Vulnerable Peoples and Places

KASPERSON, R.E; ARCHER, E. ; CACERES, D. M.; DOW, K. ; DOWNING, T. ; ELMQVIST, T. ; FOLKE, C. ; HAN, G. ; IYENGAR, K. ; VOGEL, C. ; WILSON, K. ; ZIERVOGEL, G.

En R. Hassan, R Scholes N Ash (Eds) ?Ecosystems and Human Well-Being. Current State and Trends?,

Island Press

Lugar: Washington-Covelo-London; Año: 2005; p. 143 - 164

The discussion and cases in this chapter emphasize that the patterns and dynamics that shapethe vulnerability of coupled socio-ecological systems are composed of a multitud of linkages and processes. As such, assessments  of vulnerability need to be comprehensive, sensitive to driving forces at different scales, but also apprecciative of the differences among places. Main messages are: a) Some of the people and places affected by changes in ecosystems and ecosystem services are highly vulnerable to the effects and are particularly likely to experience much of the damage to well-being and loss of life that such changes will entail; b) The patterns and dynamics of vulnerability in coupled socioenvironmental systems are shaped by drivers operating  at scales from the international to the local, all interacting with the specifics of places; c) At a global level, various efforts over the past several decades have defined vulnerability indicators and indexes and have mapped relevant global patterns; d)  Trends in natural hazards reveal severla patterns that are known with high confidence at the national level; e) Desertification is another phenomenom that has received extensive attention; f) Food insecurity is a third primary area of concern in changes in ecosystem services; g) The limitations of existing understanding point to the need for a variety of efforts to improve assessment and identity meassures to reduce vulnerability.