This guide is designed to support a community-based or local level management and adaptation planning
process. It can be used to explore the non-climate change and climate change threats within a defined
geographic area or community in which there is a clear governing structure and decision-making process.
The area can be large or small as long as the planning team involved in facilitating the process has decisionmaking
authority or has the support from the governing authority of the area. For example, the area might
The Vulnerability Sourcebook provides step-by-step guidelines to conduct vulnerability assessments and to monitor changes in vulnerability over time. Repeating vulnerability assessments on a regular basis is a rather new approach and serves as a valuable tool for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of adaptation by showing whether a reduction in vulnerability has really been achieved.
Assessment of weaknesses and opportunities regarding Port Vila's vulnerability to climate change and disaster risk.
The Vulnerability and Needs Assessment (VNA) is a participatory social engagement tool that elicits information in a group setting about communities in a comprehensive, multi-sector approach. VNA’s allow for community members to identify for themselves any relevant vulnerabilities using their contextual knowledge (including those posed by climate change and natural disaster), contribute valuable baseline data about their community as well as define community priorities for development in a fairly short span of time.
“By reducing the vulnerability of Vanuatu’s vital sectors and communities now to current climate-related risks should place the country in a better position to cope with future climate change and to build sustainable ni-Vanuatu communities. The ideal approach to adaptation in Vanuatu is a pro-active, no-regrets approach which encompasses measures and strategies which can be implemented in the present with the aim of reducing vulnerability in the future.
The Republic of Vanuatu ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 09 March 1993, and submitted its Initial National Communication (INC) to the UNFCCC on 30 October 1999. Following the preparation of its INC, Vanuatu has initiated efforts to create an institutional set-up that seeks to mainstream climate change issues into the national legal frameworks. Moreover, its INC provides compelling evidence that, by global standards, Vanuatu is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise.
Vanuatu ranks as the world’s most vulnerable country due to its high exposure to natural disasters, scattered island geography, narrow economic base, inadequate communication and transportation networks, and limited capacity to cope with disasters including those caused or exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Annually Vanuatu is impacted by a number of cyclones, which are expected to become more intense under current climatic projections, with coastal communities and ecosystems being most vulnerable and impacted by these events.