Abstract
Explicit demands from the UN and growing policy interests have recently boasted the development of vulnerability indices for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Selection of indicators varies across vulnerability assessments and rarely includes the stakeholders of interest, the small island dwellers. Moreover, few studies have focused on climate change, a fundamental battle for SIDS in the international arena. Thus, this study establishes a set of indicators to assess the vulnerability of SIDS to climate change by investigating the case of Mauritius. An adapted framework is adopted to express vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, as mentioned in IPCC reports. Relevance of available indicators was evaluated by local experts and stakeholders through the Fuzzy Delphi Method. Combined statistical criteria were employed to select indicators. Out of 74 pre-selected indicators identified in literature, 31 were marked as relevant to the topic as they satisfied all criteria. The results reveal that most climate change and hazards and extreme events indicators were naturally retained. Economic indicators, generally, weighted strongly a contrario of international politics indicators. Finally, physical smallness as an inherent factor of vulnerability was confirmed. The findings suggest a lack of consensus on socio-economic and environmental indicators among stakeholders as the selection was sparser in these fields. The proposed approach captured the expertise of stakeholders while reducing uncertainty of their judgements and providing traceability. Although many indicators are useful, the number of indicators can be reduced or increased through this method upon the context of decision-makers and SIDS of interest.
Presenters
Emilie DavantinStudent, MPhil/PhD, University of Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius Roshan Unmar
Senior Lecturer, Department of Applied Sustainability and Enterprise Development, University of Mauritius, Mauritius Satyadev Rosunee
Associate Professor, Applied Sustainability, University of Mauritius, Mauritius
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education, Assessment and Policy
KEYWORDS
SIDS, Fuzzy Delphi Method, Indicators, Stakeholders, Climate Change Vulnerability
