Risk and Vulnerability

The authors argue that sustainable development cannot be achieved without consideration of risk and vulnerability. Losses due to natural disasters, including those related to extreme climatic events, have been on the rise but risk and vulnerability are not equally distributed. Climate risk affecting both natural and human systems affects geographical regions to differing extents. Coastal areas where half of the world's population and many major urban areas are located will bear the brunt of storms and sea level rise. Similarly, 1isks of flooding, drought etc. are unevenly distributed. Vulnerability is dependent on social, economic and political factors. In many ways, poor people are ·more vulnerable to climatic hazards, often living in exposed areas and substandard housing, having inadequate means to prepare for a recover from shocks. They are also vulnerable to slow-onset disasters. Vulnerability has also a psychological dimension and trauma caused by natural disasters can lead to long-standing psychological damage and a changed perception of the external world.