Defining 'vulnerability': conflicts, complexities and implications for Coastal Zone Management

McFadden, L. and Green, C., 2007. Defining 'vulnerability': conflicts, complexities and implications for Coastal Zone Management. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 120 - 124. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 This paper argues that important insights for improved coastal management can be gained by examining complexities involved in defining vulnerable coastal environments and communities. 'Vulnerability' has emerged as an important concept in understanding and managing coastal environments: yet a significant degree of conflict has been associated to the use of the term. Definitions of 'vulnerability' have been contested in terms of the nature of, and the driving forcing underpinning, vulnerable environments. However, conflicts also surround the very concept itself, in particular efforts towards identifying a 'true' definition of the term. The paper suggests that such conflicts highlight the fact that the definition of a coast as vulnerable is not a neutral act. Conceptualising 'vulnerability' must be considered not only as a technical matter but in terms of social relationships between those involved in coastal management. This necessitates that scientists, policy-makers and other stakeholders involved in managing the coast, consider vulnerability analysis a comprehensive systems assessment of coastal environments and communities. The learning process, through which such a comprehensive assessment is achieved, is critical to creating new and more useful insights into the behaviour of the total coastal system. Simplifying vulnerability for coastal management has occurred at the cost of the essential complexity of coastal systems. If vulnerability analysis is to make a significant contribution to sustainable management of 21(st) Century coasts, we must be certain to retain this complexity in our approaches to understanding the term.