From Vulnerability to Adaptation to Climate Change: Food for Thoughts in Social Sciences - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 232

tsunami. Other phenomena can be extremely localized such as fires or
marine submersion events. The expected sea level rise or global
warming are global problems due to the nature of their impacts,
although they do not have the same effects everywhere. The relevance
of the spatial dimension(s) of the hazard is therefore two-fold. First of
all, it resides in the understanding and identification of the processes
and potential impacts, including through mapping of the exposed
zones; then, it lies in the identification of adequate measures to be
taken in order to limit risk. One of the most topical questions the
tsunami raised in December 2004 regarded the implementation of an
alert system that would be common to all the countries surrounding
the Indian Ocean. In a country such as the Maldives, where 90% of its
298 km 2 land surface is situated at less than one meter above the sea
level, local anticipation measures are limited 7 . However, flood
management for instance does not often require technical solutions of
international scale and their regulation can be achieved at a local
(system of prevention and aid) to a national scale (insurance systems
for instance). The challenge of climate change consists of combining
international, national and local scales, through the mitigation of
greenhouse gas emissions and through adaptation strategies with a
common goal, namely limiting the rates of disasters.
6.2.2.2. Territory
Territory also responds to the three dimensions of nature,
timeframes and spatial scales. Its nature confers specific
characteristics which relate both to its spatial configuration, expressed
in terms of potential/constraints, and to the society it supports and
which defines exploitation strategies for its original
potential/constraints. A large continental surface made up of large
fields and covered homogeneously in numerous water bodies does not
offer the same potential for agricultural development than an oceanic
archipelago or a dry Mediterranean island. Similarly, two
environments with comparable spatial configurations can in some
cases exhibit neither the same axes of development (e.g. tourism
7 Which is not stopping the country to try and implement innovative solutions today
[DUV 12].