Review of Community Based Vulnerability Assessment Methods and Tools

This paper reviews existing participatory and community based vulnerability assessment frameworks, methodologies and tools that deal with vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The strengths and gaps in existing frameworks, tools and methods were analyzed on the basis of how they address vulnerability as a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to the impacts (consistent with the IPCC definition of vulnerability to the impacts).The review is part of the Ministry of Environment/Government of Nepal's project “Strengthening capacity for managing climate change and environment: Community based vulnerability assessment, risk mapping and adaptation planning” carried out by a consortium of INGOs in Nepal with financial support from the Asian Development Bank.