Vulnerability of Land Systems in Asia

This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of land
systems vulnerability assessment in Asia - fundamental to the
understanding of the link between global change, environmental
sustainability and human wellbeing. The extent and intensity of
human interactions with the environment have increased
spectacularly since the Industrial Revolution. Thus, the global
change research community and development practitioners
increasingly recognize the need to address the adverse consequences
of changes taking place in the structure and function of the
biosphere and the implications for society. With a focus on
Asia, this book provides an overview of the vulnerability of land
systems and the subsequent multiple stressors in this region. The
book offers a discussion surrounding the potential causal processes
that affect land systems vulnerability and our capacity to cope
with different perturbations. It also identifies factors that help
to integrate vulnerability assessment into policy and
decision-making.

• Addresses the complex issues arising from
  human-environment interactions that cannot be satisfactorily
  dealt with by core disciplinary methods alone.

• Key coverage of a variety of topics from the
  vulnerability of smallholder agriculture and urban systems to the
  impact of socioeconomic processes at the sub-regional level.

• Coverage of the causal processes that affect land
  systems vulnerability and capacity to cope with different
  perturbations are documented.

• Focus on integrating vulnerability assessment into
  policies and decision-making

• Includes contributions from leading academics in the
  field.

Auteur
Dr Ademola K. Braimoh
Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist, The World Bank
Prof. He Qing Huang
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Résumé
This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of land systems vulnerability assessment in Asia - fundamental to the understanding of the link between global change, environmental sustainability and human wellbeing. The extent and intensity of human interactions with the environment have increased spectacularly since the Industrial Revolution. Thus, the global change research community and development practitioners increasingly recognize the need to address the adverse consequences of changes taking place in the structure and function of the biosphere and the implications for society. With a focus on Asia, this book provides an overview of the vulnerability of land systems and the subsequent multiple stressors in this region. The book offers a discussion surrounding the potential causal processes that affect land systems vulnerability and our capacity to cope with different perturbations. It also identifies factors that help to integrate vulnerability assessment into policy and decision-making.

• Addresses the complex issues arising from humanenvironment interactions that cannot be satisfactorily dealt with by core disciplinary methods alone.
• Key coverage of a variety of topics from the vulnerability of smallholder agriculture and urban systems to the impact of socioeconomic processes at the sub-regional level.
• Coverage of the causal processes that affect land systems vulnerability and capacity to cope with different perturbations are documented.
• Focus on integrating vulnerability assessment into policies and decision-making
• Includes contributions from leading academics in the field.

Contenu
Editors' Introductions xiii List of Contributors xv

Preface xix

1 Land Systems Vulnerability 1
Ademola K. Braimoh and He Qing Huang

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Overview of the book 3

Acknowledgements 5

References 5

Part I Hazards and Vulnerability

2 Drought and Extreme Climate Stress on Human-Environment Systems in the Gobi Desert Mongolia 11
Troy Sternberg

2.1 Introduction 11

2.1.1 Social ecological systems 12

2.1.2 Mongolian rangelands 13

2.2 Methods 14

2.2.1 Study area 14

2.2.2 Methodology 14

2.3 Results 15

2.3.1 Spatial continuity of droughts 15

2.3.2 Dzud of 19992001 16

2.3.3 Dzud and drought: non-drought years 17

2.4 Discussion 19

2.4.1 Resilience 20

2.5 Conclusion 22

Acknowledgements 22

References 22

3 Vulnerability and Resilience of the Mongolian Pastoral Social-Ecological Systems to Multiple Stressors 27
Dennis Ojima, Togtokh Chuluun and Myagmarsuren Altanbagana

3.1 Introduction 27

3.2 The current situation 29

3.2.1 Climate conditions 29

3.2.2 Water resources 30

3.2.3 The nomadic system 31

3.2.4 Livestock changes 31

3.3 Analysis of vulnerability of critical ecosystem services 32

3.3.1 Vulnerability index of pastoral systems 32

3.3.2 Integrated zud index 32

3.3.3 Rangeland use index 33

3.3.4 Assessment of rangeland vulnerability to climate and land-use changes 34

3.4 Coping scenarios 34

3.5 Summary and conclusion 37

3.5.1 A win-win model 38

Acknowledgements 38

References 39

4 Vulnerability of Pastoral Communities in Central Mongolia to Climate and Land-Use Changes 41
T. Chuluun, M. Altanbagana, S. Davaanyam, B. Tserenchunt and D. Ojima

4.1 Introduction 41

4.2 Study sites and methodology 43

4.3 Research results 45

4.4 The results of a social survey related to the 'dryland development paradigm' 46

4.5 Pastoral social-ecological scenarios 49

4.6 Policy-related social survey 56

4.7 Discussion 59

4.8 Conclusion 60

Acknowledgements 61

References 61

5 Vulnerability Assessment Diagram: A Case Study on Drought in Middle Inner Mongolia, China 63
Xiaoqian Liu, He Yin and Ademola K. Braimoh

5.1 Introduction 63

5.2 An integrated diagram for vulnerability assessment: the VSD model 64

5.3 Case study using the VSD model 66

5.3.1 The study area 66

5.3.2 Vulnerability profile at the county level 67

5.4 Results and discussion 69

5.4.1 Relative impact of the components on the vulnerability index 69

5.4.2 Model calibration 71

5.5 Conclusion 72

References 74

6 Vulnerability of Agriculture to Climate Change in Arid Regions: a Case Study of Western Rajasthan, India 77
R.B. Singh and Ajay Kumar

6.1 Introduction 77

6.2 Climate change scenarios: global, national and local levels 78

6.3 Study area 80

6.4 Research methodology 80

6.5 Results and discussions 82

6.5.1 Climate variability 82

6.5.2 Vulnerability assessment 82

6.5.3 Vulnerability 86

6.6 Conclusion 89

References 89

7 Dendrogeomorphological and Sedimentological Analysis of Debris Flow Hazards in the Northern Zailiiskiy Alatau, Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan 91
Vanessa Winchester, David G. Passmore, Stephan Harrison, Alaric Rae, Igor Severskiy and Nina V. Pimankina

7.1 Introduction 91

7.2 Study area 93

7.3 Methods and materials 93 7.3.1 Geomorph...