Economic, social and environmental vulnerability to drought in the Northwest river basin system, Mexico

David Ortega Gaucin HEIDY VIVIANA CASTELLANO BAHENA JESUS DE LA CRUZ BARTOLON (2018)

Vulnerability to drought is the degree to which a system is susceptible to damage by drought and incapable of coping with its adverse effects. This article presents a method to calculate drought vulnerability indices in the Northwest River Basin System, Mexico. The method is based on the concept of vulnerability developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007), which differentiates three components of vulnerability: degree of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Each of these components is represented by a set of relative indicators at the municipal level that allow for the determination of three basic types of vulnerability: economic, social and environmental, which converge in overall vulnerability. The successful use of the method in the Northwest River Basin System shows that it can be applied to the rest of river basin systems in Mexico, and it can also be adapted to be used at the state or national level. The strength of the method lies in its approach as an objective analytic procedure that makes it possible to identify the most vulnerable municipalities from economic, social and environmental perspectives, which is useful in managing resources and efforts to reduce vulnerability to drought in the different regions of the country.

Artículo

Sequías Vulnerabilidad Factores socioeconómicos Impacto ambiental CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

Drought vulnerability indices in Mexico

David Ortega Gaucin JESUS DE LA CRUZ BARTOLON HEIDY VIVIANA CASTELLANO BAHENA (2018)

Drought is one of the most harmful hydro climatic threats to society. Mexico has been historically affected by recurring and long-lasting droughts that have severely impacted society and the economy. Consequently, public programs and policies have been developed in order to reduce the country’s vulnerability to drought, hence the importance of identifying the spatial distribution and the dimension—even in relative terms only—of vulnerability in different regions from social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This article presents a method for obtaining indices and maps of vulnerability to drought in Mexico; indices and maps are based on a set of socioeconomic and environmental indicators that the method combines using an objective analytic procedure that identifies the most vulnerable states and municipalities from social, economic, and environmental perspectives, all of which converge in overall vulnerability to drought. The results obtained indicate that 38.9% of total Mexican population inhabits municipalities with high and very high degrees of overall vulnerability to drought. For this reason, it is necessary to continue implementing actions and preventive and mitigation strategies via public policies and social programs aimed at decreasing the country’s vulnerability to the occurrence of drought events. This is the only way to facilitate the necessary conditions to reduce the impact of drought and to decrease people’s vulnerability to this phenomenon.

Artículo

Sequías Desastres naturales Gestión de riesgos Vulnerabilidad CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

Peligro, vulnerabilidad y riesgo por sequía en el contexto del cambio climático en México

David Ortega Gaucin JESUS DE LA CRUZ BARTOLON HEIDY VIVIANA CASTELLANO BAHENA (2018)

El cambio climático está provocando una intensificación en la variabilidad climática natural, con un aumento en la frecuencia y severidad de las sequias en muchas partes del mundo. El peligro por sequía se refiere a la probabilidad de que ocurra un evento de sequía en un espacio y tiempo determinados con suficiente intensidad como para producir daños; la vulnerabilidad ante la sequía es el grado en que un sistema es susceptible e incapaz de hacer frente a los efectos adversos, danos o perjuicios causados por este fenómeno natural; y el riesgo por sequía está determinado por la confluencia del peligro y la vulnerabilidad. Con base en estos conceptos, en este artículo se presentan los resultados de la aplicación de una metodología desarrollada por los autores para determinar índices municipales de peligro, vulnerabilidad y riesgo por sequía en México. Los resultados indican que la metodología es viable para su aplicación a nivel nacional, e inclusive puede ser adaptado para aplicarse a nivel estatal o regional.

Capítulo de libro

Sequía Cambio climático CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA