Community-based Vulnerability Assessements (CBVAs) in GIVRAPD and ParCA

1. Community-Based Vulnerability
Assessments (CBVAs) in GIVRAPD and ParCA
Johanna Wandel
Caribsave Research Partners Workshop
Courtleigh Hotel and Suites, Kingston, Jamaica
24 July 2014

2. Vulnerability (and adaptation)
Assessments
• Various methods, various strengths: indicator-based,
mapping, modelling, contextual/case study
• Quantification appealing from scientific and intervention
perspective but challenges with common metric and what
is included
• Aim of ParCA and GIVRAPD CBVA case studies: contextual
baseline understanding of how climate-related stresses
are experienced, managed, emergent challenges in the
context of other stresses
• Broader research question: how similar/different are
climate-related vulnerabilities for small island states,
coastal communities in other parts of the world? Are there
transferable strategies for adapting to climate change?

3. ParCA Research Framework
Current
Exposures and
Sensitivities
Current
Adaptive
Strategies
Future
Exposures and
Sensitivities
Future
Adaptive
Capacity
Expected
Changes
in Natural
and Social
Systems
Governance
Assessment
(multi-level
networks,
adaptivness,
transformations)
Community Adaptation Visioning and Evaluation
Against Maladaptation Criteria
Knowledge Mobilization and Regional Scale-Up

4. Site Desk
work
Primary data
collection,
transcription
Community
feedback
workshop
on draft
Final case
study report
Inclusion in
broader
knowledge
products
Tobago In progress Expected
Bluefields/
White
House
Not planned Expected
Negril-
Orange Bay
Expected
St. Lucia Not planned Expected
Mauritius Not planned Expected
Seychelles Not planned Expected
Nova Scotia In progress Expected
PEI ongoing Expected Expected

5. Scaling Out CBVA: Results so far
• Vulnerability “context” has
broader applicability (in
sites with similar livelihood
descriptions)
• Vulnerability reduction
shows promise for some
transferable lessons
• Vulnerability and
adaptation “assessment”
not very comparable –
urgent need to identify
“good” adaptation (lack of
metrics, criteria… –
potential for indicators for
temporal monitoring but
not comparison)