Territorial vulnerability assessment frame in Colombia: Disaster risk management

Abstract

A vulnerability assessment frame is necessary from a holistic perspective that integrates the factors that affect a territory along with socio-cultural elements and timescales subsequent to the disasters. Such a frame has the potential to assess a territory's particular characteristics and generate local knowledge for prevention, mitigation, and response. Recent studies on the subject have focused on vulnerability analyses in a fragmented manner; therefore, it is appropriate to study the effects of natural disasters from a territorial perspective when considering risk. This study emphasizes identifying indicators for each factor in the territorial system and analyzes the datasets obtained for the case studies. In this article, stakeholder participation is highlighted as a transversal element that Voinov and Bousquet (2010) [58] have suggested contributes to an increased knowledge of the actors and system and the system's dynamics under various conditions, such as vulnerability. The analysis shows that the design of risk management public policies in Colombia should consider the different aspects of the territorial system. The results show that local knowledge can be used to estimate vulnerability and support plans that improve local resilience.