Building Resilience to Social Vulnerability

A SIDS Perspective

Objectives of presentation

Build consensus on theoretical underpinnings of social vulnerability

Examine linkages between economic, social and environmental vulnerability

Review status of work on social vulnerability Agree on actions that can help build

resilience to social vulnerability.

Theoretical underpinnings

Vulnerability refers to proneness to damage from external forces;

Economic vulnerability refers to risks faced from exogenous shocks to systems of production, distribution and consumption;

Environmental Vulnerability refers to risk of damage to natural eco-systems

Social Vulnerability

Social vulnerability reflects “…the degree to which societies or socio-economic groups are affected by stresses and hazards, whether brought about by external forces or intrinsic factors – internal and external – that negatively impacts the social cohesion of a country” (UNDP 2000).

Theoretical Underpinnings cont’d

Definition useful because it:– Establishes the link between the economy and

the society;– Stresses that hazards can be external/ internal;

avoidable/unavoidable;– Calls for a determination of the factors which

promote cohesion and/or disunity;– suggests that even those actions that seek to

build resilience, can also have an opposite effect.

Features of Social Vulnerability in SIDS

High rates of unemployment/under-employment; High dependency ratios; High poverty rates (absolute, endemic and

relative 5%-60%); Marginalisation of women, children and the

elderly; Dilution of local culture and values and their

replacement with foreign cultures and values Increased levels of crime/drug addiction

Features of social vulnerability cont’d

Increased consumption rates due to growing populations

dispersed rural settlements with implications for cost of service provision

Small populations but high population densities in urban/peri-urban/ coastal/valley areas with implications for health and sanitation

Undeveloped social sectors Susceptibility to brain – drain Susceptibility to infectious diseases

Features of social vulnerability cont’d

Vulnerability to extreme natural and man-made disasters and energy shocks

High unit costs of health, administrative education, judicial services

High transportation costs (inter and intra island) High rates of internal (rural to urban) and

international migration Low levels of educational achievement/high dropout

rates and illiteracy.

Features of Social vulnerability cont’d

Insecure food situation/high food import bill with negative dietary/health implications

Poor access to land/ links to food insecurity Aging populations with implications for

viability of social security/ health service delivery systems and transmission of values

Thinness of the insurance market

Features of social vulnerability

Underdeveloped public and private sectors Low institutional capacity due limited HR capacity; Weak development planning capacity Lack of integration between economic, social and

environmental aspects of planning Lack of integration between the national and regional

aspects of planning Lack of participation in the planning and decision-

making process Lack of effective decision-support systems

Imperatives for building resilience

Strengthening development policy analysis, formulation and implementation arrangements

Develop institutional and technical capacity to formulate and implement trade policy

Strengthening channels for continuous participation in policy and planning processes

Imperatives for Building Resilience

Establish IDP arrangements that:– Reflect a common set of guiding principles ;– Allow for incorporation of physical and/or social

impacts of economic activities or for environmental protection measures;

– Routinely incorporates environmental, social, physical and spatial consequences of planning

Imperatives for Building Resilience cont’d

Develop the capacity of key national and regional institutions;

Increase the supply, use and retention of trained human resources;

Institutionalize dynamic planning and decision-making frameworks based on participatory processes;

More participation by CSOs in dev. process

Building Resilience (cont’d)

Generate sustained and comprehensive labour market information to better guide interventions in the labour market;

Reform education systems to ensure better fit between trained HR and national/regional development goals

Enhance labour market flexibility to meet productivity/competitiveness targets

Building Resilience (cont’d)

Develop an approved social policy framework based on:- a clear understanding of how individuals or families react to

risk; - levels of risk, incomes and prices or costs of risk

management Promote the advantages of a disciplined, organised

and comprehensive approach to managing risk; Increase allocation directed at improving social

capital

Building Resilience

Develop national and sub-regional policy frameworks for poverty eradication using the sustainable livelihood approach;

Provide social safety nets for the poor; Undertake macro-economic and social

analyses of social development programmes; Enhance human and physical infrastructure

Building Resilience cont’d

Promote conflict resolution at h/hold, and community and national level

Empower marginalised groups Ensure the livelihoods and income security

of older persons Build leadership capacity at community level Better management of the expectations of

the population

Building Resilience cont’d

Facilitate the development of an internal entrepreneurial culture

Create an environment conducive to local and foreign investment

THANK YOU!!!