Climate change adaptation creates a significant reduction of vulnerability towards current and future climate change impacts; hence a good understanding of local vulnerabilities, the implementation of appropriate adaptation measures and the continuous review of their effectiveness are of importance. The GIZ has developed several approaches and tools to enhance adaptation to climate change among which the relatively new tool: the Vulnerability Sourcebook. This tool, among other purposes, is very useful for further implementation of the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process.
The Vulnerability Sourcebook offers practitioners a step-by-step approach to conduct vulnerability assessments and monitor and evaluate changes of vulnerability over time. It can be applied from the local to the national level and to a broad range of sectors.
The Vulnerability Sourcebook contains 8 modules, which provide detailed guidance on how to conduct a vulnerability assessment. They cover the preparation phase, the development of impact chains, the selection of indicators, how to gather the necessary data, how to process this data for vulnerability assessments, and how to present the findings. Furthermore, the Vulnerability Sourcebook highlights how practitioners can use vulnerability assessments for monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
In practice: Tracking adaptation success using the Vulnerability Sourcebook in Bolivia
Bolivia is one of the four countries where the Vulnerability Sourcebook has been piloted. Within the context of the German-Bolivian agricultural development programme PROAGRO, a vulnerability assessment was carried out in the Andean community of Chullcu Mayu. Using the approach of the Vulnerability Sourcebook, it was analysed to what extent vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate impacts had been reduced by improving the community’s irrigation systems.
Read more about the application of the Vulnerability Sourcebook in Bolivia.
