IUPA: a tool for the evaluation of the general usefulness of practices for adaptation to climate change and variability

A prototype multi-purpose index is proposed for use in the evaluation of practices for adaptation to climate variability and change. The Index of Usefulness of Practices for Adaptation (IUPA) allows the user to assign weights and scores to a set of user-defined evaluation criteria. Individual criter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Natural hazards (Dordrecht) 2009-08, Vol.50 (2), p.211-233
Main Authors: Debels, P, Szlafsztein, C, Aldunce, P, Neri, C, Carvajal, Y, Quintero-Angel, M, Celis, A, Bezanilla, A, Martínez, D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil Engineering
Climate adaptation
Climate change
Climate variability
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Environmental Management
Exact sciences and technology
Geophysics/Geodesy
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrogeology
Indexes
Natural Hazards
Natural hazards: prediction, damages, etc
Original Paper
Studies
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Summary:A prototype multi-purpose index is proposed for use in the evaluation of practices for adaptation to climate variability and change. The Index of Usefulness of Practices for Adaptation (IUPA) allows the user to assign weights and scores to a set of user-defined evaluation criteria. Individual criterion scores are aggregated into a final index value. Both the final value and the individual parameter scores provide useful information for improved decision making in the context of climate change. An innovative aspect of IUPA is that guidance is given to the user through the inclusion of recommendations on evaluation criteria and criterion-specific weight factors. These have been defined by a panel of experts from the Latin-American and Caribbean Region (LAC). Application of the index is demonstrated for an existing adaptation practice from the Coquimbo Region, Chile. The IUPA tool is recommended for use in the evaluation of adaptation practices in their design, implementation and post-implementation phase. It is practical for a quick first assessment or when limited financial resources are available, making the tool especially useful for practitioners in the developing world. The index is flexible both from the perspective of its construction and use. Additional expert opinions can easily be included in the future versions of the tool.
ISSN:1573-0840
0921-030X
1573-0840
DOI:10.1007/s11069-008-9333-4