The growing anthropic influence on the dynamic and natural balance of the planet and its currently changing climate has been reported in a large amount of the modern scientific literature, converging to the consensus that the impacts in the physical, economic and social dimensions still present a strong tendency to increase in the future. In this aspect, the restoration and protection of natural ecosystems, as an important strategy for reducing the risk of disasters, seems to be a crucial point for the survival of humanity. Although many studies demonstrate the strong relationship between environmental health, vulnerability, and the risk of local populations, there is a debate in the international community about the timing and effort needed to implement policies for integral protection or sustainable use of natural resources. Climate adaptation strategies necessarily involve the correct assessment of the health of ecosystems, as well as the assessment of their vulnerability and risk to climate change projected in different future scenarios. While adaptation to climate change necessarily involves, at the local level, reducing vulnerabilities to its impacts, some strategies to strengthen risk management in natural ecosystems and their neighboring populations can be shared globally.
With this aim, here we invite the submission of original research articles and also comprehensive reviews, addressing research areas and climate-perspectives including (but not limited to) the following:
- ecological vulnerability
- risk management
- risk mitigation perspectives to natural disasters
- resilient communities and strategies
- climate change adaptation
- analysis on the socio-ecological dimension of vulnerability
- anthropogenic influences on natural environments (e.g., coastal protection, pollution, erosion).
This Special Edition should also serve to disseminate and share discoveries about sustainable and smart solutions for the protection of natural ecosystems and to strengthen our adaptability to climate change. Critical reviews of the current state of ecosystems and their relationship to local communities are also invited. The objective of this Special Edition is to strengthen good practices and the advancement of methodologies and technologies, as a way of exploring sustainable and intelligent solutions for better adaptation to climate change. I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/eco_vulnerability.
