Hani minority social-ecological system vulnerability assessment to climate changea case study of Hani minority rural community in Honghe Prefecture,Yunnan Province
The Hani terrace in Honghe Prefecture,Yunnan Province,China,has been listed as a world natural and cultural heritage,and its adaptation to climate change is typical.A scientific evaluation of vulnerability to climate change in ethnic minority regions is significant to make climate change adaption policy and sustainable development in minority area.Aclimatelivelihood vulnerability assessment framework was built based on a vulnerability analysis framework of exposure- sensitive- adaptability proposed by IPCC.The vulnerability of the minority rural social- ecological systems to climate change was evaluated and analyzed using the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method combined the questionnaire survey data and meteorological statistics taking Hani minority area in Honghe prefecture,Yunnan Province as a case study.The results are as following:① The minority communities in rural areas would have a higher exposure to climate change (0.52),but its overall vulnerability is low (0.02).It is noted that the sensitivity of social- ecological system is lower (0.44) while local adaptability is moderate (0.48).② Social-ecological system in Hani rural area is less vulnerable to climate change due to the local sustainable social- ecological factors,traditional culture about production and living practice,efficient organization system,and low-cost collective action mechanism.③ The internal structure of sensitivity and adaptability differ from region to region,such as,natural capital,material capital,and social capital.Thus,improving the adaptability of the region from these three aspects respectively is a key to reducing vulnerability.Moreover,protecting local social-ecological system,playing the role of traditional culture and organization system,as well as increasing the public services supply at community level can help maintain the low vulnerability and enhance the adaptability to climate change in ethnic minorities area.