AbstractsGeography &GIS

Throughout the project an examination of vulnerability to climate change is performed. The examination will be based on fieldwork in two villages in Central Vietnam, including 18 qualitative interviews, focusing on accounts by the villagers on the lives and livelihood strategies. The examination draws on theoretical approaches and conceptualizations from scholars within the field of vulnerability research, and focuses especially on the social dimensions that cause the villagers to be more vulnerable to climate changes. This is performed through an analysis of the possibilities constituted for the villagers in their social environment, as well as an analysis of the adaptation strategies applied in order to reduce the increased vulnerability caused by climate change. The examination concludes that the interaction between social, cultural, political and economic aspects, are highly determinant in assessing the level of vulnerability to climate change. A lack of stabile income sources due to high sensitivity to variations in climate, lead to financial instability, reducing the level of resilience of the villagers. These variations in climate are constantly forcing the villagers to apply adaptive strategies in order to sustain their livelihoods. Advisors/Committee Members: Fog Olwig, Mette (advisor).