Julia Beier
On the occasion of International Youth Day, we spoke to Julia Beier about her research on social vulnerability to heat and flood risks in Austria.
How does your research on social vulnerability to heat and flood risks help civil protection agencies understand and address the specific needs of vulnerable populations?
In the DISCC-AT project, "Assessing the Distributional Effects of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Austria," the goal is to identify and assess the intersectional drivers of social vulnerability in the context of heat and flood. These factors are developed into storylines and archetypes of vulnerable households in Austria. To effectively protect vulnerable groups from climate risks, it is crucial to identify who is the most vulnerable in a specific context in order to develop targeted measures at various levels.
What are the key insights from your study, and how can the knowledge generated inform the development of targeted and equitable adaptation measures?
Key insights include the identification of intersecting vulnerability drivers, such as, low income, elderly age, tenancy, precarious employment, pre-existing health conditions, or disability. This can allow for more targeted preparedness and emergency measures and efficient allocation of resources during response efforts. We can also identify hotspots of certain indicator combinations to ensure that interventions can reach people in Austria where it is most needed.
The combination of in-depth insights on recurring indicator combinations from interviews with stakeholders working with vulnerable groups (narratives) and results from a high-resolution quantitative clustering for Austria determining where and how many people are affected can guide policymakers and practitioners to address specific vulnerability factors and their root causes through interventions that are socially just and benefit the most vulnerable groups.
Fostering bottom-up approaches through engaging with vulnerable communities in the planning, development, and implementation of such interventions can help to address vulnerability.
What significant insights or lessons did you gain from attending the 3rd International Conference on Natural Hazards and Risks, and how has your participation enriched your approach to developing narratives and storylines of vulnerability?
The conference emphasised the importance of integrating local knowledge and community perspectives into vulnerability assessments. This reinforced the value of our participatory approach and the need for stakeholder engagement in developing just and targeted adaptation measures and to increase adaptive capacities of private households where most needed. It also provided new methodological perspectives and enhanced our understanding of different best practices in qualitative and quantitative vulnerability assessments – including the use of narratives. This has enriched our approach by incorporating more diverse viewpoints and refining our narrative development process for the rest of the project.
What are the key takeaways from your research that should be prioritised by the civil protection community to ensure more just and targeted adaptation pathways?
While physical vulnerability assessments and related measures are important, addressing social vulnerability is also crucial to prevent further disadvantaging vulnerable groups. Therefore, in our research, we learned about the importance of assessing the impacts of interventions on vulnerable groups and integrate climate/risk-management and social policies for just and targeted adaptation pathways. Fostering bottom-up approaches through engaging with vulnerable communities in the planning, development, and implementation of such interventions can help to address vulnerability.