Measuring the vulnerability of marine social-ecological systems: a prerequisite for the identification of climate change adaptations

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Reducing the vulnerability of coastal communities to marine climate change requires that communities have some intrinsic capacity to adapt. To assist adaptation planning and the implementation of adaptation strategies, identifying barriers and enablers to adaptation is important. Adaptive capacity, resource dependence, local climate change exposure and biological sensitivity were used to assess socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change in three Australian coastal communities: St Helens, Tasmania; Bowen, Queensland; and Geraldton, Western Australia. Higher adaptive capacity was associated with larger population size (i.e., Geraldton) whereas greater resource dependence, and lower human and natural capital were associated with smaller populations (St Helens and Bowen). Socioeconomic vulnerability was greatly influenced by climate exposure and sensitivity with the moderately sized Bowen having the highest socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change. Adaptation strategies that utilized available assets, improved adaptive capacity, or reduced socioeconomic vulnerability were identified in partnership with local communities, including increased and diversified employment opportunities, the re-establishment of local fish markets, and improved education and communication. The level of resources, or "capitals," available to communities can indicate where barriers and enablers to adaptation exist. Identified barriers to adaptation included a heavy reliance on one sector for employment and a lack of physical capital. We demonstrate that knowledge of intrinsic community characteristics can be beneficial for prioritizing adaptation actions to reduce socioeconomic vulnerability to marine climate change.

Fisheries management approaches as platforms for climate change adaptation: Comparing theory and practice in Australian fisheries

“…There is a considerable volume of literature describing the need to enhance resilience and build adaptive capacity in marine fisheries [10,[19][20][21], and associated management and governance attributes required in the face of climate change [22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. In this paper, resilience refers to the "amount of change a system can undergo and still retain the same function and structure while maintaining options to develop" [29]; and, adaptive capacity denotes "…the preconditions necessary to enable adaptation, including social and physical elements, and the ability to mobilise these elements" [30].…”

“…These changes are also altering species composition, abundance and distribution [3][4][5]. Consequently, fisheries resources, and the stability of supply, access and utilization of those resources, are also being affected [6][7][8] with significant implications for dependent communities and industries, including requiring modification to fishing practices, livelihood strategies and supply chains [9][10][11]. In sum, climate change is a major threat to the sustainability of marine fisheries, and is expected to exacerbate existing biophysical, social and economic pressures [12,13].…”

An integrated framework for assessing coastal community vulnerability across cultures, oceans and scales

“…Allison et al (2009) used the IPCC approach to estimate the vulnerability of national economies to climate-induced changes in the marine environment at the global scale. Metcalf et al (2015) applied a similar approach to three geographically dispersed case studies in Australia. An integrated LVI and IPCC approach was used to estimate social vulnerability in a single region of Mozambique (Hahn, Riederer, & Foster, 2009) and a study of a specific urchin fishery in the USA (Chen, López-Carr, & Walker, 2014).…”

“…Therefore, resource dependence is part of the sensitivity component of the vulnerability framework which is not only defined in terms of economic dependence (often considered in isolation in developed countries and in many vulnerability assessments) but importantly also considers the level of social, historical and cultural dependence (which may be of importance in developing countries or where indigenous marine uses are relevant). Together, in the human system, exposure, resource dependence and adaptive capacity impact socio-ecological vulnerability (Metcalf et al, 2015). To provide a robust methodological approach for measuring vulnerability of marine-dependent coastal communities to climate change that was applicable in countries with various levels of economic development, the SLA forms the core element of adaptive capacity.…”

“…The methods developed as part of the GULLS project, therefore, were also designed to allow the social vulnerability analyses to be integrated with the GULLS ecological and oceanographic prediction and vulnerability research (reported in Hobday et al, 2016). Detailed primary data were collected for the social vulnerability analysis to Chambers and Conway (1992), Allison and Horemans (2006), Marshall, Tobin, Marshall, Gooch, and Hobday (2013) and Metcalf et al (2015). Higher levels of complexity in the socio-economic subsystem are indicated showing different forms of dependencies, capitals and flexibilities.…”