7
Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua
, vol. VIII, núm. 2, marzo-abril de 2017, pp. 5-18
Lee
et al
.,
Relationships between floods and social fragmentation: A case study of Chiayi, Taiwan
ISSN 2007-2422
•
social fragmentation and potential responses
in the face of natural hazards in Chiayi County,
Taiwan, a newly industrialized country.
Social vulnerability, social fragmentation
and disaster
Vulnerability has become an important concept
in elucidating the condition of a system or its
vulnerability to damage from hazards (Lee,
2014). Vulnerability is “the degree to which a
system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with,
adverse effects of climate change, including
climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability
is a function of the character, magnitude and
rate of climate change and variation to which a
system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adap-
tive capacity” (IPCC, 2001, 2007). Vulnerability
is a function of exposure to a stressor, the effect
of that stressor (also named potential impact
or sensitivity) and recovery potential (also
termed adaptive capacity or resilience) (Adger,
2006; Lange, Sala, Vighi, & Faber, 2010; Dwyer,
Zoppou, Nielsen, Day, & Roberts, 2004; Sonwa,
Somorin, Jum, Bele, & Nkem, 2012; Turner
et
al
., 2003). In short, vulnerability is exposure to
unforeseen events, incidents and stress, and the
difficulty of coping with them (Elmqvist
et al
.,
2013). Analysis of vulnerability provide an effec-
tive approach to promoting corrective actions
to reduce impacts from disasters by supporting
coping strategies and facilitating adaptation
(Kelly & Adger, 2000).
There are three processes related to vulner-
ability, namely the production and application
of knowledge related to vulnerability, and the
answering of questions related to interactions
between the first two processes. These three pro-
cesses exist due to multi-faceted and dynamic
of vulnerability. The range of focal points differs
dramatically among different disciplines, and
the degree of interest influences both the pro-
duction and application of knowledge related
to vulnerability (Lee, 2014).
Due to the multiple dimensions and high
levels of abstraction, definitions of vulner-
ability vary among different knowledge fields
and disciplines (Cutter & Finch, 2008; Khan,
2012; Menoni
et al
., 2012). Vulnerability can
be either physical (or biophysical) or socio-
economic (Adger
et al
., 2004; Birkmann, 2006;
Cutter, 1996; European Commission, 2011; Tate,
Burton, Berry, Emrich, & Cutter, 2011). Physical
vulnerability resembles that was devoted to the
traditional impact method, which is based on
natural science, and stresses the risk of exposure
to risks associated with natural hazards (Adger
et al
., 2004; Cutter, 1996; Cutter
et al
., 2003). In
contrast, social vulnerability denotes the state
that exists before disasters (Finch, Emrich, &
Cutter, 2010; Schmidtlein, Shafer, Berry, & Cut-
ter, 2011), and includes social, economic, po-
litical and institutional components (European
Commission, 2011). Therefore, the social vulner-
ability is the characteristics of social system and
represents the wellbeing of residents. The more
social vulnerability may increase the impacts
of natural hazards on the society. Furthermore,
while the hazards happened, residents may be
inadequate to recover from their vulnerable
state, and probably fall into worse conditions
while facing coming hazards.
Therefore, considering social vulnerability
as a planning tool and utilizing it to planning
practices can motivate sustainable planning and
human life. The sustainability of treating social
vulnerability as a planning tool is important for
responding to climate change, because of the
difficulty of forecasting environmental trends.
Social systems on various geographical scales
must develop their own capacities to respond to
extreme weather events. Only by doing so can
the social capacity building become a real and
long-term adaptation strategy. Social vulnerabil-
ity thus can respond to environmental changes
and disasters that impact social systems, and
can remind government agencies, the private
sector and residents to base developmental
strategies on social conditions — particularly
when facing with the development of highly
vulnerable places.
Furthermore, the complexity of disasters
means the content and application of social
vulnerability needs to be a developing concept.
