The conceptual framework of vulnerability

2 Vulnerability of traditional and indigenous peoples to global climate change

2.1 The conceptual framework of vulnerability

Vulnerability to climate change is a socially and spatially variable phenomenon which may change over the course of time. It is conceptualised in many different ways in climate change literature and is determined by a wide range of factors. Many scholars in recent climate change literature suggest separating vulnerability into social and biophysical vulnerability Cutter, 1996, Füssel, forthcoming; Brooks, 2003. This integrated approach is adopted in the present report and is largely compatible with the concept of vulnerability proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC on which this report is principally based. The IPCC 2007b defines the concept of vulnerability as the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate change and variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity. This definition implies that in order to assess future vulnerability of a system to climate change not only the exposure of a system to a potential future biophysical hazard level at a global, regional or local scale needs to be considered, but also the sensitivity of vulnerable groups and the ecosystems they live in to climate change impacts and their adaptive capacity Füssel, in press. According to the IPCC 2007b, the concept of adaptability is defined as the ability of a system to adjust to climate change including climate variability and extremes to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences. In this sense, the adaptive capacity of a human-environmental system is therefore the potential of this system to reduce its vulnerability and consequently to moderate the potential impacts of climate change. Concrete examples of successful and unsuccessful adaptations of indigenous and traditional peoples to climate variability and change are described in Chapter four of this report.

2.2 Determining vulnerability factors