Spatial assessment of social vulnerability in the context of landmines and explosive remnants of war in Battambang province, Cambodia. (March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hagenlocher, Michael; Hölbling, Daniel; Kienberger, Stefan; Vanhuysse, Sabine; Zeil, Peter
• Is Part Of: International journal of disaster risk reduction. Volume 15(2016)
• Page Start: 148
• Page End: 161
• Publication Date: 2016-03
• Subjects: Landmines -- Explosive remnants of war (ERW) -- Social vulnerability -- Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) -- Mine action -- Cambodia; Emergency management -- Periodicals; Risk management -- Periodicals; Disaster relief -- Periodicals; Hazard mitigation -- Periodicals; 363.34
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.11.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2212-4209

Abstract

Abstract: Despite recent progress in reducing the number of victims, landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) cause more than 3000 causalities every year, particularly affecting the most vulnerable. Current mine action programmes, however, do not consider prevailing vulnerabilities of affected communities in their priority-setting systems. We emphasise the need to consider social vulnerability in the workflow of mine action, and apply a spatially explicit approach for its assessment at a sub-national scale in Cambodia, one of the world's most heavily affected countries. Drawing on available literature and focus group discussions with domain experts, 16 socioeconomic, demographic and distance-related vulnerability indicators were identified. The Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to obtain indicator weights, revealing that using firewood for cooking, distance to hospitals and health centres, occupation in the primary sector, poverty, conflict density, illiteracy and living in a rural area are key factors shaping social vulnerability in the context of landmines and ERW. Results were visualised using both 2×2 km 2 grids and sub-district administrative units, a resolution often used by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA). The results show that social vulnerability is very heterogeneous across the study area (Battambang province) with varying contributions of the underlying indicators. Significant hot spots were identified in the central, north-western, north-eastern, and southern parts of the province. The presented approach provides the means not only to assess but also monitor progress of reconstruction measures to strengthen the resilience of communities exposed to post-conflict impacts such as landmines. Highlights: Adapted risk and vulnerability framework in the context of landmines and ERW. AHP to determine indicator weights based on local expert knowledge. Integration of multiple datasets to represent a complex, multidimensional phenomenon. Methodology for the identification of social vulnerability hot spots. Mine experts consider spatial information on social vulnerability highly relevant.