Institute of Development Studies

Vulnerability and Resilience

Poor people in developing countries are in the front line of climate change. Not only are expected changes in rainfall and temperature in many developing countries greater than in the developed world, but poor people are also more vulnerable to such changes. This is partly because so many depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

However, the real roots of vulnerability lie in poverty, placing severe limits on the ability of people to protect themselves against more frequent shocks like droughts and floods, and longer term climate trends.

This theme seeks to understand how vulnerability and poverty are produced by the wider political economy and politics in particular contexts. We explore how far the resilience of poor people to climate-related disasters and trends can be strengthened by a range of policies (including low-carbon development, allocation of adaptation funding and vulnerability analysis). But we also examine at what points more profound structural change in economies and politics will be needed if societies are to adapt to climate change successfully, and how that change can be made.

Our research in this area seeks answers to questions such as:

• How can we enhance the ability of governments and civil society organisations in developing countries to build the resilience of communities to disasters and climate change?
• How do men, women and children view risk differently, and what are the implications for strengthening resilience?
• How do adaptation delivery mechanisms vary between countries, and how can the use of climate screening tools for projects and programmes be mainstreamed by donors and governments?
• How can we bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice?

Vulnerability and Resilience Projects




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• Adaptation screening tools for development cooperation: Piloting ORCHID and other approaches - IDS is involved in a range initiatives to develop, test, discuss and disseminate tools for screening and assessment of climate and disaster risk. (2006 - 2009)
• AfricaAdapt - The Network facilitates the flow of climate change adaptation knowledge for sustainable livelihoods between researchers, policy makers, civil society organisations and communities who are vulnerable to climate variability and change across the continent. (2008 - 2011)
• Children in a Changing Climate - IDS is working with leading research and development organisations to secure children and your people a voice in preventing and adapting to climate change – from their communities to the UN. (2008 - 2010)
• Climate Planning - (Ongoing)
• European Development Co-operation on climate change to 2020 - The aim of this project is to synthesize and understand the evidence base on CC and EU development policy in key areas of CC and development programming and to map out possible future influences on these policy area (2008 - 2010)



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Vulnerability and Resilience Publications




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• Seballos, F. and Kreft, S. (2011) 'Towards an Understanding of the Political Economy of the PPCR', IDS Bulletin 42.3:33-41, Brighton: IDS
• Seballos, F., Tanner, T., Tarazona M. and Gallegos, J. (2011) 'Children and Disasters: Understanding Impact and Enabling Agency', Children in a Changing Climate , Brighton: IDS
• Harris, K., Terry Cannon, T. et al (2011) 'Exploring climate change and disaster governance issues' , Brighton: IDS
• Harvey, B. (2011) 'Negotiating Openness Across Science, ICTs, and Participatory Development: Lessons from the AfricaAdapt Network', Information Technologies & International Development 7.1:19-31, Los Angeles: USC Annenberg Press
• Harris, K. and Bahadur, A. (2011) 'Harnessing Synergies: Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes and Policies' , Brighton: IDS
• Polack, E., Luna, E.M. and Dator-Bercilla, J. (2010) 'Accountability for Disaster Risk Reduction: Lessons from the Philippines' 2, Brighton: IDS
• Cannon, T. and Mueller-Mahn, D. (2010) 'Vulnerability, Resilience and Development Discourses in Context of Climate Change', Natural Hazards 55.3:621-635, New York: Springer
• Bahadur, A., Ibrahim, M. and Tanner, T.M. (2010) 'The Resilience Renaissance? Unpacking of Resilience for Tackling Climate Change and Disasters' 1, Brighton: IDS
• Institute of Development Studies, Action Against Hunger and Tearfund (2010) 'Changing Climates, Changing Lives: Adaptation strategies of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia and Mali'
• Molina, G., Molina, F., Tanner, T. and Seballos, F. (2009) 'Child-friendly participatory research techniques for community based adaptation and disaster risk reduction', Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) 60.14:160-166, London: IIED



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