Assessing vulnerability: an integrated approach for mapping adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and exposure

Climatic Change, pp. 1-15, March 2016, doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1642-0:

This paper assesses socioeconomic vulnerability by GIS methods in Grenada, a tropical small island developing state in the Eastern Caribbean. The model presented combines spatial features representing variables of social sensitivity, community adaptive capacity, and community exposure to flooding in an integrated vulnerability index. It draws from the fields of climate change adaptation, disaster management, and poverty and development to select our variables enabling unique, cross sector, applications of our assessment.

According to the results, vulnerability to flooding is not evenly distributed across the country and is not driven by the same factors in all areas of Grenada. This indicates a need for the implementation of different strategies in communities across Grenada to help effectively reduce vulnerability to climate and coastal hazards. The approach presented in this paper can be used to address national issues on climate change adaptation, disaster management, and poverty and development and more effectively utilize funds in order to reduce community vulnerability to natural hazards today and in the future.