Editorial: Climate change vulnerability, adaptation, and human settlements – Frontiers

Report on Climate Change Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Human Settlements in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Aligning Climate Adaptation with Global Sustainability Targets

Global climate change presents a significant impediment to the sustainable development of human settlements, directly challenging the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adapting to climate impacts is critical for ensuring progress is not reversed, particularly concerning SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Human settlements have historically faced environmental pressures such as urban flooding, water scarcity, and coastal erosion. Climate change exacerbates these issues, making adaptation a central component of local, national, and global development plans. Effective strategies must be built upon a comprehensive understanding of location-specific vulnerabilities to create resilient habitats for a growing global population.

Vulnerability and Inequality in Human Settlements

Disproportionate Impacts on Vulnerable Populations (SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 10)

The susceptibility of human settlements to climate-related risks is increasing globally, with a disproportionate burden falling on developing nations and vulnerable communities. This trend directly threatens progress on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

• Geographic Hotspots: Regions facing acute risks include Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), Southeast Asia, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These areas are characterized by a combination of high exposure to climate hazards, poverty, and fragile institutions.
• Socio-economic Factors: Vulnerability assessments must incorporate economic, social, environmental, and cultural dimensions. Settlements with dense infrastructure, high population concentrations, and limited institutional capacity are particularly susceptible.
• Gender-Differentiated Vulnerability: To advance SDG 5 (Gender Equality), it is crucial to utilize gender-disaggregated data to identify and address the root causes of differing vulnerabilities between genders.

Critical Research and Implementation Gaps

Despite growing attention to climate resilience, significant gaps hinder the development of effective and equitable adaptation strategies. Addressing these is essential for meeting SDG targets.

1. Data Deficiencies: A lack of disaggregated and longitudinal data limits the understanding of how vulnerability evolves and varies across gender, age, and socio-economic groups.
2. Knowledge Integration: Local and indigenous knowledge systems are insufficiently integrated into formal adaptation planning, representing a missed opportunity for context-specific solutions.
3. Informality: The role of informal settlements and governance systems is often overlooked, despite their significant influence on resource access and adaptive capacity.
4. Adaptation Finance: Funding remains skewed toward large-scale infrastructure and mitigation, with inadequate investment in social and community-based interventions that support the most vulnerable.

A Strategic Framework for Climate-Resilient Development

Integrated Adaptation Strategies for Sustainable Communities (SDG 11, SDG 13)

Building climate-resilient settlements requires a multi-faceted approach that integrates physical, social, and institutional strategies. These actions are fundamental to achieving the targets of SDG 11 and SDG 13.

• Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Developing robust infrastructure, including climate-smart building codes and early warning systems.
• Nature-Based Solutions: Implementing ecosystem-based adaptations such as green roofs and flood-retaining parks, which support SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
• Community-Based Adaptation: Empowering local communities to lead adaptation efforts, ensuring that strategies are tailored to local needs and integrate indigenous knowledge.
• Water Governance: Addressing water quality issues and scarcity, a key component of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

Strengthening Governance and Partnerships (SDG 16, SDG 17)

The success of adaptation is contingent on effective governance, adequate financial resources, and multi-level coordination. Fragmented governance remains a primary constraint to inclusive adaptation efforts.

• Multi-Scalar Governance: Coordinated and inclusive governance models are needed to bridge the gap between top-down planning and bottom-up resilience, fostering collaboration across local, regional, and national levels as envisioned in SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
• Equitable Planning: Adaptation must be equitable, ensuring that marginalized groups, including the urban poor, indigenous communities, and women, are actively involved in decision-making processes.
• Global Partnerships: Scaling up funding and implementation requires robust global partnerships, aligning with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), to support systemic approaches that combine infrastructure, ecosystem resilience, and inclusive governance for transformative outcomes.

