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About this book
Assessing the vulnerability of human populations to global environmental change, particularly climate change, is now the main imperative of research and international action. This book seeks to make interpretation of vulnerability research informative to decision and policy making and to bridge the gap between knowledge created by researchers and what is required by decision makers. It discusses vulnerability as the central theme and brings together many different applications from disaster studies, climate change impact studies and several other fields.
The book provides the most comprehensive synthesis of definitions, theories, formalization and applications, illustrated with examples from different disciplines, regions and periods and from local through to regional, national and international levels. The book concludes with a unifying framework for analyzing integrated methodologies of vulnerability assessment and guiding how research and policy can be linked to reduce vulnerability. It provides practical guidance for researchers and climate change policy makers on how to align research with the needs of decision makers. It is a comprehensive synthesis of definitions, theories, formalization and applications of 'vulnerability' with numerous international case studies. It is written by top researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Contents
Introduction; Part I: The Need for Vulnerability Information; Information in Climate Change Policy; Vulnerability Policies at the Global Level; Regional and National Levels; Cross-scale Decision Support to Reduce Vulnerability; Social Vulnerability, Environmental Disturbance, Economic Change; Part II: Current Directions of Research and Assessment of Vulnerability; Impacts and Adaptation, Scenarios, Models and Aggregation Techniques in Vulnerability Research; Sea-level Rise; Water Availability; Changes to Ecosystem Services; Public Health; Vulnerability Assessments in the Developed and Developing Worlds; Capacity Building; Climate Change and Global Trade; Part III: Meeting the Challenges of Vulnerability Assessment; Bridging the Research and End User Gap; Identifying and Implementing Scientifically and Socially Relevant Research; Integrating Multiple Kinds of Knowledge; Qualitative and Quantitative Indicators of Vulnerability; Uncertainty and Ignorance in Climate Change Assessments; Producing Sustainability Science; Conclusion and Synthesis; Index.
Customer Reviews
Biography
Anthony Patt is Leader of Decisions and Governance Group, Programme on Risk and Vulnerability, IIASA, Austria. Dagmar Schroter is a Researcher and coordinator in the Sustainable Development Group of the Federal Environment Agency, Austria. Richard Klein is a Senior Researcher and Project Manager at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany. Anne Cristina de la Vega-Leinert is at the Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University, UK
Edited By: Anthony G Patt, Dagmar Schroter, Richard JT Klein and Ann Vega-Leinert
258 pages, Figs
'This book presents the state-of-the-art in vulnerability science ... an essential resource.' Wolfgang Cramer, Professor of Global Ecology, Potsdam institute for Climate Impact Research 'Our understanding of vulnerability is changing rapidly through advances in both fundamental research and practical application. This book provides a rare bridge between the two, and will be an exciting stimulus to learning across the communities of science and policy.' William C. Clark, Harvey brooks Professor of international Science, Public Policy and Human Development, Harvard University 'This book presents the state-of-the-art in vulnerability science, based on first-hand experience since this new field emerged - an essential resource for advanced students and scholars. Covering aspects of natural and social sciences, it discusses case studies from developed and developing countries.' Wolfgang Cramer, Professor of Global Ecology, Potsdam institute for Climate Impact Research