Student: Audrey Stuart
Graduation date: May 2017
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2015
Go to concentration landing page
Summary
The effects of climate change will vary drastically among the differing regions of the world. The total impact felt by a country depends on the environmental stressors placed on it as well as its level of vulnerability. A widely accepted definition of vulnerability is the one put forth by the IPCC, the “propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected.” This is extremely broad and includes sensitivity and a lack of adaptive capacity (IPCC 2014). Vulnerability is a fascinating concept because it blends environmental and social factors by including both exposure to climatic risks and sensitivity of socio-economic systems. (Grasso 2014). The expectation is that adaptive capacity increases as countries get wealthier and more stable, so I chose to focus on peripheral nations that face the greatest challenges (Grasso 2014). Currently 70% of those living on less than $1.25 a day live in rural areas of the southern hemisphere (IPCC 2014). The climate-change driven effects on poverty are difficult to extricate from poverty as a whole. The effects of climate change will compound other drivers of poverty and further decrease economic stability and well-being. For example, those in a transient state of poverty are extremely vulnerable to climatic shock. Even one bad growing season may push a family or group from transient poverty into chronic poverty.
One factor of social vulnerability is climate sensitivity, or how easily a specific population is influenced by climatic changes. People who are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods will therefore be more vulnerable to climate change (Marshall 2014). People with high resource dependency, such as the primary producers in peripheral nations, often have fewer options to experiment with alternative jobs. Larger businesses can acquire credit and set up preventative measures to buffer themselves from the effects of a crisis such as a drought or flood. Smaller producers and sustenance farmers do not have this luxury and will have fewer resources to devote to building their adaptive capacity (Marshall 2014). Case studies conducted in the Eastern Gangetic Plains demonstrate the need for a place-specific approach for vulnerability. An increase in extreme precipitation events has already been observed, and in the future the water needed for irrigation will become increasingly unpredictable. This study found that the largest effect of climate change on gender vulnerability was not through a direct relationship, but rather a result of gender-specific migration (Sugden 2014). The situation is challenging to analyze because the migration is caused by economic factors and not climate change. However, the migration then turns out to be one of the biggest reasons for an increased social vulnerability of female farmers in this area.
Rural populations are most vulnerable to climate change, but development and changes in power structures greatly affect social vulnerability in all regions (Maiti 2015). The most recent IPCC report claims with ‘very high confidence’ that differences in social vulnerability can be traced back to uneven levels of development. The Eastern coast of India experienced rapid unsustainable development. The IPCC report predicts that East and South Asia will be most affected by climate change, so this area will experience increased storms and strong waves (Maiti 2015). This dangerous combination of environmental crises and unstable human infrastructure leaves India’s eastern coast extremely vulnerable. This illustrates the unique interaction between climatic factors and human development. Governance and political rights are also factors in Samoa’s vulnerability and adaptive capacity. The nation of Samoa is in an area already prone to extreme weather events and will suffer unique consequences such as saltwater intrusion as sea levels rise. Small, insular countries like these are also the most vulnerable to climate change. The Samoa Social Vulnerability Index (SSVI) was designed to measure socio-economic factors of districts within the nation to determine which needed the most aid in building adaptive capacity (Grasso 2014). Indexes such as the SSVI are used to allocate funds and determine whether goals have been met (Barnett 2008). These indices are valuable for making temporal and spatial comparisons but have inherent limitations. Social vulnerability is extremely difficult to quantify so certain measurable features are used as indicators of this broader concept. This then stirs controversy because there is disagreement over how each factor should be weighted (Cutter 2006).
