12th Bonn dialogues event: Climate change, social vulnerability and resilience

Over the years, the scientific research community has developed exemplary conceptualizations of social vulnerability to hazards and disasters encompassing various vulnerability features, which are driven by multiple stressors and differential exposure, and are often rooted in multiple attributes of human actors and social networks.

In the context of climate change, vulnerability has been defined more generally as “the degree to which a system is susceptible to and unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes” (IPCC, 2007). Resilience, by contrast, is usually portrayed in positive terms as “the capacity of a system to maintain its basic functions and structures in a time of shocks and perturbations” (Oliver-Smith, 2009). In all formulations, vulnerability and resilience research have common elements of interest: the shocks and stresses experienced by the social-ecological system, the response of the system and the capacity for adaptive action.

In this context, this Bonn Dialogues event will address the methods and tools available for assessing impacts and climate risks (weather-related risks) at different levels and for a broad range of sectors and social-ecological systems (in relation to a series of approaches to address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change).

The panel will address the following questions:

• What are current practices to address social vulnerability in the context of climate change?
• What are experiences, needs and gaps?
• How can affected countries, regions and communities enhance resilience in order to reduce and cope with disaster losses?
• Are changes in severity and frequency of extreme events a major driver of risk or do social vulnerability factors, such as informal settlements, play a more important role in this context?
• What are the lessons learned from running or completed community-based adaptation programmes?
• What should policymakers consider most in the field of vulnerability assessment?