Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Community-Based Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment: Informing the Future by Understanding the Past

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh

Part of the book series: Springer Theses ((Springer Theses))

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, contribution of working group 2 to the 4th assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 976, 2007 [1]) warned that the mega deltas in South Asia (e.g. the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna River Basin) will be at great risk due to increased flooding, and the region’s poverty would reduce the capacity of the inhabitants to adapt to change. This chapter provides a ‘bottom up’ impact approach which focuses on a methodological contribution for assessment of vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) in a riverine flood-prone area, ‘Islampur’ in Bangladesh, where various impact assessment guidelines have been taken into consideration. In this chapter the evaluation of V&A assessments at community level has been accomplished mainly by a weighted matrix index value derived from two participatory rapid appraisals (PRAs). Based on the distribution pattern of various weighted value indices of V&A issues, the required adaptation techniques can be adopted for immediate policy-making, and appropriate actions should be undertaken through establishing community-based adaptation committees (CBAC) (further detail in Younus and Harvey (Local Econ [2]).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 149.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. IPCC, Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, Van der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, contribution of working group 2 to the 4th assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 976

    Google Scholar 

  2. Younus M, Harvey N (2014) Economic consequences of failed autonomous adaptation to extreme floods: a case study from Bangladesh, Local Econ. The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, SAGE Publication, UK

    Google Scholar 

  3. Burton I (1992) Adapt and thrive, Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview, Ontario, Unpublished Manuscript

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bohle HG, Downing TE, Watts MJ (1994) Climate change and social vulnerability—towards a sociology and geography of food insecurity. Glob Environ Change 4(1):37–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Blaikie P, Cannon T, Davis I, Wisner B (1994) At risk: natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  6. Brooks N (2003) Vulnerability, risk and adaptation: a conceptual framework, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Working paper 38

    Google Scholar 

  7. Burton I, Diringer E, Smith J (2006) Adaptation to climate change: international policy options, Pew Centre on Global Climate Change. http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/PEW_Adaptation.pdf

  8. O’Brien K, Leichenko (2009) Human security, vulnerability and sustainable adaptation. Hum Dev Rep 2007/2008

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cutter SL (2003) The vulnerability of science and the science of vulnerability. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 93(1):1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Adger WN, Arnella NW, Tompkins EL (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Glob Environ Change 15(2005):77–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Gbetibouo GA, Ringler C (2009) Mapping South African farming sector vulnerability to climate change and variability: a subnational assessment. IFPRI Discussion paper 00885

    Google Scholar 

  12. Preston B, Stafford-Smith M (2009) Framing vulnerability and adaptive capacity assessment. Discussion paper, Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship, Working paper number #2 CSIRO

    Google Scholar 

  13. Eakin H (Lead Author), Walser ML (Topic Editor) (2008) Human vulnerability to global environmental change. In: Encyclopedia of earth Cutler J (ed), Web Reference: Eakin H (2012) Human vulnerability to global environmental change. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/153598

  14. Timmerman P (1982) Vulnerability, resilience and the collapse of society: a review of models and possible climatic applications. Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto (Environmental monograph no. 1)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Watson RT, Zinyowera MC, Moss RH et al (1996) Scientific and technical analysis of impacts, adaptation and mitigation of climate change: summary for policy makers. IPCC and WMO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  16. Cutter SL, Mitchell JT, Scott MS (2000) Revealing the vulnerability of people and places: a case study of georgetown county, South Carolina. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 90(4):713–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Adger W (2000) Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Prog Hum Geogr 24(3):347–364

    Google Scholar 

  18. Kates R (1985) The interaction of climate and society. In: Kates RW, Ausubel JH, Berbarian M (eds), Climate Impact Assessment, John Wiley, Chichester, pp 3–36

    Google Scholar 

  19. Mitchell JK (1989) Hazards research. In: Gaile GL, Willmott CJ (eds) Geography America, Merrill, Colombus, OH, pp 410–424

    Google Scholar 

  20. FAO (1999) The state of food insecurity in the world. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  21. Benioff R, Guill S, Lee J (eds) (1996) Vulnerability and adaptation assessments—an international handbook, environmental science and technology library, USCSP, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  22. Carter TR, Parry M, Harasawa H, Nishioka S (1994) IPCC technical guidelines for assessing climate change impacts and adaptations. University College, London and Centre for Global Environmental Research, Japan

    Google Scholar 

  23. Smit B, Burton B, Klein R, Wandel J (2000) An anatomy of adaptation to climate change and variability. Clim Change 45:223–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Stakhiv E (1993) Evaluation of IPCC adaptation strategies, draft report, institute for water resources, US Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Belvoir VA. USA

    Google Scholar 

  25. Smit B (ed) (1993) Adaptation to climatic variability and change, report of the task force on climate adaptation. The Canadian climate program, Occasional paper no. 19, Department of Geography, University of Guelph

    Google Scholar 

  26. Stern (2006) Stern review on the economics of climate change, part 5: policy responses for adaptation. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm

  27. Younus M (2007) Autonomous adaptation to the extreme flood events in Bangladesh as a case: can adaptation in South Asia cope with the extreme hydrological profile of the GBM river basins in foreseeable climate change? In: Mari H (ed) Proceedings of the 3rd international conference on climate and water, which was held in 3–6 Sept 2007, Helsinki, Finland, pp 544–549. http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=169172&lan=en

  28. Younus M (2007) Failure effects of ‘autonomous adaptation’ in relation to extreme flood events in Bangladesh: should it be addressed without delay? In: The paper presented in 6th annual Hawaii international conference on social sciences, sponsored by the University of Louisville: Centre for Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods, Hawaii, USA http://www.hicsocial.org/, http://www.hicsocial.org/Tentative%20Program.xls. 30 May–2 June 2007

  29. Younus M, Bedford R, Morad M (2007) Food security implications of failure of autonomous crop adaptation to extreme flood events: a case study in Bangladesh. Asia Pac J Environ Dev. 14(1):19–39 (BUP)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Burton I, Smith J, Lenhart (1998) Adaptation to climate change: theory and assessment. In: Feenstra J, Burton I, Smith J, Toi R (eds) Handbook on methods for climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategies. Version 2.0, October 1998, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Institute for Environmental Studies, UNEP Information Unit, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  31. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Institute for Environmental Studies (IES) (1996) Handbook on methods for climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategies. UNEP Information Unit, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  32. Carter TR (1996) Assessing climate change adaptations: the IPCC Guidelines. In: Smith JB, Bhatti N, Menzhulin GV, Benioff R, Campos M, Jallow B, Rijsberman F, Budyko MI, Dixon RK (eds) Adaptive to climate change: an international perspective, Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  33. Younus MAF (2007) Can failure effects of ‘autonomous adaptation’ to extreme flood events in South Asia cope with future climate change?—a case of Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of conference (peer-reviewed): re-inventing sustainability: a climate for change, Noosa, Queensland, 3–6 July 2007, organized by Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics (ANZSEE). Conference proceedings available at http://www.anzsee.org/2007conference/postconference_pageholder.asp

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography, Environment and Population, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Md Aboul Fazal Younus

Authors
  1. Md Aboul Fazal Younus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md Aboul Fazal Younus .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Younus, M.A.F. (2014). Community-Based Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment: Informing the Future by Understanding the Past. In: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh. Springer Theses. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5494-2_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation