Assessment Of Community Vulnerability Research Articles

A Functional Assessment of Community Vulnerability to the Loss of Myrtaceae From Myrtle Rust

ABSTRACTAimWoody ecosystems provide critical ecosystem functions and services but are increasingly threatened as invasive pathogens spread globally. Myrtle rust, caused by Austropuccinia psidii, arrived in New Zealand in 2017 and infects at least 12 of 18 species in the susceptible Myrtaceae plant family. Among these are species of structural, successional and cultural importance. We aim to assess whether the functional consequences of Myrtaceae loss could be mitigated if co‐occurring species with shared functional attributes are able to replace them.LocationNew Zealand (but with concepts and methodologies that apply globally).MethodsUsing a nationwide forest and shrubland plot data set, we assessed community vulnerability to the loss of Myrtaceae species by analysing proportional changes in average trait values when they are absent and produced spatial predictions indicating where species loss might have the greatest impact on community functionality. We then assessed whether compensatory infilling by co‐occurring species would mediate community vulnerability.ResultsForests and shrublands containing Kunzea ericoides and Leptospermum scoparium are highly vulnerable to their loss. Areas most vulnerable overall are the central and south‐eastern North Island, north‐eastern South Island and Stewart Island. For all species, compensatory infilling moderated the impact of their loss. However, if co‐occurring Myrtaceae were unable to respond, possibly if they were also infected, community vulnerability almost always increased because infilling species had different functional attributes, compounding the functional impact.Main ConclusionsEarly successional woody plant communities and Myrtaceae‐dominated old‐growth forests are at most risk. Our spatial assessment of species‐level functional impacts from myrtle rust will facilitate better‐informed landscape‐level responses. Management actions and monitoring can now be targeted to areas and communities at greatest risk of losing ecosystem‐level processes.

Assessing dynamics of human vulnerability at community level – Using mobility data

The comprehension of the community vulnerability levels is pivotal for understanding how communities respond to diverse hazard events and supporting community resilience management. Existing assessment approaches often treat social vulnerability as static by assuming that residents stay within their home community, which ignored the influence of human mobilities on the vulnerability distribution. To overcome these limitations, in this study, we developed a spatial-temporal community vulnerability assessment framework that integrates human mobility with demographic characteristics. Specifically, we integrated geographic data, e.g., mobile phone data, and human activity trajectory data, e.g., activity survey data, to (1) map demographic-dependent varying human trajectory, (2) identify the dynamic distributions of social vulnerable groups, and (3) based on this to more comprehensively evaluate community vulnerability. We selected Philadelphia County of Pennsylvania as a case study to validate this method. The simulation results demonstrate that the spatial-temporal distribution of some vulnerable populations undergoes significant changes over time due to individual mobility. Furthermore, we also find that different vulnerable groups within the same community show various mobility patterns. Our results highlight the importance of integrating demographic-based human mobility into community vulnerability assessment and complementing current static vulnerability with a more comprehensive understanding to support emergency management, which could enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of timely emergency planning and responses to disasters.

Assessing Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in a Fishery-Dependent Village in South Central Vietnam

Fishery-dependent communities are highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change due to their proximity to vulnerable coastal areas and reliance on ecosystem services for their livelihoods. The study assessed the effects of climate change on the socioeconomic livelihoods and adaptive capacity of Xuan Tu, a community located in South Central Vietnam. The assessment employed the social vulnerability index (SVI) and adaptive capacity index (ACI). A hybrid data collection approach was utilized to gather information from households, and a composite method was employed to aggregate the data, enabling an assessment of community vulnerability. The findings indicated exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity index values of 0.16, 0.34, and 0.26, respectively. The community exhibited a moderate vulnerability to climate change, with a social vulnerability index of 0.43. Notably, economic sufficiency, access to social groups, and level of education emerged as significant factors in reducing social vulnerability. To adapt to climate change, the community modified their fish feeding practices, fish culture methods, increased technology usage, and diversified their sources of income. However, the study identified a lack of institutional support as a significant obstacle to the community's autonomous adaptation. Based on these results, the study recommends livelihood diversification and the implementation of planned adaptation strategies to enhance preparedness for climate emergencies in South Central Vietnam.

