Concept of Vulnerability and Capacity

The Concept of
VULNERABILITY
and
CAPACITY
Ms. Blessie Fernandez
Vulnerability
“a set of prevailing or consequential conditions,

which adversely affect the community’s ability to
prevent, mitigate, prepare for and respond to
hazardous events.”
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (2006, p.10)

Vulnerability is present in the community or society even
before a disaster happens. It precedes disaster, contributes to
its severity, impedes disaster response and may continue to
exist long after a disaster has struck.
• Community members
-whose capacities are low
and not sufficient to
withstand and overcome the
damaging and advising
effects of disasters.
MOST vulnerable sectors::

• They are compose of:
a. Farmers
b. The urban poor
c. Laborers
d. Indigenous people
e. Persons with disabilities (PWDs)
f. Women
g. Children
• They are the so-called
abused sector and all
MOST vulnerable
the lowest level of
sectors::
society.
• They are the community
members whose capacities
skilss start from their own ability to
ability
acquire material resources;
skills and trainings; and
position in society.
• Their capacities are higher
than those in the vulnerable
sector overcome the adverse
effects of disasters.
LESS Vulnerable
Sector:
• They are composed of professionals, small entrepreneurs, and
other similar to those who belong to the higher levels of
society.
• Their role in disaster management activities is to extend
assistance and support to vulnerable sectors.
• They are sectors in society having
NOT vulnerable high position in the community.
sectors: • Most of the time, they are the
targets of the vulnerable and less
vulnerable sectors in advocacy
work relating disaster issue to the
structure and policies implemented
by the government that are the root
causes of the vulnerability of the
community.
Categories of
Vulnerabilities
Three areas of vulnerability
according to Anderson and
Woodrow (1990)
A. Physical or material
vulnerability
1. location and type of housing/ building materials

2. land, water, animals, capital, other means of production (access and
control)
3. Infractructure and services: roads, health facilities,
schools, electricity, communications, transport, housing,
etc
4. Human capital: population, morality, disease, nutritional
status, literacy, numeracy, poverty levels
5. Environmental factors: forestation, soil quality, and
erosion
B. Social Organizational
Vulnerability
1. Family structure (weak/ strong)

2. Leadership qualities and
structure
3. Legislation
4. Administrative structure and
institutional arrangements
5. Decision- making structures (who
is left out, who is in,
effectiveness)
6. Participation levels
7. Divisions and conflicts: ethnic, class, caste, religion, ideology,
political groups, language groups, and strucures for mediating
conflicts
8. Degree of justice , equality, access to political process
9. Community organizations: formal, informal,
traditional, governmental progressive
10. Relationship to government, administrative
structures
11. Isolation or connectedness
C. Attitudinal or motivational vulnerability
1. Attitude toward change
2. Sense of ability to affect their world, environment, get
things done
3. Initiative
4. Faith, determination, fighting spirit
5. Religious beliefs, ideology
6. Fatalism, hopelessness, despondency, discouragement
7. Dependent/ independent (self- reliant)
8. Consciousness, awareness
9. Cohesiveness, unity, solidarity, cooperation
10. Orientation toward past, present, future
CAPACITY
“all the strengths, attributes, and resources
available within a community, organization, or
society that can be used to achieve an agreed
goal.”
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction or

UNISDR (2009)
Preparation Mitigation Recovery
• These qualities give space to citizens and

communities to cope with, overcome the adverse
effects of, and reduce the risks of disasters through
preparation, mitigation and recovery.
Capacity Development
“the process through which the individuals,

organizations, and societies obtan, strengthen, and
maintain the capabilities to set and avhieve their
own development objectives over time.”
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2009)

Coping Capacity
“the ability of people, organizations, and systems

using available skills and resources, to face and
manage adverse conditions, emergencies or
disasters.”
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

(UNISDR, 2009)
Some examples of capacity:
a. Ownership of land and safe location and construction of

home
b. Adequate income
c. Savings
d. Adequate food sources
e. Local knowledge
f. Family and community support in times of crises
g. Responsive and local government
h. Enabling legislation
i. Strong community organizations
Capacity Assessment
“people identify resources they rely on in

times of crisis to reduce the damaging
effects of hazards and to secure the
sustainability of their livelihood.”
(Oyetunmbi, n.d., p.1)

