Spatial Analysis of Social Vulnerability to Environmental Risks: A Study for China Prefectures from 2000 to 2020

Xueting Li , Asian Demography Research Institute
Leiwen Jiang, Shanghai University and Population Council

Increasing environmental risks have caused adverse impacts on the livelihoods and well-being of people in both developed and developing countries, including China. While the occurrence of environmental hazards may vary across regions, people of certain regions suffer differently from the damages due to different levels of variability. Moreover, population even in the same area can differ considerably in social vulnerability because of their age, gender, level of education, occupation, and other social and economic characteristics. China is marked by its important regional differences resulting from socioeconomic and geographic inequality. Given the spatial heterogeneity of social vulnerability in China, this study aims to evaluate the regional distribution of social vulnerability in China at prefectural level based on data from the years of 2000, 2010 and 2020. Social vulnerability index (SVI) is constructed by adopting 23 demographic and socio-economic variables in 11 categories using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). Taking drought risk as an example, this paper empirically validates the applicability and usefulness of the SVI in assessing environmental risks in China. Result reveals distinctive and stable spatial heterogeneity of social vulnerability in China, although the spatial heterogeneity slightly increased between 2000 and 2020. The constructed SVI helps public and private decision-makers identify the hotspots and population subgroups that are most vulnerable to certain types of environmental risks, and inform and facilitate adequate risk prevention and management at both national and local levels.

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 Presented in Session P74. Environmental Impacts on Health