Open AccessThe vulnerable can′t speak. An integrative vulnerability approach to disaster and climate change research
Author(s) -
Martin Voss
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
behemoth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1866-2447
DOI - 10.1524/behe.2008.0022
Subject(s) - vulnerability (computing) , subsistence agriculture , climate change , adaptation (eye) , social vulnerability , unit (ring theory) , environmental resource management , environmental planning , geography , environmental ethics , political science , ecology , psychology , social psychology , psychological resilience , environmental science , computer science , biology , philosophy , computer security , mathematics education , archaeology , neuroscience , agriculture
This article discusses a vulnerability approach to disaster research and research on climate change adaptation.As an integrated approach, it claims to consider social, economic and ecological factors. A hypothesis is debated in which the vulnerability of a reference unit (humans, community, ecosystem, etc.) is highly dependent on the degree of influence the unit can exert on its relevant conditions for subsistence. The ability to influence theses conditions depends, to a large extent, on discursive factors. To emphasise this special determinant of vulnerability, the term “participative capacity” is proposed