Capacity Assessment aims to:
1. Understand people’s previous experiences with

hazards that enabled them to develop coping
strategies, and
2. Look into available resources (material,
organizational and attitudinal) that the community
uses to prepare for and to mitigate the negative
effects of a disaster.
(Oyetunmbi, n.d., p.4)

• Useful guide to gather information on both
resources and vulnerabilities of the people.
• Identifies vulnerabilities as “long-term factors

that affect a community’s ability to respond to
events or make it susceptible to disasters” and
Capacity views “people’s vulnerabilities and capacities
and in three broad, interrelated areas:
Vulnerability Analysis physical/material, social/ organizational, and
(CVA) matrix motivational/ attitudinal.” (Canon, et al., n.d., p.7)
Capacity and Vulnerability Analysis (CVA) matrix
Vulnerabilities Capacities
Physical/Material
What produce resources,
skills, and hazards exist?
Social/Organizational
What are the relations and
organizations among
people?
Motivational/Attitudinal
How does the community
view its ability to create
change?
Physical/Material Vulnerability and Capacity
This refers to the most visible area of vulnerability. It includes land, climate,
environment, health, skills and labor, infrastructure, housing, finance and
technologies. Poor people suffer from crisis more often than people who are
richer because they have little or no savings, few income or production
options and limited resources. They are more vulnerable and revover more
slowly. To understand physical/material vulnerabilites, one has to ask what
made the people affected by disaster physically vulnerable: was it their
economic activities, geographic location or poverty/ lack of resources?

Social/ Organizational Vulnerability And Capacity
How society is organized, its internal conflicts and how it manages them are
just as important as the physical/material dimension of vulnerability, but less
visible and less well understood. This aspect includes formal political structures
and the informal systems through which people get things done. Poor societies that
are well organized and cohesive can withstand or recover from disasters better than
those where there is litle of no organization and communities are divided. To
explore this aspect, one has to ask what the social structure was before the disaster
and how well it served the people when disaster struck; one can also ask what
impact disasters have on social organization.
Motivational/Organizational Vulnerability
And Capacity
This area includes how people in society view themselves and their ability to affect
their environment. Groups that share strong ideologies or belief systems or have
experience of cooperating successfully, may be better able to help each other at
times of disaster than groups without such shared beliefs or who feel fatalistic or
dependent. Crises can stimulate communities to make extraordinary efforts.
Questions to be asked here include what people’s beliefs and motivations are and
how disasters affect them (Canon, et al., n.d., p.7).
Summary
Community members and groups have different vulnerabilities
and capacities. These are determined by age, gender, class,
social class, ethnicity, language, religion, and physical location.
Identifying first hand the vulnerability and capacity of a

community/nation helps reduce the risks of disasters. Hence,
every individual is entitled to be wary of any prevailing
disaster (Mrs. Riego, 2019).

Concept of Vulnerability and Capacity

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Concept of Vulnerability and Capacity

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The Concept of

“a set of prevailing or consequential conditions,

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (2006, p.10)

MOST vulnerable sectors::

1. location and type of housing/ building materials

1. Family structure (weak/ strong)

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction or

• These qualities give space to citizens and

“the process through which the individuals,

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2009)

“the ability of people, organizations, and systems

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

a. Ownership of land and safe location and construction of

“people identify resources they rely on in

(Oyetunmbi, n.d., p.1)

1. Understand people’s previous experiences with

(Oyetunmbi, n.d., p.4)

• Identifies vulnerabilities as “long-term factors

environment, health, skills and labor, infrastructure, housing, finance and

richer because they have little or no savings, few income or production

slowly. To understand physical/material vulnerabilites, one has to ask what

made the people affected by disaster physically vulnerable: was it their

economic activities, geographic location or poverty/ lack of resources?

Identifying first hand the vulnerability and capacity of a

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