These databases include little epidemiologic information (age, gender, cause), however. Flood-related mortality has been studied in both high-(7-17) and low-income (18-21) countries. The most readily

Public participation is commonly advocated in policy responses to climate change. Here we discuss prospects for inclusive approaches to adaptation, drawing particularly on studies of long-term coastal management in the UK and elsewhere. We affirm that public participation is an important normative goal in formulating response to climate change risks, but argue that its practice must learn from existing critiques of participatory processes in other contexts. Involving a wide range of stakeholders in decision-making presents fundamental challenges for climate policy, many of which are embedded in relations of power. In the case of anticipatory responses to climate change, these challenges are magnified because of the long-term and uncertain nature of the problem. Without due consideration of these issues, a tension between principles of public participation and anticipatory adaptation is likely to emerge and may result in an overly managed form of inclusion that is unlikely to satisfy either participatory or instrumental goals. Alternative, more narrowly instrumental, approaches to participation are more likely to succeed in this context, as long as the scope and limitations of public involvement are made explicit from the outset. La participation publique est souvent encouragée pour l'élaboration de réponses aux changements climatiques. Plusieurs perspectives participatives à l'adaptation sont ici discutées, en s'appuyant particulièrement sur des études de gestion côtière à long terme au Royaume-Uni et ailleurs. Nous affirmons que la participation publique satisfait un objectif normatif important dans l'élaboration de réponses aux risques des changements climatiques, mais nous avançons que sa mise en oeuvre doit incorporer les leçons tirées de l'utilisation du processus participatif dans d'autres contextes. La concertation d'un grand éventail d'acteurs dans la prise de décisions représente des défis fondamentaux pour la politique climatique, émanant surtout des rapports de forces. Dans le cas de réponses anticipées aux changements climatiques, ces défis sont d'autant plus importants que l'échelle temporelle et l'incertitude liées au problème augmentent.Si ces questions ne sont pas bien prises en compte, une tension peut apparaître entre les principes de participation publique et l'adaptation anticipée, laquelle pourrait donner lieu à une forme d'inclusion trop étroitement gérée qui ne satisferait ni le but participatif ou instrumental. Des approches alternatives à la participation et plus étroitement instrumentales seraient plus adéquates dans ce contexte, pourvu que la portée et la limite de la participation publique soient rendues explicites dès le départ.

Recent scientific outputs suggest that climate change is likely to cause shifts in the global pattern and intensity of flood events, in some regions increasing the exposure of populations to severe flooding. Potential future risks underline the importance of research and intervention work aimed at strengthening local capacity to cope with flooding, especially for the poor in developing countries. This paper reviews recent theoretical and applied research on vulnerability and adaptive capacity of households and communities in flood-prone areas. It traces the growing tendency for interventions to prioritize action at the local scale and suggests directions for further research to deepen understanding of actual and potential coping strategies.

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In recent years there has been a growing number of academic reviews discussing the theme of transformation and its association with adaptation to climate change. On the one hand this has stimulated exchange of ideas and perspectives on the parameters of transformation, but it has also given rise to confusion in terms of identifying what constitutes a non-incremental form of adaptation on the ground. What this article aims to do instead is help researchers and practitioners relate different interpretations of transformation to practice by proposing a typological framework for categorising forms of change that focuses on mechanisms and objectives. It then discusses how these categorisations link to the broader conceptions and critiques noted above, with the idea that this will enable those who seek to analyse or plan adaptation to better analyse what types of action are potentially constitutive of transformation. In doing so, it should equally assist in the identification and specification of critical questions that need to be asked of such activity in relation to issues of sustainability and equity.

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This paper reviews the state of knowledge on social vulnerability to climate change in three hot spots (deltas, semi-arid regions and snowpack-or glacier-fed river basins) in Africa, Central Asia and South Asia, using elements of systematic review methods. Social vulnerability is defined as a dynamic state of societies comprising exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We examine whether the hot spots have specific characteristics that tend to increase or decrease social vulnerability, consider suitable scales of analysis for understanding vulnerability, and explore the conceptions of vulnerability adopted in the climate change literature and the nature of the insights this generates. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps in this literature. All three hot spots are characterized by high levels of natural resource dependence, with increasing environmental degradation. They also exhibit unequal policies and patterns of development, which benefit certain segments of society while making others more vulnerable. Vulnerability is driven by multiple factors operating at different scales; however, characterization of cross-scalar interactions is poorly developed in the majority of studies reviewed. Most studies are either large scale, such as broad comparisons of vulnerability across countries, or local, documenting community-level processes. Detailed understanding of the interactions between climate change impacts on natural systems, and socio-economic trajectories, including adaptation, also emerges as a knowledge gap.