Evaluating and Ranking the Vulnerability of Global Marine Ecosystems to Anthropogenic Threats

Abstract:  Marine ecosystems are threatened by a suite of anthropogenic stressors. Mitigating multiple threats is a daunting task, particularly when funding constraints limit the number of threats that can be addressed. Threats are typically assessed and prioritized via expert opinion workshops that often leave no record of the rationale for decisions, making it difficult to update recommendations with new information. We devised a transparent, repeatable, and modifiable method for collecting expert opinion that describes and documents how threats affect marine ecosystems. Experts were asked to assess the functional impact, scale, and frequency of a threat to an ecosystem; the resistance and recovery time of an ecosystem to a threat; and the certainty of these estimates. To quantify impacts of 38 distinct anthropogenic threats on 23 marine ecosystems, we surveyed 135 experts from 19 different countries. Survey results showed that all ecosystems are threatened by at least nine threats and that nine ecosystems are threatened by > 90% of existing threats. The greatest threats (highest impact scores) were increasing sea temperature, demersal destructive fishing, and point-source organic pollution. Rocky reef, coral reef, hard-shelf, mangrove, and offshore epipelagic ecosystems were identified as the most threatened. These general results, however, may be partly influenced by the specific expertise and geography of respondents, and should be interpreted with caution. This approach to threat analysis can identify the greatest threats (globally or locally), most widespread threats, most (or least) sensitive ecosystems, most (or least) threatened ecosystems, and other metrics of conservation value. Additionally, it can be easily modified, updated as new data become available, and scaled to local or regional settings, which would facilitate informed and transparent conservation priority setting.     

唐山市平原区地下水脆弱性评价研究

根据唐山市平原区的具体状况 ,选择地下水埋深等 6个参数作为该地区地下水脆弱性评价因子 ,评价因子的评分体系通过数值模拟建立 ,权重体系由主成分分析和因子分析得到 .利用建立的评价体系 ,结合GIS技术对该地区的地下水脆弱性进行评价 ,并得到地下水脆弱性分布图 .评价结果与该地区实测及预测的硝酸盐浓度分布状况吻合较好 .     

城市突发公共安全事件人员相对脆弱性研究

设计了基于人员相对脆弱性判断和经验正交函数分解的城市突发事件人员相对脆弱性研究方法,以河南省焦作市为例,将城市划分为8个风险区,选择20项脆弱性影响因子,首先对每个脆弱性因子在8个风险区的人员脆弱性构造判断矩阵,然后以判断矩阵为基础进一步构造人员相对脆弱性矩阵,最后用经验正交函数方法研究突发事件人员相对脆弱性,分析突发事件人员脆弱性影响因子的区域差异,探讨了脆弱性因子和风险区之间的组合特征及变化规律,为城市人员脆弱性的研究提供一种新的思路,并为突发事件人员脆弱性的治理提供科学依据。     

自然灾害的社会易损性及其影响因素研究

社会易损性是人类社会在自然灾害条件下的潜在损失,它的大小受许多因素的影响。从社会学视角出发,从人口、社会结构和社会文化三方面分析了社会易损性的影响因素,它们包括易损人群、易损职业、社会经济活动、社会组织结构、社会资本、社会保障制度、社会冲突的协调能力和灾害文化等因素。     

企业应急管理脆弱性分析

在阐述脆弱性的概念和分析方法的基础上,以某企业安全状况和应急管理中存在的脆弱性为例,从安全学的角度对7个区域的21类脆弱指标进行专家评分,运用主成分分析法研究企业安全和应急管理中各区域存在的脆弱性,分析各单元脆弱性特征和分布规律,并得出各单元综合脆弱性程度,运用脆弱性定量分析对企业进行安全评价,为评估应急预案和应急能力提供了一种新的定量评价方法。     

Assessing coastal vulnerability to climate change: comparing segmentation at global and regional scales

