RELATIVE VULNERABILITY OF SELECTED CARIBBEAN STATES TO CHANGES IN FOOD SECURITY DUE TO TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES

Abstract

In this paper, the determination of the relative vulnerability of selected Caribbean states to changes in their food security status because of the incidence of tropical storms and hurricanes required the aggregation of a composite indicator of the stability of food security and a risk indicator. Linear aggregation was utilized to derive the composite indicator of the stability of food security and this approach and Pareto ranking were used to aggregate this composite indicator and the risk indicator (Annual Frequency of Hurricanes and Storms) to assess relative vulnerability. The most vulnerable states were the small island developing states (SIDS): St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda, supporting the position that SIDS are in a most precarious position. The least vulnerable states were Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Pareto rankings and linear aggregation produced similar relative vulnerability orderings. However, Pareto rankings had the advantage of imposing fewer restrictions, such as the continuity and linearity of aggregation functions and they were able to show graphically that several countries may have the same relative vulnerability status because of the impact of different vulnerability factors, a situation that is lost in the numerical values of linear aggregation.