Abstract
Maps synthesizing climate, biophysical and socioeconomic data have become part of the standard tool-kit for communicating the risks of climate change to society. Vulnerability maps are used to direct attention to geographic areas where impacts on society are expected to be greatest and that may therefore require adaptation interventions. Under the Green Climate Fund and other bilateral climate adaptation funding mechanisms, donors are investing billions of dollars of adaptation funds, often with guidance from modeling results, visualized and communicated through maps and spatial decision support tools. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of 84 studies that map social vulnerability to climate impacts. These assessments are compiled by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, span many regions, range in scale from local to global, and vary in terms of frameworks, data, methods, and thematic foci. The goal is to identify common approaches to mapping, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and offer recommendations and future directions for the field. The systematic review finds some convergence around common frameworks developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, frequent use of linear index aggregation, and common approaches to the selection and use of climate and socioeconomic data. Further, it identifies limitations such as a lack of future climate and socioeconomic projections in many studies, insufficient characterization of uncertainty, challenges in map validation, and insufficient engagement with policy audiences for those studies that purport to be policy relevant. Finally, it provides recommendations for addressing the identified shortcomings. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values-Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e600 |
| Journal | Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- adaptation
- climate change
- mapping
- meta-analysis
- social vulnerability
- spatial indices
- vulnerability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Global and Planetary Change
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Atmospheric Science
Cite this
Climate vulnerability mapping : A systematic review and future prospects. / de Sherbinin, Alex; Bukvic, Anamaria; Rohat, Guillaume; Gall, Melanie; McCusker, Brent; Preston, Benjamin; Apotsos, Alex; Fish, Carolyn; Kienberger, Stefan; Muhonda, Park; Wilhelmi, Olga; Macharia, Denis; Shubert, William; Sliuzas, Richard; Tomaszewski, Brian; Zhang, Sainan.
In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 01.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Climate vulnerability mapping
T2 - A systematic review and future prospects
AU - de Sherbinin, Alex
AU - Bukvic, Anamaria
AU - Rohat, Guillaume
AU - Gall, Melanie
AU - McCusker, Brent
AU - Preston, Benjamin
AU - Apotsos, Alex
AU - Fish, Carolyn
AU - Kienberger, Stefan
AU - Muhonda, Park
AU - Wilhelmi, Olga
AU - Macharia, Denis
AU - Shubert, William
AU - Sliuzas, Richard
AU - Tomaszewski, Brian
AU - Zhang, Sainan
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Maps synthesizing climate, biophysical and socioeconomic data have become part of the standard tool-kit for communicating the risks of climate change to society. Vulnerability maps are used to direct attention to geographic areas where impacts on society are expected to be greatest and that may therefore require adaptation interventions. Under the Green Climate Fund and other bilateral climate adaptation funding mechanisms, donors are investing billions of dollars of adaptation funds, often with guidance from modeling results, visualized and communicated through maps and spatial decision support tools. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of 84 studies that map social vulnerability to climate impacts. These assessments are compiled by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, span many regions, range in scale from local to global, and vary in terms of frameworks, data, methods, and thematic foci. The goal is to identify common approaches to mapping, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and offer recommendations and future directions for the field. The systematic review finds some convergence around common frameworks developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, frequent use of linear index aggregation, and common approaches to the selection and use of climate and socioeconomic data. Further, it identifies limitations such as a lack of future climate and socioeconomic projections in many studies, insufficient characterization of uncertainty, challenges in map validation, and insufficient engagement with policy audiences for those studies that purport to be policy relevant. Finally, it provides recommendations for addressing the identified shortcomings. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values-Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation.
AB - Maps synthesizing climate, biophysical and socioeconomic data have become part of the standard tool-kit for communicating the risks of climate change to society. Vulnerability maps are used to direct attention to geographic areas where impacts on society are expected to be greatest and that may therefore require adaptation interventions. Under the Green Climate Fund and other bilateral climate adaptation funding mechanisms, donors are investing billions of dollars of adaptation funds, often with guidance from modeling results, visualized and communicated through maps and spatial decision support tools. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of 84 studies that map social vulnerability to climate impacts. These assessments are compiled by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, span many regions, range in scale from local to global, and vary in terms of frameworks, data, methods, and thematic foci. The goal is to identify common approaches to mapping, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and offer recommendations and future directions for the field. The systematic review finds some convergence around common frameworks developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, frequent use of linear index aggregation, and common approaches to the selection and use of climate and socioeconomic data. Further, it identifies limitations such as a lack of future climate and socioeconomic projections in many studies, insufficient characterization of uncertainty, challenges in map validation, and insufficient engagement with policy audiences for those studies that purport to be policy relevant. Finally, it provides recommendations for addressing the identified shortcomings. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values-Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation.
KW - adaptation
KW - climate change
KW - mapping
KW - meta-analysis
KW - social vulnerability
KW - spatial indices
KW - vulnerability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85069925226&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85069925226&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/wcc.600
DO - 10.1002/wcc.600
M3 - Review article
JO - Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
JF - Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
SN - 1757-7780
M1 - e600
ER -