ABSTRACT
Current trends and future projections in the earth’s climate indicate that the planet’s resources would be exposed to vastly different environment in the future. The change in exposures would have more dramatic impacts on many sectors, including water,
7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 183 7.2 Evolution of Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment ............................. 184
7.2.1 Vulnerability Concepts and Definitions ........................................... 184 7.2.2 Quantifying Vulnerability ................................................................ 186 7.2.3 Nomenclature of Vulnerability ......................................................... 187 7.2.4 Vulnerability-Related Terminologies ............................................... 188
7.3 Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning .................................... 188 7.4 Steps in Vulnerability Assessment ............................................................... 190
7.4.1 Structuring Vulnerability Assessment .............................................. 190 7.4.2 Gathering Relevant Data and Expertise ........................................... 191 7.4.3 Assessing Vulnerability Components ............................................... 191
7.5 Vulnerability Components ............................................................................ 192 7.5.1 Exposure ........................................................................................... 192 7.5.2 Sensitivity ......................................................................................... 193 7.5.3 Adaptive Capacity ............................................................................. 195
7.6 Vulnerability Index ....................................................................................... 196 7.6.1 Computation of Vulnerability Index ................................................. 196 7.6.2 Interpretation and Communication of Vulnerability Results ........... 197
7.7 Uncertainties in Vulnerability Assessment .................................................. 198 7.7.1 Defining Uncertainty ........................................................................ 199 7.7.2 Uncertainty Levels ............................................................................ 199 7.7.3 Uncertainty Assessment Methodologies........................................... 199 7.7.4 Combining Uncertainty from Multiple Sources ............................... 201
7.8 Summary ...................................................................................................... 201 Appendix: Illustration of Vulnerability Assessment ..............................................202 References ..............................................................................................................206