A conceptual framework for estimation of initial emergency food and water resource requirements in disasters

Many households lack the necessary food and water supplies to sustain themselves for more than three days during a disaster. Community vulnerability assessments can be used to identify households with more pressing needs for emergency food and water resources. It is critical that these assessments include the interaction between physical impacts to lifeline infrastructure and the social vulnerabilities of food and water insecurity to prioritize, allocate, and distribute emergency resources. In this paper, we review and synthesize relevant literature to propose a new multidisciplinary conceptual framework of community vulnerability assessment for estimating initial emergency food and water resource requirements in a developed country. Using the framework as a guide, we illustrate its practical application through a simplified, deterministic model of initial resource requirements in disaster response, and offer a quantitative, comprehensive description of its application within the geophysical hazard context of the “ShakeOut” scenario—a major Mw 7.8 earthquake on California's San Andreas fault, occurring within the Los Angeles Basin, CA (USA) region. Model results estimate that 999,027 households (2,947,130 residents) will require initial emergency food and water resource requirements. Estimates include about 6 million meals and 9 million liters of water, concentrated in Lancaster-Palmdale, El Monte-Baldwin Park, East Los Angeles-Downey in Los Angeles County, the Coachella Valley (Riverside County), and in populated areas of San Bernardino County. A sensitivity analysis of social vulnerability interactions with utility service outages investigates the influence of food insecurity on the amplification of resource needs. This study establishes fundamental knowledge at the nexus of natural hazards, critical infrastructure disruptions, and social vulnerability by providing initial estimates of emergency resource demand while advancing the understanding of social inequity in emergency resource access.

Indicators and participatory processes: a framework for assessing integrated climate vulnerability and risk as applied in Los Angeles County, California

Climate vulnerability research is enhanced by stakeholder engagement as coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to climate-driven impacts, yet these impacts are rarely evenly distributed across space and stakeholder feedback is not always well incorporated into the process. While often used in applied management applications, integrated spatially explicit assessments of multi-faceted vulnerability and hazard less commonly appear in the scientific literature, especially those that are transferable across geographies and risk metrics. Since many geographies lack an integrated, stakeholder-driven assessment of multiple hazards and vulnerabilities within the same assessment, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science developed a transferable and integrated community vulnerability assessment framework (Framework) that relies primarily upon available secondary data and is supplemented with stakeholder-derived primary data. Using blended approaches in stakeholder engagement, we present the Framework’s six methodological steps as recently applied in Los Angeles County, California: iterative partner engagement, indicator and index development, vulnerability assessment, hazard assessment, risk assessment, and reengagement for adaptation action. We conclude that boundary-spanning organizations such as Sea Grant Extension programs can play a crucial role in participatory science and stakeholder needs assessments, and emphasize the need for continued stakeholder engagement in climate science.

Assessment of community vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic: Hong Kong as a case study.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten global public health. Reliable assessment of community vulnerability is therefore essential to fighting and mitigating the pandemic. This study presents a framework that considers the roles of internal and external factors, including the components of social vulnerability, exposure, and sensitivity, to comprehensively and accurately assess community vulnerability to the pandemic. With respect to internal factors, we summarized the inherent social characteristics of people groups using census data and explored the roles of both overall and four major thematic social vulnerabilities in shaping community infection by COVID-19. We then designed two external factors to characterize exposure and sensitivity and implemented an aggregation by multiplying them with the internal social vulnerability to achieve a comprehensive vulnerability assessment. The role of the estimated vulnerability in shaping community infection was evaluated by statistical and spatial analysis as well as by risk factor classification using defined rules. This case study of Hong Kong demonstrated the value of our framework in vulnerability assessment and revealed the role of vulnerability in shaping community infection by COVID-19.

A Place-based Approach to Assess the Vulnerability of Communities to Urban Floods: Case of Nagpur, India

Amongst all disasters, flood is the most incessant disaster influencing a noteworthy number of individuals all around the world. The developing countries have been profoundly affected by the calamities, due to excessive loss of lives and assets. The city of Nagpur in Maharashtra, India, is prone to water related disasters. In addition, the uncontrolled development has worsened the floods events. The existing physical infrastructure and social attributes have made the population vulnerable to urban floods. The study focuses on conducting a micro-scale i.e., community vulnerability assessment by identifying the drivers of vulnerability. A questionnaire based on the socio-economic and infrastructure characteristics was formulated and a primary survey was conducted. The study involved application of principal component analysis by means of python programming to develop socio-economic and physical infrastructure indices. The analysis enabled component wise and index wise visualization of low vulnerable to high vulnerable zones in Nagpur using Geographic Information System (GIS). The goodness-of-fit for socio-economic and physical infrastructure vulnerability index show R2 value as 0.7219 and 0.7058 respectively, suggesting the models to be substantial. This robust vulnerability framework can gauge the real conditions of the population thereby assist in developing policies and strategies to reduce the impact of urban floods.

