Vulnerability and Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: Current Research and Needs for Population Information

by Elizabeth Malone

Studies of vulnerability and resilience have multiplied with the growing realization that societal response, particularly societal capacity to adapt to climate change impacts, determines both the severity of impacts and the costs of adaptation. The definition and focus of such studies come from other research communities, including research in impacts of climate change (emphasizing physical impacts), natural hazards and disasters (the hazards themselves plus societal preparation and response/recovery), and sustainability (societal conditions and decisions about using natural resources). Although research in
vulnerability and resilience began by emphasizing vulnerability, the focus has shifted at least in part to resilience as a positive concept that can be more integrated with general development goals.

One common lack across vulnerability and resilience studies is an examination of studied
populations, beyond aggregate numbers and poverty status (measured, typically, in GDP per capita). With the exception of the livelihoods approach, there is limited research that integrates household configurations and patterns of resource use, sources of vulnerability, and the role of public health (including reproductive health) can play in resilience to climate change.

This paper addresses four related topics: (1) varying definitions of vulnerability and resilience (and, to a lesser extent, adaptive capacity) and the implications of those differences for societal analysis, (2) candidate approaches to characterizing societal resilience to climate change, (3) methods for assessing resilience, and (4) the potential contribution of a richer understanding of affected populations to the study of resilience.