social system.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Shocks Sensitivity Index of Smallholder Farmers Engaged in Farming and Non-Farming Activities in Kinakomba Ward, Tana River County, Kenya

2020

FSQM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the future of smallholder farmers of Kinakomba Ward in Tana River is critical to the design and development of policies. One of the major concerns is establishing how sensitive these farmers are to climate change shocks. This study sought to determine sensitivity index of smallholder farmers that rely on rainfed agriculture and nonfarming activities to climate change related shocks with the intent of formulating appropriate programmes and policies. A descriptive survey research design was used. Stratified random sampling was employed to select 390 households. The qualitative and quantitative data collected using questionnaires was analysed by use of metric of sensitivity and chi-square goodness of fit test. The study revealed that smallholder farmers who relied on farming activity alone had a sensitivity of 43.17% to climate change related shocks while those who rely on non-farming activities had a sensitivity of 36.40%. When the households engage in both farming and non-farming, the sensitivity will increase by 21.20% due to the interactions between the two activities. Although the sensitivity percentage for the farmers who engaged in the two activities is low, sensitivity was statistically significant (P=0.00038). Further findings showed that the ratio of farming to nonfarming was 0.58 and those households dependent on farming and engaged in nonfarming was 0.45 and when they engage in both activities at the same time, they were more sensitive at 0.942. Despite the significance sensitivity to climate change related shocks, farming sector was ranked as more important (81.5%) than other livelihood activities. The study concluded that sensitivity of the smallholder farmers to climate change related shocks had a significant influence on their livelihoods. The County Government in partnership with stakeholders develops interventions of adaptation options and empowerment of farmers with skills in diversification of livelihoods options.

show abstract

A review of vulnerability indicators for deltaic social–ecological systems

Cited by 74 publications

References 85 publications

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Drought Risk to Agricultural Systems in Zimbabwe: A Spatial Analysis of Hazard, Exposure, and Vulnerability

Climate Change Shocks Sensitivity Index of Smallholder Farmers Engaged in Farming and Non-Farming Activities in Kinakomba Ward, Tana River County, Kenya

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About