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Coastal areas are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change, particularly to sea-level rise and extreme rainfall events, resulting in increased social and environmental vulnerabilities. In this context, the need for predictive planning instruments, especially in densely populated coastal areas, is a critical management priority. A number of indexes has been developed to assess coastal vulnerability. However, coastal vulnerability indexes are yet to simultaneously consider inland (e.g., landslides and flooding) and ocean (sea-level rise and coastal erosion) hazards in conjunction. To help fill this gap, we developed the Socio-Environmental Vulnerability Index for Coastal Areas. The proposed index is a diagnostic tool to assess the socio-environmental vulnerability of coastal regions in the context of climate change. Applied to the city of Santos, a coastal municipality in São Paulo state, Brazil, the index revealed that most of the city are in areas highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and floods related to extreme rainfall events. Findings show that, in fact, approximately 70% of the area of Santos (27.5 km 2 ) consists of high vulnerability areas mostly located close to urban drainage channels, residential, and other built-in areas. Another 0.12% (0.05 km 2 ) were classified as very high vulnerability areas compromising port and industrial infrastructure. These results highlights the susceptibility of the urban insular area of Santos to climatic change hazards. This study might prove relevant to support local decision-makers in preparing adaptation plans and responding to climate-related risks in vulnerable coastal cities.

This paper examines barriers and opportunities for climate change adaptation in an urban coastal setting where adaptation is in its infancy. It draws on a diagnostic framework as a foundation for identifying and organising barriers and opportunities in terms of three broad phases of the adaptation process, i.e. (1) understanding the problem, (2) planning adaptation options and (3) managing implementation of such options. Data come from the analysis of documents (e.g. policy, plans and reports) and a survey of 49 representatives from 42 organisations (e.g. government, environmental non-governmental organisations, businesses and local industry and professional associations). Nineteen barriers and/or opportunities pertaining to the different phases of the adaptation process were identified. Three of those barriers (i.e. competing priorities, existing management context and existing ecological context) are our additions to the initial list of common barriers proposed in the diagnostic framework. Barriers pertaining to the understanding phase were the most frequently noted by respondents. The understanding phase was also one which most of the barriers were nevertheless considered as opportunities. Emerging critical barriers and/or opportunities for climate change adaptation included perception of signal, availability and accessibility of information, existing management context and leadership. We propose that addressing these barriers and opportunities would involve improving perception about climate change and availability and accessibility of information, fostering anticipatory planned adaptation through the existing management context and developing leadership for adaptation. Findings from this study may prove useful to other jurisdictions, particularly those where climate adaptation is at its early stages of development.

The development of transportation and energy infrastructure has been a major driver in the conversion of natural ecosystems in Brazil since the nineteenth century. Although this pattern is present in most countries, Brazil differs in the scale of opportunities that are still available to build its physical infrastructure while pursuing an ambitious conservation agenda. This advantage stems from the magnitude of intact ecosystems, a dynamic policy environment, and the increasing availability of biological and economic data needed to harmonize conservation with public works. Success depends on integrating conservation and infrastructure planning, rather than relying on the project based, largely ineffective environmental assessment process. Front-loading environmental mitigation and compensation will also help, as will improving public access to, and understanding of, information on the environmental and economic values at stake in major infrastructure decisions. Infraestructura y Políticas de Conservación en BrasilResumen: A partir del siglo XIX, el desarrollo de la infraestructura eléctrica y de transporte ha sido el principal conductor de la conversión de ecosistemas naturales en Brasil. Aunque este patrón se presenta en casi todos los países, Brasil es diferente en la escala de oportunidades aun presentes para construir su infraestructura física y perseguir una agenda ambiental ambiciosa. Esa ventaja deriva de la magnitud de los ecosistemas intactos, una política ambiental dinámica y la creciente disponibilidad de datos biológicos y económicos requeridos para armonizar la conservación con las obras públicas. Eléxito depende de integrar la planificación de infraestructura y de conservación, en lugar de depender del muy ineficaz proceso de evaluación ambiental, basado en el proyecto. Llevar a cabo a la mitigación y compensación ambiental antes de inciar la construcción también ayudará, así como también lo hará el mejoramiento del acceso del público a, y la comprensión de, la información sobre los valores ambientales y económicos en juego en las decisiones trascendentales sobre infraestructura.

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IntroduçãoAs relações entre o ambiente natural e o ambiente construído são analisadas, geralmente, tendo em vista o impacto do segundo sobre o primeiro. No entanto, considerando uma perspectiva onde a atividade antrópica é parte do ambiente, cabe analisar também a influência dos fatores naturais, como clima e tempo, sobre as edificações, já que estes afetam direta e indiretamente a forma como as interferências antrópicas impactam o ambiente natural, em uma relação cíclica. Segundo Sousa Júnior (2006), as discussões envolvendo as mudanças climáticas e a economia dividem aqueles que defendem que as primeiras têm sido aceleradas pelo "modus operandi" humano na Terra, daqueles que acreditam que tais mudanças são parte de um movimento cíclico natual do planeta e sua atmosfera.Desta forma, o que se pode afirmar é que o aumento das construções provoca mudanças no ambiente, como por exemplo os fenômenos de Ilhas de Calor em grandes áreas urbanas, e por outro lado as mudanças no clima local e no microclima catalizam a ocorrência de patologias em edificações.O ambiente construído sofre ação deletéria de agentes agressivos presentes no meio ambiente, tais como temperatura, umidade relativa, chuva, insolação, vento, etc. A ação conjunta destes diferentes agentes, que incidem na construção, aumenta a complexidade dos estudos de degradação do ambiente construído, pois aumenta as dificuldades de modelagem dos processos de degradação, geração de curvas doseresposta, ensaios de envelhecimento natural e outros. Uma vez que a sinergia entre