Economic, social and environmental vulnerability to drought in the northwest river basin system, mexico

Abstract

Vulnerability to drought is the degree to which a system is susceptible to damage by drought and incapable of coping with its adverse effects. This article presents a method to calculate drought vulnerability indices in the Northwest River Basin System, Mexico. The method is based on the concept of vulnerability developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007), which differentiates three components of vulnerability: degree of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Each of these components is represented by a set of relative indicators at the municipal level that allow for the determination of three basic types of vulnerability: economic, social and environmental, which converge in overall vulnerability. The successful use of the method in the Northwest River Basin System shows that it can be applied to the rest of river basin systems in Mexico, and it can also be adapted to be used at the state or national level. The strength of the method lies in its approach as an objective analytic procedure that makes it possible to identify the most vulnerable municipalities from economic, social and environmental perspectives, which is useful in managing resources and efforts to reduce vulnerability to drought in the different regions of the country.

Drought Vulnerability Indices in Mexico

“…Based on what we have already described and studies on vulnerability to drought previously performed in Mexico [41,43], 27 socioeconomic and environmental indicators (Table 1) were selected, whose values were calculated from existing figures, indices, rates, or proportions obtained from municipal-level databases created by recognized national institutions such as the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), CONAGUA, the National Institution for Agricultural and Forestry Research (INIFAP), the National Population Council (CONAPO), the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP). Based on the 27 selected indicators, a matrix was built with the indicators grouped according to three vulnerability components (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) and the three types of vulnerability (socioeconomic, environmental, and overall), as shown in Table 1.…”

“…Based on what we have already described and studies on vulnerability to drought previously performed in Mexico [41,43], 27 socioeconomic and environmental indicators (Table 1) . Based on the 27 selected indicators, a matrix was built with the indicators grouped according to three vulnerability components (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) and the three types of vulnerability (socioeconomic, environmental, and overall), as shown in Table 1.…”

“…For instance, in recent years many studies on vulnerability have been carried out in several countries of the world, all of which use different methods and concepts (e.g., [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]). Likewise, in Mexico different studies on vulnerability to drought have been conducted in some states and regions of the country (e.g., [38][39][40][41]), but none of them have used the same procedures or methods. Similarly, different methods were used in the formulation of the Drought Prevention and Mitigation Measures Programs (PMPMS, by its acronym in Spanish), which were created in 2013 as an integral part of PRONACOSE for each of the 26 Watershed Councils in the country, which made it impossible to reach a consensus and obtain a national vulnerability to drought map [42].…”

Agricultural Drought Risk Assessment: A Spatial Analysis of Hazard, Exposure, and Vulnerability in Zacatecas, Mexico

“…First, we analyzed agricultural drought hazard at the municipal level using the Agricultural Stress Index System (ASIS), specifically, its country version (Country-Level ASIS), which is based on satellite information and was developed by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which supports countries in the monitoring and early warning of drought affecting agriculture [69]. Subsequently, we assessed exposure and vulnerability to drought based on a set of socioeconomic and environmental indicators obtained from databases operated by recognized Mexican institutions and combined these indicators using an analytic procedure to generate exposure and vulnerability indices [20,50]. Finally, we determined agricultural drought risk indices utilizing a weighted addition of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability indices.…”

“…These techniques can provide valuable, spatially, and temporally consistent information on the different types of drought in quasi-real-time [33], which is very useful for early warning purposes [45][46][47]. On the other hand, national studies on vulnerability to drought have been carried out without explicitly defining the type of drought hazard addressed (i.e., [20,[48][49][50]) or by referring to vulnerability to climate change in general (i.e., [51][52][53][54]). There is also very little research focused on the risk of agricultural drought in the different states or regions in the country [55][56][57].…”