An Analysis of the Differences in Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Review of Rural and Urban Areas in South Africa

Abstract

Evidence is unequivocal that rural and urban areas in South Africa are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; however, impacts are felt disproportionately. This difference in vulnerability between rural and urban areas is presently unclear to guide context-based climate policies and frameworks to enhance adaptation processes. A clear understanding of the differences in vulnerability to climate change between rural and urban areas is pertinent. This systematic review aimed to explore how vulnerability to climate change varies between rural and urban areas and what explains these variations. The approach was guided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework incorporating exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity dimensions integrated into the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The review used 30 articles based on the search criteria developed. The findings show differences in vulnerability to climate change between rural and urban areas owing to several factors that distinguish rural from urban areas, such as differences in climate change drivers, infrastructure orientation, typical livelihood, and income-generating activities. We conclude that vulnerability varies with location and requires place-based analyses. Instead of blanket policy recommendations, localized interventions that enhance adaptation in specific rural and urban areas should be promoted.

Unravelling the Social and Economic Consequences of Climate Change on Sustainable Livelihoods on Coastal Communities in South Africa

“…The outcomes of Figure 3 and 4 reaffirmed the views of many scholars and commentators, including Dube et al (2021), Zacarias (2018) and Zhou et al (2022), that South Africa's coastal communities are highly prone and vulnerable to climate change with direct and significant consequences on social, economic and cultural livelihoods of the coastal population. Geographically, South Africa has an extensive coastline, with many coastal communities located in low-lying areas, making them very much susceptible to climate-related disasters.…”

Study on Rural Ecological Resilience Measurement and Optimization Strategy Based on PSR-“Taking Weiyuan in Gansu Province as an Example”

“…Arouri et al (2015) analyzed that natural disasters are the main factors affecting rural ecological resilience, and policy inputs can effectively strengthen risk resilience [24]. Leocadia (2022) assessed the ecological vulnerability of rural South Africa to climate change impacts in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity in rural construction [25]. In rural con-struction, Wang et al (2022) constructed a resilience governance framework for physical-energy ecological chains in the context of resource and environmental constraints [26].…”

Exploring the future of GM technology in sustainable local food systems in Colombia

“…Taking action now to find and promote technologies like GM that can stabilize and sustain agricultural production, as well as promote resiliency and sustainability, will be particularly impactful. This is especially true for smallholder agricultural systems, which have the fewest adaptation possibilities ( Zhou L. et al, 2022 ).…”