Geo-spatial assessment of community vulnerability to flood along the Ravi River, Ravi Town, Lahore, Pakistan

Pakistan is exposed to hydro-meteorological and geological hazards. Flood is one of the hydro-meteorological hazards, and so far 25 major floods have occurred in Indus River System with devastating consequences. The Ravi River is one of the eastern tributaries of the River Indus. This study is an attempt of geo-spatial assessment of community vulnerability towards flood along the Ravi River. This study is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data were gathered through questionnaire survey using random sampling techniques, interview and personal observation. Simultaneously, Global Position Survey (GPS) is also conducted to acquire the respondent’s location. Secondary data were collected from concerned government departments. Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS 16.00 and MS Excel 2010 for getting results. Inverse distance weighted (IDW) technique of spatial interpolation is implemented to geo-visualize spatial variation in flood depth and elevation. Weighted overlay analysis technique is applied to develop vulnerability map using ArcGIS 10.5. The analysis revealed that the study area is exposed to flood. Demographic characteristics, socio-economic status and neighbourhood properties have made the communities along Ravi vulnerable to floods. Similarly, risk perception and hydrological behaviour of Ravi have further increased vulnerability. Spatially, the sample sites Kot Begum, Jia Musa and Shahdara are highly vulnerable. Results of the study can assist the flood dealing authorities and decision-makers to design location-specific flood risk reduction strategies.

Creating a National IRB Preparedness Training Program for the Review of Disaster-Related Research

Disasters, both natural and manmade, are becoming more common and challenge national and global resiliency and response efforts. As a result, many government agencies have an increased interest in disaster research to strengthen preparedness, response, and recovery. With the field of disaster research greatly expanding, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are now being asked to review research protocols aimed at assessing health risks, exposures and outcomes from disaster survivors; however, few IRBs have significant experience reviewing disaster research protocols. As the national leaders of disaster research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Health Emergency and Disaster Research Response (DR2) Program recognized the need to develop IRB disaster-related research training curricula and protocol review tools. Key components of the DR2 program include the creation of a pre-approved disaster research protocol (Rapid Acquisition of Pre- and Post-Incident Disaster Data) and the development of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Working Group for Special IRB Considerations in the Review of Disaster Related Research, which established the first national recommendations that informed this innovative training program. This training program includes instructor led case studies that walk trainees through using the NIEHS Disaster Research protocol Review checklist, developing IRB Continuity of Operations Plans (I-COOP), and use of the Post-Disaster Researcher Engagement Assessment and Community Template (PD-REACT) that provides a community vulnerability assessment and disaster related contextual considerations for IRB review. These materials have been field tested and developed through mock IRB and training sessions held at the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), University of Arizona, and NIEHS. This training assesses organizations’ disaster research needs, aims to improve IRB preparedness and processes for reviewing disaster-related research and enhances institutional knowledge of best practices for disaster researchers to protect the rights and welfare of study participants. Keywords: Institutional Review Board Ethics Training Best Practices

Assessment of Community Vulnerability to Different Types of Urban Floods: A Case for Lishui City, China

Urban flooding is a severe and pervasive hazard caused by climate change, urbanization, and limitations of municipal drainage systems. Cities face risks from different types of floods, depending on various geographical, environmental, and hydrometeorological conditions. In response to the growing threat of urban flooding, a better understanding of urban flood vulnerability is needed. In this study, a comprehensive method was developed to evaluate the vulnerability of different types of urban floods. First, a coupled urban flood model was built to obtain the extent of influence of various flood scenarios caused by rainfall and river levee overtopping. Second, an assessment framework for urban flood vulnerability based on an indicator method was used to evaluate the vulnerability in different flood hazard scenarios. Finally, the method was applied to Lishui City, China, and the distribution and pattern of urban flood vulnerability were studied. The results highlight the spatial variability of flooding and the vulnerability distributions of different types of urban floods. Compound floods were identified to cause more severe effects in the urban areas.

Assessment of community vulnerability and medical surge capacity in a foreseeable major disaster.

