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Climate Vulnerability



I started my blog with a focus on climate injustice. This is closely connected to both vulnerability and injustice in adaptation possibilities. In this blog post, I will go into detail about vulnerability and adaptation. This blogpost will be more conceptual with in the next blogpost a case as an example. 

Image 1: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Vulnerability 

SDGs 1&10

The impact of climate change has to do with more than just the strength of these external shocks. Socioeconomic reasons also influence the vulnerability and the adaptive capacity to climate change. The relation between the impacts of climate change and human rights been recognized, meaning that the environment has to be satisfactory to favor development. Climate change has also been linked with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), declaring that climate change can negatively affect improvement towards reaching the MDGs. Progress has been made towards some of SDGs (Image 1) (Niang et al., 2014), a set build upon the MDGs after 2015 (UN, n.d.), but not all have been achieved and the levels of progress differ a lot among income-groups and urban versus rural populations in favor of the high-income groups and urban populations. Besides, a growing population and high levels of poverty are structural constraints in gaining the MDGs (Niang et al., 2014).





SDGs 2&8



Other factors making people more vulnerable often have to do with agriculture as this is the main economic activity in Africa. Growing population together with possibly disappointing yield increases both economical setbacks and food insecurity. Changes in rainfall and extreme weather events increase the likeliness for failing yields and therefore affecting food security in Africa (Niang et al., 2014). Especially semi-arid and sub-humid regions together with areas that often have to deal with droughts will probably have problems with food security (ACPC, 2013).  In addition, worldwide food prices as well as the worldwide economic situation, such as the global financial crisis, also impact vulnerability to climate change in Africa (Niang et al., 2014).





SDGs 6&9

Furthermore, access to safe drinking water and sanitation is on top of food security another factor in vulnerability. There are major spatial differences in access to both, with differences between large- and medium- and small-sized cities and rural vs urban (Niang et al., 2014). Many countries in Africa do have enough physical water, but due to poor infrastructure there are access difficulties, hence water scarcity. Extra pressure due to climate change will probably put even more pressure on water availability and accessibility. Population growth alone, without looking at climate change, already puts an extra burden on the water access with extra demand (ACPC, 2013).





SDGS 4&5

Besides previously mentioned factors, education is another factor that can make people more vulnerable than others. Especially girls that grow up in poor households in rural communities sometimes do not have access to education. Women are also extra vulnerable to climate change impact because of the burden they carry in subsistence agriculture (Niang et al., 2014). Besides, children are especially vulnerable to health risks caused by climate change (ACPC, 2013).












Spatial differences also impact the vulnerability to climate change, in both the strength of impact and the sort of impact:
SDGs 3&11


  •        Living on a small Island: Tropical storms and salinization of water resources and agricultural land due to sea-level rise are likely concerns for people living on small Islands (ACPC, 2013).
  •       Urban areas: Rising temperatures in combination with the already higher temperatures in cities because of the urban heat island effects, make the population in cities vulnerable to health risks such as air pollution, diseases, and heatwaves (ACPC, 2013). 
  •       Mountainous areas: high-altitude populations are vulnerable for diseases that intensive due to high temperatures, such as malaria, because of a lack of immunity. On top of this, they could face water insecurity and floods and landslides (ACPC, 2013).







      The sustainable development goals I used as symbols to fit the text were all the obvious connections with the factors I mention in the text at that point. However, all 17 SDGs are interconnected so they are not as separated as it might seem due to the use of symbols (UN, n.d.). These symbols are just to show how many development goals have something to do with vulnerability to climate change. The last bit of this blog post will be about adaptation to climate change. Therefore the use of SDG 13: Climate Action. 

SDG 13: Climate Action

    Adaptation

     In order to adapt to climate change, the vulnerabilities of populations and regions should be understood. On top of this, the capability of certain groups and regions to deal with climate variability and change should be taken into consideration in adaptation policies. In order to make adaptation work, the planning should be contextual and spatially explicit (ACPC, 2013)








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