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IPCC report, the notion of vulnerability is defined as “the level at
which a given system is at risk of experiencing or being negatively
affected by the negative effects of climate change, including climate
variablity and extreme events. Vulnerability depends on the nature,
the scale and the rhythm of climate changes to which the system is
being exposed as well as on its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity”.
Although this definition is not exempt from ambiguities [BRO 03,
HIN 11, MAG 12], which again emphasizes the complexity of the
topic, it has the advantage of indirectly characterizing vulnerability
through a triple dimension: nature, scale and rhythm.
6.2.2.
Hazard, place and vulnerability
At this stage, it is crucial to understand how notions of
perturbation
4
(hazards) and of place come together to express a certain
level of vulnerability. Perturbation and place can hence be described
following the three dimensions expressed by the IPCC (nature, scale
and rhythm) and show the different overlaps that define vulnerability
(see Figure 6.3). Table 6.1 shows the equivalence of the terms used
henceforth.
Equivalence terms within
this study
Hazard
Traditional definition of
hazard/event/perturbation
IPCC
Territory
Nature
Nature
Nature
Nature
Time
frames
Time
frames
Rhythm
Frequency
Spatial
scale
Scale
Intensity, place
Scale
Table 6.1.
Equivalence of the terms used in the demonstration
below (to be looked at in conjunction with Figure 6.3)
4 In this case, the term perturbation is chosen over hazard as it is easier to understand
in most social sciences as, apart from geography, they do not involve any specific
training in the physical mechanisms responsible for the hazard in question. So this
generic term seems more appropriate to enable social sciences to integrate both one-
off and gradual environmental changes, and therefore to take into account
combinations of hazards and risks.
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