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Review
. 2003 Jul 8;100(14):8074-9.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1231335100. Epub 2003 Jun 5.

A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science

B L Turner 2nd  1 , Roger E Kasperson, Pamela A Matson, James J McCarthy, Robert W Corell, Lindsey Christensen, Noelle Eckley, Jeanne X Kasperson, Amy Luers, Marybeth L Martello, Colin Polsky, Alexander Pulsipher, Andrew Schiller
Affiliations
Review

A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science

B L Turner 2nd et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Global environmental change and sustainability science increasingly recognize the need to address the consequences of changes taking place in the structure and function of the biosphere. These changes raise questions such as: Who and what are vulnerable to the multiple environmental changes underway, and where? Research demonstrates that vulnerability is registered not by exposure to hazards (perturbations and stresses) alone but also resides in the sensitivity and resilience of the system experiencing such hazards. This recognition requires revisions and enlargements in the basic design of vulnerability assessments, including the capacity to treat coupled human-environment systems and those linkages within and without the systems that affect their vulnerability. A vulnerability framework for the assessment of coupled human-environment systems is presented.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
RH framework (common to risk application). Chain sequence begins with hazard; concept of vulnerability commonly implicit as noted by dotted lines.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
PAR framework (common to risk research) with emphasis placed on “social” conditions of exposure; concept of vulnerability usually explicit.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Vulnerability framework. Components of vulnerability identified and linked to factors beyond the system of study and operating at various scales.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Details of the exposure, sensitivity, and resilience components of the vulnerability framework. Figure at the top left refers to the full framework illustrated in Fig. 3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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