From Vulnerability to Adaptation to Climate Change: Food for Thoughts in Social Sciences - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 223

6
From Vulnerability to Adaptation to
Climate Change: Food for Thoughts in
Social Sciences
6.1. Introduction
This chapter does not aim to give the exhaustive state of the art of
scientific studies around issues of vulnerability and adaptation to
climate change. The objective is instead to provide a global approach
to both concepts which would enable social science researchers, both
experienced researchers and beginners and those coming from various
disciplines, to develop fieldwork methods and boost knowledge.
In order to clarify the meaning of the concepts of vulnerability and
adaptation and to specify their main challenges, this chapter will be
broken down into four sections. Figure 6.1 summarizes these with the
theme being the progress of vulnerability and adaptation mechanisms.
Section 6.2 not only briefly presents the origin of the concept of
vulnerability, but it also explains how the vulnerability of a given
society lies within the various interconnections between, on the one
hand nature, timeframes and the scale of the natural hazards, and, on
the other hand, the temporal and spatial dimensions of the place.