ObjectiveDeveloping an adequate disaster response capacity involves an assessment of available resources in areas that are vulnerable to disaster. Here, we sought to evaluate the gap between predicted damage in a foreseeable major earthquake versus existing municipality-level resources in Tokyo, Japan.MethodsOur study focused on the 53 municipalities in Tokyo to evaluate the relationships between the predicted number of severe casualties per 1,000 population from a future earthquake, community characteristics, and inpatient bed supply in local hospitals. Correlation analysis and supply–demand balance estimations were carried out at the municipality level, and the results were geographically visualized using choropleth maps.ResultsThe correlation analysis showed that higher casualties were correlated with municipalities with faster population increase, higher taxable incomes, lower unemployment rates, and higher bed volumes in disaster base hospitals. Under a maximal damage scenario in a future earthquake, we predict a shortage of 2,780 beds for the treatment of severe casualties across Tokyo. Even under a scenario of cooperation among neighboring municipalities, a shortage of 7,107 beds would remain.ConclusionsTokyo is located in a zone where major earthquake damage is anticipated. Cooperation between neighboring municipalities may not suffice to address the undersupply of beds during the acute phase of a disaster. Hence, existing disaster preparedness plans require further reinforcement with a focus on local vulnerabilities.

Structural Vulnerability Assessment of Community-Based Routing in Opportunistic Networks

Opportunistic networks enable mobile devices to communicate with each other through routes that are built dynamically, while messages are en route between the sender and the destination(s). The social structure and interaction of users of such devices dictate the performance of routing protocols in those networks. Community structures, commonly exhibited by social networks, is also observed in the encounter patterns in opportunistic networks and has an astounding impact in designing forwarding algorithms for such types of networks. In this paper, we explore the structural vulnerability of social-based forwarding and routing methods in opportunistic networks. In particular, we introduce Community Vulnerability Assessment (CVA), a new problem on assessing the performance reliability of opportunistic routing strategies in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) from a community structure point of view. Given a positive number $k$ , CVA aims to find out the $k$ most vulnerable devices in the network whose non-participation (due to out-of-service or permanent out-of-range) transforms the current network community structure to a totally different one. As the first study in this direction, we analyze and provide key insights into the separation of network communities, evaluated via the Normalized Mutual Information (NMI). Based on these findings, we suggest an approximation algorithm for the special case when, and a heuristic, genEdge, for the general case. To certify the effectiveness of our proposed approaches, we first test them on synthesized data with known community structures, and then we show the impact of node removal on community structures in real social networks. Finally we evaluate the performance via different forwarding and routing strategies in multiple real-world DTN traces. Our results indicate that, in many forwarding and routing methods, the nonparticipation of only some important devices is significant enough to degrade the entire network's performance.

Assessment of Community Vulnerability to Riverbank Erosion in Esperanza, Agusan Del Sur, Philippines

As a natural phenomenon, most rivers constantly undergo a series of erosion processes along their banks. Erosion, could be triggered by anthropogenic activities. This study assessed the vulnerability of selected communities in the Municipality of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Philippines in response to prevalent riverbank erosion at Wawa river. This study partly used the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and also used a structured interview schedule to gather information about the socio-economic characteristics, distance of houses and agricultural lands from the river, and practices and strategies against riverbank erosion. Information gathered were categorized into sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity. Results showed that barangay Crossing Luna was most vulnerable in terms of sensitivity and exposure while Piglawigan was more vulnerable in terms of adaptive capacity. On the other hand, riverbanks of barangay Dakutan and Crossing Luna are more vulnerable to erosion. In general, Crossing Luna was found to be the most vulnerable among the three communities with a combined index of 0.02. The study also showed that the LVI is a relevant tool for decision making in determining which community needs most help in times of calamity due to riverbank erosion.

Earthquake and Tsunami Knowledge, Risk Perception and Preparedness in the SE Bangladesh

Frequent tropical cyclones and floods, and less frequent earthquakes and tsunamis affect Bangladesh. In absence of recent large earthquake and tsunami experience, the country’s disaster risk reduction strategies have been developed from the learning dealing with frequent tropical cyclones and floods. However, an analysis of historical earthquake and tsunami suggests that the country is also vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. For example, the 1762 earthquake originating within the Arakan Subduction Zone generated a tsunami in the northern Bay of Bengal that struck SE Bangladesh. This research aims to understand how local residents perceive and prepare for earthquake and tsunami in SE Bangladesh. In order to achieve this objective, this research used both quantitative (i.e. questionnaire survey) and qualitative (i.e. focus group discussions and informal interviews) data collection techniques in SE Bangladesh. The results of data analysis suggest that the local residents have lesser level of risk perception and preparedness in absence of their direct experience of earthquakes and tsunamis. As such, this research recommends further assessment of community vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunamis and implementing risk reduction strategies.

