Assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change

The UNEP Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adapt ation Strategies provides an elaboration of the IPCC Technical Guidelines f or Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations. This paper presents th e concepts and ideas that underpin the chapter Coastal Zones of the UNEP Ha ndbook. Particular emphasis is given to the conceptual framework, which is centered around the concept of vulnerability. Further, the IPCC Common Meth odology for Assessing Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise is evaluated and compared with the Technical Guidelines. One notable difference between the 2 approaches concerns the use of scenarios. In the Common Methodology s cenarios are prescribed, while the Technical Guidelines allow users maximum freedom in selecting and developing scenarios. Finally, the paper discusse s 3 levels of increasingly complex assessment in coastal zones. As more exp erience is acquired, coastal databases improve and better analytical tools and techniques are developed, more comprehensive and integrated assessments will become feasible.