A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science.
Global environmental change and sustainability science increasingly recognize the need to address the consequences of changes taking place in the structure and function of the biosphere. These changes raise questions such as: Who and what are vulnerable to the multiple environmental changes underway, and where? Research demonstrates that vulnerability is registered not by exposure to hazards (perturbations and stresses) alone but also resides in the sensitivity and resilience of the system experiencing such hazards. This recognition requires revisions and enlargements in the basic design of vulnerability assessments, including the capacity to treat coupled human-environment systems and those linkages within and without the systems that affect their vulnerability. A vulnerability framework for the assessment of coupled human-environment systems is presented.
Turner
B L
BL
Graduate School of Geography and George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01602, USA. bturner@clarku.edu
Kasperson
Roger E
RE
Matson
Pamela A
PA
McCarthy
James J
JJ
Corell
Robert W
RW
Christensen
Lindsey
L
Eckley
Noelle
N
Kasperson
Jeanne X
JX
Luers
Amy
A
Martello
Marybeth L
ML
Polsky
Colin
C
Pulsipher
Alexander
A
Schiller
Andrew
A
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003657:Decision Making; D004190:Disasters; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012449:Safety; D017751:Safety Management; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D035862:Vulnerable Populations