Perspective 1 Based on Chapter 9 from K5/1843

1. Perspective 1 Based on Chapter 9 from K5/1843 Team Workshop of K5/1965 22nd – 23rd June 2011 Sabine Stuart-Hill Lauren Bulcock Pietermaritzburg, 22nd June 2011

2. The term vulnerability • In relation to human populations, vulnerability is a characteristic of the current socio-economic status of a group of people, which leaves them unable to protects themselves or recover from a change in their environment (Adger, 2006) • As part of an effective adaptation plan, identification of the communities most vulnerable to climate change is imperative. • “Who is vulnerable to climate change and why?”

3. Definition has three components: • Adaptability ( or response capacity) • Sensitivity (or resource dependency to impact) • Exposure (or risks) to stressors or hazards

4. Table 9.1: Description of adaptability, sensitivity and risk as indicators of vulnerability

5. Figure 9.1: Criteria indicating the adaptability or response capacity as well as risk of communities within primary catchment U.

7. Figure 9.2: Open water dependency indicating sensitivity or resource dependency of communities within primary catchment U as well as changes in mean annual streamflow.

9. Figure 9.3: Rain water dependency indicating sensitivity or resource dependency of communities within primary catchment U, as well as changes in seasonal rainfall.

11. Figure 9.4: Boreholes dependency as a main water source as well as changes in ground water recharge, in primary catchment U.

13. Figure 9.5: Number of informal or traditional structure households which are at greater risk of damage due to flooding, as well as projected flash floods and 3 day flood, in primary catchment U.

15. Catchments are unique…. For example the Berg catchment in the Cape: Projected changes in irrigation demands, streamflow and evaporation.

16. Conclusion • Often the least adaptable communities are also the ones that are most sensitive and most exposed to CC. This is due to patterns in urban migration and legacies of apartheid in the living areas and urban structure of society. • By understanding where the most vulnerable people are and to which risks they most exposed to, planners can begin to devise ways to protect the most vulnerable people in society.