Community vulnerability assessment index for flood prone savannah agro-ecological zone: A case study of Wa West District, Ghana

Abstract The savannah regions of Northern Ghana are characterized by smallholder farming systems and high levels of poverty. Over the past two decades, communities in the regions have become more prone to climate and human-induced disasters in the form of annual floods and droughts. This study evaluates the degree and magnitude of vulnerability in four communities subjected to similar climate change induced flood events and propose intervention options. The study employs rural participatory research approaches in developing four vulnerability categories namely socio-economic, ecological, engineering and political; which were used to develop indicators that aided the calculation of total community vulnerability index for each community. The findings indicate that the state of a community's vulnerability to flood is a composite effect of the four vulnerability index categories which may act independently or concurrently to produce the net effect. Based on a synthesis of total vulnerability obtained in each community, Baleufili was found to be the least vulnerable to flood due to its high scores in engineering, socio-economic and political vulnerability indicators. Baleufili and Bankpama were the most ecologically vulnerable communities. The selection of vulnerability index categories and associated indicators were grounded in specific local peculiarities that evolved out of engagement with community stakeholders and expert knowledge of the socioecological landscape. Thus, the Total Community Vulnerability Assessment Framework (TCVAF) provides an effective decision support for identifying communities’ vulnerability status and help to design both short and long term interventions options that are community specific as a way of enhancing their coping and adaptive capacity to disasters.

Susceptibility analysis of landslide in Chittagong City Corporation Area, Bangladesh

In Chittagong city, landslide phenomena is the most burning issue which causes great problems to the life and properties and it is increasing day by day and becoming one of the main problems of city life. On 11 June 2007, a massive landslide happened in Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) area, a large number of foothill settlements and slums were demolished; more than 90 people died and huge resource destruction took place. It is therefore essential to analyze the landslide susceptibility for CCC area to prepare mitigation strategies as well as assessing the impacts of climate change. To assess community susceptibility of landslide hazard, a landslide susceptibility index map has been prepared using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) and its susceptibility is analyzed through community vulnerability assessment tool (CVAT). The major findings of the research are 27% of total CCC area which is susceptible to landslide hazard and whereas 6.5 sq.km areas are found very highly susceptible. The landslide susceptible areas of CCC have also been analyzed in respect of physical, social, economic, environmental and critical facilities and it is found that the overall CCC area is highly susceptible to landslide hazard. So the findings of the research can be utilized to prioritize risk mitigation investments, measures to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response mechanisms for reducing the losses and damages due to future landslide events. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i2.12635 International Journal of Environment Vol.4(2) 2015: 157-181

Vulnerability assessment of earthquake prone communities in Baluchistan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the vulnerability of communities prone to earthquake hazards in Baluchistan at the community and household levels and identify the determinants accounting for the vulnerability of the communities. Baluchistan is vulnerable to potential seismic risk and has recently suffered huge economic and property losses due to the October 2008 earthquake. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on household surveys, field observations, key informant interviews and focus-group discussions for the assessment of community vulnerability to earthquakes. Findings – The analysis revealed that the community is vulnerable to earthquake hazards both at the community and household levels. The logistic regression model identified three variables, namely, ownership of residential unit, family size and household income, as the most important factors in influencing community vulnerability to earthquake hazards. Practical implications – The paper may help emergency managers, policymakers and local government authorities to implement building codes, urban planning by-laws and projects and activities to empower communities for disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction. Originality/value – The paper concludes that for earthquake safety, building regulations and spatial planning by-laws should be implemented and monitored rigorously. Community preparedness is essential for enhancing people’s awareness against future earthquake hazards in the area.

