Understanding differential vulnerability to climate change: a case study approach
Student name: Mr Ganesh Gorti
Guide: Dr Arabinda Mishra
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Ms Suruchi Bhadwal
Abstract: The concept of vulnerabilities has been studied for long now, and has a cross domain application. In climate change context the most accepted definition of vulnerability is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s, which defines vulnerability in the context of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of entities in question. This said, the scientific community now largely agrees upon the existence of differences in the levels of vulnerability of various communities and individuals. Climate variability presents different challenges to various individuals and communities leading to differential vulnerabilities. The study’s intent was to understand this concept of differential vulnerability being felt across elevations of the Upper Ganga Basin. Rooted in grounded theory, the study had assessed the qualitative data that was gathered to arrive at the various sources of differential vulnerability in each of the study sites that were chosen across pre-defined elevation categories. A perception based assessment of the climatic stressors and the subsequent risks and impacts arising out of them were carried out prior to identifying the sources of differential vulnerability. Fuzzy cognitive maps were used to capture these perceptions. Using on field data and existing literature, the drivers of these sources of differential vulnerabilities were then analyzed post identifying the sources of differential vulnerability. The entire study was encapsulated within the conceptual framework of D-P-S-I-R.
Keywords: climate change vulnerability, differential vulnerability, fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM), grounded theory, DPSIR
