Spatial vulnerability units – expert-based spatial modelling of socio-economic vulnerability in the Salzach catchment, Austria

Abstract

Abstract. The assessment of vulnerability has moved to centre-stage of the debate between different scientific disciplines related to climate change and disaster risk management. Composed by a combination of social, economical, physical and environmental factors the assessment implies combining different domains as well as quantitative with qualitative data and makes it therefore a challenge to identify an integrated metric for vulnerability. In this paper we define vulnerability in the context of climate change, targeting the hazard "flood". The developed methodology is being tested in the Salzach river catchment in Austria, which is largely prone to floods. The proposed methodology allows the spatial quantification of vulnerability and the identification of vulnerability units. These units build upon the geon concept which acts as a framework for the regionalization of continuous spatial information according to defined parameters of homogeneity. Using geons, we are capable of transforming singular domains of information on specific systemic components to policy-relevant, conditioned information. Considering the fact that vulnerability is not directly measurable and due to its complex dimension and social construction an expert-based approach has been chosen. Established methodologies such as Multicriteria Decision Analysis, Delphi exercises and regionalization approaches are being integrated. The method not only enables the assessment of vulnerability independent from administrative boundaries, but also applies an aggregation mode which reflects homogenous vulnerability units. This supports decision makers to reflect on complex issues such as vulnerability. Next to that, the advantage is to decompose the units to their underlying domains. Feedback from disaster management experts indicates that the approach helps to improve the design of measures aimed at strengthening preparedness and mitigation.Correspondence to: S. Kienberger (stefan.kienberger@sbg.ac.at) From this point of view, we reach a step closer towards validation of the proposed method, comprising critical useroriented aspects like adequateness, practicability and usability of the provided results in general.

Urban green valuation integrating biophysical and qualitative aspects

“…The value of a geon can be an index (one-dimensional scalar) formed by combing multiple indicators (Kienberger et al, 2009), or, as in this case, EO data and non-EO data. Also, categorical values ( labels ) can be derived for the geons when discretising the underlying data to a categorical scale.…”

“…to map ) a latent phenomenon in space. An example is societal vulnerability to natural hazards (Kienberger, Lang, & Zeil, 2009). The approach is policy or purpose-driven in unitizing the intervention space, by first decomposing (Weinberg, 1975) a complex phenomenon and then re-composing a meta-indicator based on a scale-specific spatial set of regions.…”

Indicator-based assessment of climate-change impacts on coasts: A review of concepts, methodological approaches and vulnerability indices

“…Consequently, three steps in development of vulnerability indices have been proposed (Birkmann, 2006, Kienberger et al, 2009, Hinkel, 2011. The first step is definition of what is to be indicated; and in the case of climate-change vulnerability indices, this would be the vulnerability of a system to climate change.…”

“…Data-driven approaches, or inductive approaches, select vulnerability variables based on their statistical relationship with observed vulnerability outcomes (e.g., mortality due to natural hazards) (Briguglio, 1995, Peduzzi et al, 2002, Brooks et al, 2005, Dilley et al, 2005, Eriksen & Kelly, 2007, Tol & Yohe, 2007. Normative approaches are based on subjective individual or collective expert opinion (e.g., the Delphi method); and have been widely applied for the development of variables for various purposes (Kienberger et al, 2009); the most prominent example is the selection of variable components for the Human Development Indicator (HDI) (Schauser et al, 2010).…”

VuWiki: An Ontology-Based Semantic Wiki for Vulnerability Assessments

“…They have been integrated as a key concept in central documents of global efforts and action plans to reduce disaster risk, such as the Hyogo Framework for Action (UNISDR 2005), and climate change impacts, such as the IPCC's Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) (IPCC 2012). Moreover, the assessment of vulnerability has increasingly become the touchpoint in the debate between research communities in climate change and disaster risk reduction (for example, Bohle et al 1994;Adger 1999;Kelly and Adger 2000;Thomalla et al 2006;Kienberger et al 2009;Birkmann et al 2013).…”