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advance towards a model that includes the complexities of the Mexican coastal
dryland socio-ecological systems, its challenges, and its opportunities.
Keywords Coastal vulnerability · Coastal sensitivity · Coastal exposure · Lang’s
index, Dryness · Adaptation capacity · Governance · Coastal municipalities
Introduction
This study is based, first, on the definition of climate change vulnerability used
worldwide by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) as “the
degree of susceptibility or inability of a system to face the adverse effects of climate
change, and in particular the variability of climate and extreme events. Vulnerability
will depend on the nature, magnitude and speed of climate change to which a system is exposed, and on its sensitivity and adaptive capacity.” Second, it is based on
the definition of climate change as any modification in the climate produced during
the course of time, either due to natural variability or to human activity (IPCC
2007).
Conceptually, vulnerability is divided into three components: (1) Exposure,
which refers to the degree to which a system is exposed to external stimuli that act
on it (IPCC 2007; Hinkel 2011). In the case of climate change in coastal municipalities the stimuli that might affect their territory more than that from inland municipalities include: increase in ocean or continental temperature, the sea level rise,
floods, and the higher frequency of hydrometeorological events among others. (2)
Sensitivity, which is the degree to which the system is affected by climate change,
both positively (opportunities) and negatively (challenges; IPCC 2007). It can be
estimated through land use change, population density, population concentration in
the coastal plain, municipality’s coastal length, and other indicators. (3) Adaptation
capacity refers to the natural or human systems’ capability for adjustment in
response to actual or expected climatic stimuli, or to their effects, mitigating the
harmful effects or exploiting the beneficial opportunities (IPCC 2007). It estimates
how much a coastal municipality is prepared to face and manage its “exposure” and
“sensitivity” as part of a governance process. In general, the municipality’s economic, political, cultural, social, and technological resources are evaluated.
Vulnerability increases with exposure and sensitivity, and will be reduced when
adaptation capacity increases.
Vulnerability is assessed from different risk perspectives in particular cases but
always aiming to evaluate the response of the system (Adger 2006; Füsel 2007), that
is, the response to a natural or anthropic disturbance of a social system, an ecosystem, or a socio-ecological system.
These components were adapted to this chapter’s scope by seeing the coastal
region as a socio-ecological complex system at the municipal administrative level.
In particular, in this chapter we focus on the exposure to dryness that climate change
scenarios predict and on the capacity to adapt considering municipal policy indicators from an interdisciplinary perspective.
G. Seingier et al.
advance towards a model that includes the complexities of the Mexican coastal
dryland socio-ecological systems, its challenges, and its opportunities.
Keywords Coastal vulnerability · Coastal sensitivity · Coastal exposure · Lang’s
index, Dryness · Adaptation capacity · Governance · Coastal municipalities
Introduction
This study is based, first, on the definition of climate change vulnerability used
worldwide by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) as “the
degree of susceptibility or inability of a system to face the adverse effects of climate
change, and in particular the variability of climate and extreme events. Vulnerability
will depend on the nature, magnitude and speed of climate change to which a system is exposed, and on its sensitivity and adaptive capacity.” Second, it is based on
the definition of climate change as any modification in the climate produced during
the course of time, either due to natural variability or to human activity (IPCC
2007).
Conceptually, vulnerability is divided into three components: (1) Exposure,
which refers to the degree to which a system is exposed to external stimuli that act
on it (IPCC 2007; Hinkel 2011). In the case of climate change in coastal municipalities the stimuli that might affect their territory more than that from inland municipalities include: increase in ocean or continental temperature, the sea level rise,
floods, and the higher frequency of hydrometeorological events among others. (2)
Sensitivity, which is the degree to which the system is affected by climate change,
both positively (opportunities) and negatively (challenges; IPCC 2007). It can be
estimated through land use change, population density, population concentration in
the coastal plain, municipality’s coastal length, and other indicators. (3) Adaptation
capacity refers to the natural or human systems’ capability for adjustment in
response to actual or expected climatic stimuli, or to their effects, mitigating the
harmful effects or exploiting the beneficial opportunities (IPCC 2007). It estimates
how much a coastal municipality is prepared to face and manage its “exposure” and
“sensitivity” as part of a governance process. In general, the municipality’s economic, political, cultural, social, and technological resources are evaluated.
Vulnerability increases with exposure and sensitivity, and will be reduced when
adaptation capacity increases.
Vulnerability is assessed from different risk perspectives in particular cases but
always aiming to evaluate the response of the system (Adger 2006; Füsel 2007), that
is, the response to a natural or anthropic disturbance of a social system, an ecosystem, or a socio-ecological system.
These components were adapted to this chapter’s scope by seeing the coastal
region as a socio-ecological complex system at the municipal administrative level.
In particular, in this chapter we focus on the exposure to dryness that climate change
scenarios predict and on the capacity to adapt considering municipal policy indicators from an interdisciplinary perspective.
G. Seingier et al.