An Assessment of Community Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Lupane District of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe

Although climate change models predict harsher weather conditions along the Zambezi Basin, no known micro-level assessment has been carried out on the Zimbabwe side of the Basin, including in Lupane District. Lupane is one of the Matabeleland North districts of Zimbabwe that lie within the mid-Zambezi River Basin. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to assess the vulnerability of rural communities to climate change in the Lupane District. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the following: the community understanding of climate change; its farming systems and related support services; and its food and livelihood security. It is hoped that a clearer understanding of the community agricultural production systems could contribute towards the development and infusion of technologies that enhance and stabilize the community livelihoods. The study utilized existing secondary data on the District’s agricultural production systems and its agro-ecological profile. Using structured questionnaires, primary data on the community understanding of climate change; farming systems and their performance; and current food security practices; was then collected from 125 randomly selected households. Other key sources of primary data were agricultural experts resident in the District. Focused group discussions were held with opinion leaders such as traditional leaders, school headmasters, business people and leaders of farmer associations. The major findings of the study are that Lupane communities have a fair understanding of climate change and its disruptive effect on their livelihoods. They reported that there was a general decrease in average annual rainfall; decrease in crop yields over the years; and increased food insecurity within their community. This made it difficult for them to achieve food selfsufficiency as they depended on rain-fed agriculture. Their livestock numbers were also decreasing due to regular droughts. As an adaptive strategy, the study found that the Lupane communities often hedged against climate change by increasing the planted areas or encroaching onto marginal and protected lands; bridged the food insecurity gap by engaging in off-farm employment; and diversified their livelihoods by gathering firewood and collecting wild fruits, vegetables and caterpillars, among other harvests. These were for own use as well as for sale. The study also noted the significant contribution of remittances from relatives in urban areas, including South Africa. Thus, the study concluded that the livelihoods of rural communities in Lupane District have become vulnerable and insecure as climate change intensifies. On this basis, the study recommends that Government, in partnership with NGOs and the private sector, should develop and promote robust agricultural systems that increase and stabilize crop yields among these and other communities that are vulnerable to climate.

Estimating populations of men who have sex with men in the southern United States.

Population estimates of men who have sex with men (MSM) by state and race/ethnicity are lacking, hampering effective HIV epidemic monitoring and targeting of outreach and prevention efforts. We created three models to estimate the proportion and number of adult males who are MSM in 17 southern states. Model A used state-specific census data stratified by rural/suburban/urban area and national estimates of the percentage MSM in corresponding areas. Model B used a national estimate of the percentage MSM and state-specific household census data. Model C partitioned the statewide estimates by race/ethnicity. Statewide Models A and B estimates of the percentages MSM were strongly correlated (r = 0.74; r-squared = 0.55; p < 0.001) and had similar means (5.82% and 5.88%, respectively) and medians (5.5% and 5.2%, respectively). The estimated percentage MSM in the South was 6.0% (range 3.6-13.2%; median, 5.4%). The combined estimated number of MSM was 2.4 million, including 1,656,500 (69%) whites, 339,400 (14%) blacks, 368,800 (15%) Hispanics, 34,600 (1.4%) Asian/Pacific Islanders, 7,700 (0.3%) American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 11,000 (0.5%) others. The estimates showed considerable variability in state-specific racial/ethnic percentages MSM. MSM population estimates enable better assessment of community vulnerability, HIV/AIDS surveillance, and allocation of resources. Data availability and computational ease of our models suggest other states could similarly estimate their MSM populations.

Inuit vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

ABSTRACTClimate change is already being experienced in the Arctic with implications for ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. This paper argues that an assessment of community vulnerability to climate change requires knowledge of past experience with climate conditions, responses to climatic variations, future climate change projections, and non-climate factors that influence people's susceptibility and adaptive capacity. The paper documents and describes exposure sensitivities to climate change experienced in the community of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories and the adaptive strategies employed. It is based on collaborative research involving semi-structured interviews, secondary sources of information, and participant observations. In the context of subsistence hunting, changes in temperature, seasonal patterns (for example timing and nature of the spring melt), sea ice and wind dynamics, and weather variability have affected the health and availability of some species of wildlife important for subsistence and have exacerbated risks associated with hunting and travel. Inuit in Ulukhaktok are coping with these changes by taking extra precautions when travelling, shifting modes of transportation, travel routes and hunting areas to deal with changing trail conditions, switching species harvested, and supplementing their diet with store bought foods. Limited access to capital resources, changing levels of traditional knowledge and land skills, and substance abuse were identified as key constraints to adaptation. The research demonstrates the need to consider the perspectives and experiences of local people for climate change research to have practical relevance to Arctic communities such as for the development and promotion of adaptive strategies.