307
with different degree of likelihood. Future values of temperature and precipitation
allow to calculate the degree of dryness or aridity in the medium or long term and,
if compared to the present data, also allow to identify changes. Indeed, aridity can
be quantified using Lang’ index—which is a ratio between precipitation in mm and
the temperature in °C—that can help us to delimit and characterize arid and semiarid zones (Hubálek and Horáková 1988; Sánchez-Torres et al. 2011).
Description of the Broader Societal Implications of Conceptual
Advancement
The conceptual advancements with possible implications for society can be summarized by saying that there is a tendency towards an interdisciplinary perspective
that assumes the system of interest not as being social (sectorial) or ecological but
as a socio-ecological complex system. Baseline data are being generated and monitoring must continue and be itself evaluated. Integration of the conceptual and methodological models as well as of the data needs to be made, and the steps to reach this
goal need to be fastened up.
These interdisciplinary efforts will help to set priorities for promoting sound
public policies and construct governance within the socio-ecological context of an
emerging economy country immersed in a globalized world.
Description of Coastal Mexico: A Case Study
Using both ecological and social indicators, an estimation of the present and future
vulnerability to dryness was made for Mexico’s coastal municipalities, a territory
under growing pressure. We used indicators and methodologies that have been suggested for regional scales at the international (Abuodha and Woodroffe 2006, 2010a;
McFadden 2007; Harvey and Woodroffe 2008; McLeod et al. 2010) and national
scales, in the case of Mexico, through a selection of the indicators listed by AzuzAdeath et al. (2010b) evaluated for each component of climate change vulnerability
in the country’s coastal municipalities.
Our territorial units of evaluation were the 271 Mexican coastal municipalities as
defined by the Program for the Sustainable Development of Oceans and Coasts of
Mexico (PANDSOC by its Spanish acronym; SEMARNAT 2006) and the current
Policy of Seas and Coasts (SEGOB 2018) which corresponds to 17 coastal states
(Fig. 17.2).
The applied model of coastal vulnerability to the effects of climate change integrated three types of indicators, related to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptation
capacity, as defined by (IPCC 2007; Fig. 17.3). The corresponding maps and results
shown here allowed the interpretation of the main issue we wanted to focus on in
this chapter, the present and future dryness, and the capacity for adaptation to climate change effects.
17 Vulnerability to the Effects of Climate Change: Future Aridness and Present…
with different degree of likelihood. Future values of temperature and precipitation
allow to calculate the degree of dryness or aridity in the medium or long term and,
if compared to the present data, also allow to identify changes. Indeed, aridity can
be quantified using Lang’ index—which is a ratio between precipitation in mm and
the temperature in °C—that can help us to delimit and characterize arid and semiarid zones (Hubálek and Horáková 1988; Sánchez-Torres et al. 2011).
Description of the Broader Societal Implications of Conceptual
Advancement
The conceptual advancements with possible implications for society can be summarized by saying that there is a tendency towards an interdisciplinary perspective
that assumes the system of interest not as being social (sectorial) or ecological but
as a socio-ecological complex system. Baseline data are being generated and monitoring must continue and be itself evaluated. Integration of the conceptual and methodological models as well as of the data needs to be made, and the steps to reach this
goal need to be fastened up.
These interdisciplinary efforts will help to set priorities for promoting sound
public policies and construct governance within the socio-ecological context of an
emerging economy country immersed in a globalized world.
Description of Coastal Mexico: A Case Study
Using both ecological and social indicators, an estimation of the present and future
vulnerability to dryness was made for Mexico’s coastal municipalities, a territory
under growing pressure. We used indicators and methodologies that have been suggested for regional scales at the international (Abuodha and Woodroffe 2006, 2010a;
McFadden 2007; Harvey and Woodroffe 2008; McLeod et al. 2010) and national
scales, in the case of Mexico, through a selection of the indicators listed by AzuzAdeath et al. (2010b) evaluated for each component of climate change vulnerability
in the country’s coastal municipalities.
Our territorial units of evaluation were the 271 Mexican coastal municipalities as
defined by the Program for the Sustainable Development of Oceans and Coasts of
Mexico (PANDSOC by its Spanish acronym; SEMARNAT 2006) and the current
Policy of Seas and Coasts (SEGOB 2018) which corresponds to 17 coastal states
(Fig. 17.2).
The applied model of coastal vulnerability to the effects of climate change integrated three types of indicators, related to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptation
capacity, as defined by (IPCC 2007; Fig. 17.3). The corresponding maps and results
shown here allowed the interpretation of the main issue we wanted to focus on in
this chapter, the present and future dryness, and the capacity for adaptation to climate change effects.
17 Vulnerability to the Effects of Climate Change: Future Aridness and Present…