Mapping social–ecological vulnerability to inform local decision making

Abstract

An overarching challenge of natural resource management and biodiversity conservation is that relationships between people and nature are difficult to integrate into tools that can effectively guide decision making. Social-ecological vulnerability offers a valuable framework for identifying and understanding important social-ecological linkages, and the implications of dependencies and other feedback loops in the system. Unfortunately, its implementation at local scales has hitherto been limited due at least in part to the lack of operational tools for spatial representation of social-ecological vulnerability. We developed a method to map social-ecological vulnerability based on information on human-nature dependencies and ecosystem services at local scales. We applied our method to the small-scale fishery of Moorea, French Polynesia, by combining spatially explicit indicators of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of both the resource (i.e., vulnerability of reef fish assemblages to fishing) and resource users (i.e., vulnerability of fishing households to the loss of fishing opportunity). Our results revealed that both social and ecological vulnerabilities varied considerably through space and highlighted areas where sources of vulnerability were high for both social and ecological subsystems (i.e., social-ecological vulnerability hotspots) and thus of high priority for management intervention. Our approach can be used to inform decisions about where biodiversity conservation strategies are likely to be more effective and how social impacts from policy decisions can be minimized. It provides a new perspective on human-nature linkages that can help guide sustainability management at local scales; delivers insights distinct from those provided by emphasis on a single vulnerability component (e.g., exposure); and demonstrates the feasibility and value of operationalizing the social-ecological vulnerability framework for policy, planning, and participatory management decisions.

Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges

“…A conceptual model for understanding nature's role in supporting human adaptation to climate change is the vulnerability framework for social-ecological systems, formalized by the IPCC ( [70,71]; figure 1). The framework explicitly integrates the vulnerability of ecosystems with the vulnerability of socioeconomic systems.…”

Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach

“…Vulnerability evaluation for a given biological or social entity has been a powerful tool for describing the states of susceptibility and exposure to threats (Adger 2006). For our purposes, we define ecological vulnerability as the result of exposing a sensitive attribute of an object of interest (OI) to a multi-level threat while considering the internal and external capabilities of the OI to cope with the impact (Zacharias & Gregr 2005, Thiault et al 2018. In the past decade, several approaches and methods have been proposed to quantitatively evaluate ecological vulnerability (Fuentes et al 2011, Tolotti et al 2015, Thiault et al 2018.…”

“…For our purposes, we define ecological vulnerability as the result of exposing a sensitive attribute of an object of interest (OI) to a multi-level threat while considering the internal and external capabilities of the OI to cope with the impact (Zacharias & Gregr 2005, Thiault et al 2018. In the past decade, several approaches and methods have been proposed to quantitatively evaluate ecological vulnerability (Fuentes et al 2011, Tolotti et al 2015, Thiault et al 2018. Although these methods differ slightly depending on the target of the application, almost all consider the same key parameters: sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity (McCarthy et al 2001).…”

Socio‐Environmental Vulnerability Mapping for Environmental and Flood Resilience Assessment: The Case of Ageing and Poverty in the City of Wrocław, Poland

“…According to the theory of urban vulnerability assessment presented by Salas and Yepes (2018), such an assessment can be based on a biophysical approach, a social approach, or a comprehensive approach. Furthermore, Thiault et al (2018) highlighted the need of mapping social-ecological dependencies in order to provide communities and decision makers with the information required to identify and prioritize management interventions. In order to ensure the safety of citizens in the case of floods, the concept of equal egressibility should be of concern (Proulx and Pineau 1996).…”

“…As Wilk et al (2017) concluded, vulnerability is highly correlated with poverty, age, and neighborhood residence. Furthermore, Thiault et al (2018) highlighted the need of mapping social-ecological dependencies in order to provide communities and decision makers with the information required to identify and prioritize management interventions.…”