Recent concerns about potential climate-change effects on coastal systems require the application of vulnerability assessment tools in order to define suitable adaptation strategies and improve coastal zone management effectiveness. In fact, while various research efforts were devoted to evaluate coastal vulnerability to climate change on a national to global level, fewer applications were carried out so far to develop more comprehensive and site-specific vulnerability assessments suitable to plan possible adaptation measures at the regional scale. In this respect, specific indicators are needed to address climate-change-related issues for coastal zones and to identify vulnerable areas at the regional level. Two sets of coastal vulnerability indicators were selected, one for regional and one for global studies, respectively, concerning the same features of coastal systems, including topography and slope, geomorphological characteristics, presence and distribution of wetlands and vegetation cover, density of coastal population and number of coastal inhabitants. The proposed set of indicators for the regional scale was chosen taking into account the availability of environmental and territorial data for the whole coastal area of the Veneto region and was based on site-specific datasets characterized by a spatial resolution appropriate for a regional analysis. Moreover, a GIS-based segmentation procedure was applied to divide the coastline into linear segments, homogeneous in terms of vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise at the regional scale. This approach allowed to divide the Veneto shoreline into 140 segments with an average length of about 1 km, while the global scale approach identified four coastal segments with an average length of about 66 km. The performed comparison indicated how the more detailed approach adopted at the regional scale is essential to understand and manage the complexities of the specific study area. In fact, the 25-m DEM employed at the regional scale provided a more accurate differentiation of the coastal area's elevation and thus of coastal susceptibility to the inundation risks, compared to the 1-km DEM used at the global level. Moreover, at the regional level the use of a 1:20,000 geomorphological map allowed to differentiate the unique landform class detected at the global level (e.g., fluvial plain) in a variety of more detailed coastal typologies (e.g., open coast eroding sandy shores backed by bedrock) characterized by a different sensitivity to climate change and sea-level rise. Accordingly, the information provided by regional indicators can support decision-makers in improving the management of coastal resources by considering the potential impacts of climate change and in the definition of appropriate actions to reduce inundation risks, to avoid the potential loss of valuable wetlands and vegetation and to plan the nourishment of sandy beaches subject to erosion processes.     

Targeting the Vulnerable: A Review of the Necessity and Feasibility of Targeting Vulnerable Households

This article examines whether it is possible to target vulnerable households within a geographically defined area. It looks first at the justification for targeting and then reviews recent practical experience in actually trying to reach vulnerable groups. As complex emergencies increasingly last longer, strategies to target vulnerable households are common in the protracted phase of the emergency. While this is often necessary because of a decline in resources, it is not always justified by an improvement in nutritional status or food security of the beneficiary population.
Common target groups are the poor and the malnourished, but in complex emergencies these are not always the most vulnerable. Moreover, recent practical experience has shown considerable difficulties in targeting the poor. Methods to target the poor rely on community-based relief committees, whose priorities are not necessarily the same as those of external agencies. This paper gives examples of such targeted assistance programmes in Kenya, south Sudan and Tanzania. The paper concludes that situations where targeting vulnerable households is justified and feasible are extremely limited. It is suggested that if targeting has to be done because of scarce resources, this should be done on a geographical basis and on the basis of nutritional status. Case-study material shows that it is essential to understand the political determinants of vulnerability and to design methods that will reach the most vulnerable.     

承灾体脆弱性评价指标中的量化方法探讨

承灾体脆弱性与人为因素有很大关系 ,承灾体脆弱性研究对区域减灾、减灾投资以及灾害保险等有着重要的意义 ,因此承灾体脆弱性评价则成为该项研究的关键。本文在采用层次分析法的基础上 ,探讨了承灾体脆弱性评价中的量化方法     

中国粮食安全系统脆弱性评价及其驱动机制分析

从粮食安全系统的视角出发,运用VSD的脆弱性分析框架,从暴露性、敏感性、适应能力三个层面构建了中国粮食安全脆弱性评价指标体系,采用主成分分析方法对1991-2015年中国粮食安全脆弱性的暴露性、敏感性、适应能力进行定量分析,并探究了中国粮食安全脆弱性变化的总体趋势及其驱动因子。研究结果表明：（1）暴露性指数呈现出2阶段下降特征,年均下降0.121;敏感性指数呈现出快速上升和基本稳定的两阶段变化特征;适应能力指数则一直上升,年均提高0.117。（2）1991-2015年粮食安全系统脆弱性指数整体呈现下降趋势,表明中国粮食安水平有了明显提高;其变化过程可划分为1991-1999年、2000-2003年和2004-2015年三个阶段,第一、二阶段粮食安全水平的总体提高是基于“吃饱”水平上的提高,而第三阶段是基于“吃好”水平上的提高。（3）人均GDP、城镇化水平和城乡居民人均可支配收入四个因子共同驱动中国粮食安全脆弱性的变化,2000-2015年的第二阶段四因子对粮食安全脆弱性的驱动作用明显小于1991-1999的第一阶段,且第一驱动因子由第一阶段的农村居民人均可支配收入转变为第二阶段的人均GDP和城镇居民可支配收入。     

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping using GIS, modeling and a fuzzy logic tool

A groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping assessment, based on a source-pathway-receptor approach, is presented for an urban coastal aquifer in northeastern Brazil. A modified version of the DRASTIC methodology was used to map the intrinsic and specific groundwater vulnerability of a 292 km(2) study area. A fuzzy hierarchy methodology was adopted to evaluate the potential contaminant source index, including diffuse and point sources. Numerical modeling was performed for delineation of well capture zones, using MODFLOW and MODPATH. The integration of these elements provided the mechanism to assess groundwater pollution risks and identify areas that must be prioritized in terms of groundwater monitoring and restriction on use. A groundwater quality index based on nitrate and chloride concentrations was calculated, which had a positive correlation with the specific vulnerability index.