Building adaptive capacity is a global priority that warrants attention even in smaller, low-income states. Resiliency can be closely linked to sustainability, so the world’s resources may be preserved by helping countries withstand environmental crises (Barnett 2008). Efforts have been by large groups such as the United Nations and small nongovernment organizations that focus on a particular community (Keohane 2011). Governments and non-state groups have incentive to invest money, technology and ideas in a way that will have the most impact. There is a strong argument that the efforts of narrowly focused groups will be more successful than centralized, global institutions because they are not as influenced by politics and diplomacy (Keohane 2011). Actions that reduce the environmental vulnerability of low-income groups overlap with those that reduce their vulnerability to poverty. Another form of adaptation that has been suggested is human migration as conditions worsen, especially in small island states (McLeman 2006). For those who remain sedentary, steps such as building credit and diversifying economies will both alleviate poverty and build resilience to climatic change by making economies less dependent on a single natural resource (IPCC 2014).
References
Barnett, Jon, Simon Lambert, and Ian Fry. 2008. “The Hazards of Indicators: Insights from the Environmental Vulnerability Index.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 98 (1): 102–19.
Cutter, Susan. 2006. “Hazards, Vulnerability and Environmental Justice.” In . New York: Taylor & Francis.
Grasso, Marco, Marta Moneo, and Marco Arena. 2014. “Assesing Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in Samoa,” 1329–41.
Keohane, Robert, and David Victor. 2011. “The Regime Complex for Climate Change.” Perspectives on Politics 9 (1): 7–23.
Maiti, Sanjit, Sujeet Kumar Jha, Sanchita Garai, Arindam Nag, R. Chakravarty, K. Kadian, and B. Chandel. 2015. “Assesment of Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Eastern Coast of India.” Climatic Change 131 (2): 287–306.
Marshall, N.A., C.J. Stokes, N.P. Webb, P.A. Marshall, and A.J. Lankester. 2014. “Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in Primary Producers: A Typology Approach” 186 (March): 86–93.
McLeman, R., and B. Smit. 2006. “Migration as Adaptation to Climate Change.” Climatic Change 76: 31–53.
Sugden, Fraser, Niki Maskey, Floriane Clement, Vidya Ramesh, Anil Philip, and Ashok Rai. 2014. “Agrarian Stress and Climate Change in the Eastern Gangetic Plains: Gendered Vulnerability in a Stratified Social Formation.” Global Environmental Change 29 (November): 258–69.
IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1132 pp.
Questions
- Descriptive: What are the various definitions of social vulnerability? What are the different indices used to measure social vulnerability? How will effects of climate change such as drought, saltwater intrusion, and extreme storm events change in peripheral countries? What are key patterns of development in peripheral countries that will affect social vulnerability? What specific populations and livelihoods will be most affected by climate change?
- Explanatory: What economic factors and power structures make periphery nations most vulnerable to climate change?
- Evaluative: In what ways could the social vulnerability of peripheral nations be a concern for the world as a whole? How have rapid growth, unsustainable infrastructure, and inequality increased social vulnerability in peripheral nations?
- Instrumental: How can peripheral nations build their adaptive capacity? How have changes in infrastructure increased or decreased social vulnerability? What should the roles of governments and non-state groups be? What is the most effective way to allocate funds and make sure resources are effectively used in regions with the highest vulnerability? Why have efforts to reduce social vulnerability not been effective?
Concentration courses
- ENVS 499 (Independent Study, 2 credits), fall 2016. Research and literature review to build on my concentration and form connections with other ENVS classes.
- ENSC 380 (Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy, 3 transfer credits), spring 2015. This explored environmental policy at the state, national and international level. The politics and conflicts of interests behind environmental policies were discussed.
- EASC 275 (Introduction to Geographical Information Systems, 4 transfer credits), fall 2014. GIS was used to study issues of environmental justice. Issues were looked at in terms of both spatial and temporal trends.
- SOAN 386 (Migration in the Global South, 4 credits), fall 2016. Discusses displacement and effects of urbanization, which are both closely linked to factors of social vulnerability. Focusing on the Global South will complement the situated aspect of my concentration and will develop an understanding of the unique forces present in peripheral nations.
- PHIL 217 (Social Justice, 4 credits), fall 2016. A key theme of social vulnerability is patterns of uneven development and inequality. This would bring a unique approach to these themes and would pose philosophical questions about the root causes of social vulnerability.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.