Determination and application of drought vulnerability index in the semi-arid region of Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.1981-1268.2017v11n2.31778Resumo
The Northeast of Brazil has been affected, since the beginning of its colonization, by the droughts. However, most of the studies on drought phenomenon usually deal with physical aspects, such as its severity, extension, and periodicity, neglecting other aspects of the region such as its social, economic, cultural, and production characteristics. Considering how important it is to analyze these factors to gethering studies that investigate the vulnerabilities in the Brazilian semiarid region, this study aimed to evaluate the vulnerability to drought in the municipalities of Picuí, Sumé, and Sousa in Paraíba State, Northeast of Brazil. It was performedby adapting the vulnerability index proposed by Bhattacharya and Dass (2007), which calculates the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capability factors based on data of the municipalities, mainly those from 2010. The results obtained in this study shows that the municipality of Picuí had the highest exposure (index of 0.390), and the worst performance in sensitivity (index of 0.251). Regarding the indicator of Adaptive Capability, Sumé stood out in a negative way, with an index of 0.315. In general terms, Picuí presented the highest Vulnerability Index (0.346), followed by Sumé (0.297) and Sousa (0.287). The Vulnerability Index proved to be an adequate instrument to develop a holistic study on risk management of social and environmental disasters, and it could be used by managers and decision makers to develop public policies and to create preparation and coexistence local plans to mitigate the problems caused by the drought.
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