Evaluación de la vulnerabilidad socioecológica: estudio de caso en la Parroquia San Juan Cuenca, del río Chimborazo, Ecuador

Abstract

The socio-ecological aspects determined by a set of variables that capture the relative vulnerability  and act as visual tools to identify those areas susceptible to socio-environmental changes. These indexes are easy to use and interpret, and provide guidance for political decision-making within the local jurisdiction on both economic aspects and issues of conservation and monitoring of ecosystems. More specific research, on the other hand, can generate plans for risk reduction in relation to the adversities present in the area. This case study in particular , relates to the socio-ecological vulnerability  with respect to drought as a threat , therefore, this article seeks to inquire through the identification of SES aspects, the representation of each variable, scale, dynamics and interactions produced.  The use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a means of spatial aggregation and normalized vulnerability indexes contributed to the comparison of spatial distributions of data, and it was possible to identify characteristics of aggregation, but not of dispersion. The resulting vulnerability, therefore, indicates the variability of three unique and statistically independent components that provide more information regarding the normalized index , which was made by adding all the variables or SES criteria.

This tool provides relative information of the socio-ecological vulnerability, being a result that underlies the socio-ecological impacts formed by changing environmental conditions in time, such as the climate and intrinsic characteristics of the community.