What Is Vulnerability

What is Vulnerability
Vulnerability describes the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or

asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. There are many aspects
of vulnerability, arising from various physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
Examples may include:
 poor design and construction of buildings,

 inadequate protection of assets,
 lack of public information and awareness,
 limited official recognition of risks and preparedness measures, and
 disregard for wise environmental management.
Vulnerability varies significantly within a community and over time. This definition identifies
vulnerability as a characteristic of the element of interest (community, system or asset)
which is independent of its exposure. However, in common use the word is often used more
broadly to include the element’s exposure.
The above explanation was taken from the United Nations (UN) International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction. Follow the link to look up other
terminologies.
There are four (4) main types of vulnerability:
1. Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population density levels,

remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure
and for housing (UNISDR).
Example: Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more
vulnerable to fire.
2. Social Vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to

withstand adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent in social interactions,
institutions and systems of cultural values. It is linked to the level of well being of
individuals, communities and society. It includes aspects related to levels of literacy and
education, the existence of peace and security, access to basic human rights, systems of
good governance, social equity, positive traditional values, customs and ideological beliefs
and overall collective organizational systems (UNISDR).
Example: When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and differently-able,
may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
3. Economic Vulnerability. The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the

economic status of individuals, communities and nations The poor are usually more
vulnerable to disasters because they lack the resources to build sturdy structures and put
other engineering measures in place to protect themselves from being negatively impacted
by disasters.
Example: Poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live
in safer (more expensive) areas.
4. Environmental Vulnerability. Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are

key aspects of environmental vulnerability.
Example: Wetlands, such as the Caroni Swamp, are sensitive to increasing salinity from sea
water, and pollution from stormwater runoff containing agricultural chemicals, eroded soils,
etc.
capacity is the ability of someone or something to hold something.
What is capacity?
It is important to emphasize people's capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover
from disasters, rather than simply focusing on the vulnerability that limits them. Like
vulnerability, capacity depends on social, economic, political, psychological,
environmental and physical assets and the wider governance regimes (DFID, 2004) -
and like vulnerability it can be described using different terms.
For instance, capacity is sometimes described as the opposite of vulnerability, but this
overlooks the fact that even poor and vulnerable people have capacities (Wisner et al.,
2012; Shepard et al., 2013). Indeed, the starting point for capacity development is the
existing knowledge, strengths, attributes and resources individuals, organizations or
society has. Capacity may include infrastructure, institutions, human knowledge and
skills, and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and management
(UNISDR, 2017).
A related concept is ‘coping capacity’, which is the ability of people, organizations and
systems, to use available skills and resources, to manage adverse conditions, risk or
disasters. The capacity to cope requires continuing awareness, resources and good
management, both in normal times as well as during crises or adverse conditions
(UNISDR, 2017). Coping capacity also depends on adequate household assets and
supportive social and governance relations (DFID, 2004) and can be thought of as a
component of wider capacity development for disaster risk reduction.
Capacity development is the process by which people, organizations and society

systematically stimulate and develop their capacities over time to achieve social and
economic goals. It is a concept that extends the term of capacity -building to encompass
all aspects of creating and sustaining capacity growth over time. It involves learning and
various types of training, but also continuous efforts to develop institutions, political
awareness, financial resources, technology systems and the wider enabling environment
(UNISDR, 2017).
How do we measure capacity?

Capacity assessment is the process by which the capacity of a group is reviewed against
desired goals, where existing capacities are identified for maintenance or strengthening
and capacity gaps are identified for further action. (UNISDR, 2017). Capacity resides at
three related levels: in individuals, in organizations and in the overall working
environment within which individuals and organizations operate - ‘the enabling
environment’ (UNDP, 2010), which strongly relates to the concept of resilience. Each of
these can be an entry point for capacity assessment:
Enabling environment
Sometimes referred to as the ‘societal’ or ‘institutional’ level, capacities at the level of the
enabling environment relate to the broader system within which individuals and
organizations function (UNDP, 2009). Understanding the enabling environment can be
obtained from the ‘institutional analysis’, ‘power analysis’ or ‘drivers of change analysis’
increasingly being undertaken by donor organizations as the basis for country assistance
plans (OECD DAC, 2006).
Capacities at the level of the enabling environment relate to all the rules, laws and
legislation, policies, power relations and social norms (UNDP, 2009). Governments,
civil society and the private sector therefore have an opportunity and obligation to work
together to commit to a safer future (UNISDR, 2015a), and therefore their capacity for
engagement can be assessed across all sectors (e.g. climate change, finance, planning)
and levels (e.g. small and medium enterprise, farmers, insurers).
The Organizational Level
This level is a common entry point for capacity assessment (UNDP, 2008). This level
relates to the internal structure, policies, systems and procedures that determine an
organization's effectiveness and ability to deliver on its mandate and allow individuals to
work together (UNDP, 2009). Organizational level capacities help develop and apply
internal policies, arrangements, procedures and frameworks, which is necessary to
deliver the organization's mandate (UNDP, 2010).
Organizational level capacities help develop and apply internal policies, arrangements,
procedures and frameworks, which are necessary to deliver the organization's mandate
(UNDP, 2010). It is not only about skills, but also incentives and governance. People
and organizations can have strong or weak incentives to change, develop and learn, as a
result of their environment or internal factors (Datta et al., 2012).
The Individual Level
This level relates to the skills, experience and knowledge of people that allow them to
perform. Capacity assessment at this level is commonly implemented by researchers and
non-governmental organizations working at the local level, as well as by some local level
governments. However, individual capacity has to be understood within the context of
both the organizational level and enabling environment.
Four key issues common to most capacity assessments are institutional arrangements,
leadership, knowledge and accountability. Not every assessment needs to cover all four
of these issues, but they should be at least considered when defining the scope of an
assessment.

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What is Vulnerability

Vulnerability describes the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or

 poor design and construction of buildings,

There are four (4) main types of vulnerability:

1. Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population density levels,

2. Social Vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to

3. Economic Vulnerability. The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the

4. Environmental Vulnerability. Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are

capacity is the ability of someone or something to hold something.

Capacity development is the process by which people, organizations and society

How do we measure capacity?

The Organizational Level

The Individual Level

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