Conclusion: A Research Agenda for a Sustainable Future

Priorities for Research and Action

To accelerate progress, a focused research agenda is necessary. The Research Topic on “Climate Change Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Human Settlements” highlights key priorities that align with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Key Areas of Interest:

1. Climatic change impacts in human settlements
2. Ecosystem-based adaptation (SDG 14, SDG 15)
3. Community-based adaptation (SDG 11)
4. Disaster risk management
5. Water quality issues and challenges (SDG 6)
6. Urban densification and rural housing subsidies

By addressing these research areas and bridging the identified gaps in data, finance, and governance, the global community can advance the development of inclusive, safe, and resilient human settlements, ensuring that climate action reinforces the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

Explanation of Relevant SDGs

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  The article connects climate vulnerability directly to poverty, noting that “Sub-Saharan Africa faces acute risks due to persistent poverty” and that adaptation strategies must protect “the urban poor.” It also mentions “rural housing subsidies” as a relevant topic, which is a measure aimed at alleviating poverty.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  The article explicitly highlights the gender dimension of climate vulnerability. It calls for the use of “gender-disaggregated vulnerability data” to understand “gender-differentiated vulnerability” and emphasizes that adaptation must be equitable, ensuring marginalized groups, including “women,” are “actively involved in planning and decision-making.”

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  The article identifies “water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions” as a significant challenge for human settlements, exacerbated by climate change. It also lists “Water quality issues and challenges” and the need for improved “water governance” as key areas of interest and research.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  A central theme is the unequal distribution of climate impacts. The article states that vulnerability is “highly uneven across the globe,” disproportionately affecting the “Global South,” “developing nations,” “Small Island Developing States,” and “socio-economically vulnerable populations.” It calls for “social equity” and “inclusive” adaptation to address these disparities.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  This is the most central SDG, as the article’s entire focus is on “human settlements” (urban, rural, and coastal). It discusses numerous related issues, including “urban flooding,” “slum settlements,” “climate-sensitive urban planning,” “urban densification,” and making settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable in the face of climate change.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The article is fundamentally about climate action, specifically focusing on adaptation. It discusses the need to “strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity,” integrate “climate change measures into national policies,” and develop “effective adaptation strategies” for human settlements worldwide.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article points to institutional weaknesses as a key driver of vulnerability, mentioning “fragile institutions” and “fragmented multi-scalar governance” as constraints. It calls for “inclusive” and “participatory” decision-making and “coherent, multi-level governance models” to support effective adaptation.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article underscores the need for partnerships and resources. It discusses the gap in “adaptation finance,” the need for “multi-scalar coordination among local, national, and global actors,” and the role of “geospatial technologies” and “artificial intelligence” in improving adaptation efforts, all of which require collaboration and resource mobilization.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Identified SDG Targets

1. Target 1.5: “By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events…”

   This target is directly addressed by the article’s focus on reducing the vulnerability of human settlements, especially for the “urban poor” and those in “developing nations” who are most exposed to climate hazards like “urban flooding” and “droughts.”

2. Target 5.5: “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making…”

   The article supports this target by insisting that adaptation must be equitable and that “marginalized groups (e.g., indigenous communities, urban poor, and women) are actively involved in planning and decision-making.”

3. Target 6.4: “By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity…”

   This is relevant to the article’s identification of “water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions” as a major challenge for human settlements that is worsened by climate change.

4. Target 11.1: “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.”

   The article’s mention of “rural housing subsidies” and the vulnerability of “informality whether in slum settlements” connects directly to this target of improving housing and upgrading informal settlements.

5. Target 11.5: “By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected…caused by disasters…with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.”

   This is a core theme, as the article discusses “disaster risk management” in the context of climate-related hazards like “urban flooding,” “coastal erosion and sea-level rise,” and aims to reduce the susceptibility of human settlements.

6. Target 11.b: “…substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards…adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters…”

   The article explicitly calls for this by advocating for the integration of adaptation into “long-term spatial planning and disaster risk reduction policies” and the use of “risk assessment and adaptation planning toolkits” by national and local governments.

7. Target 13.1: “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.”

   This is the central thesis of the article, which explores various ways to enhance the resilience of human settlements through “nature-based and infrastructural adaptation strategies,” “community-based approaches,” and “climate-resilient infrastructure.”

8. Target 13.2: “Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.”

   The article directly supports this by highlighting the need for adaptation to be based on “National Climate Change Response insights” and for “national adaptation measures” to be prioritized and complement existing government policies.

9. Target 16.7: “Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.”

   This is addressed by the article’s critique of “fragmented multi-scalar governance” and its call for “inclusive governance,” “community-based adaptation,” and the active involvement of “marginalized groups” in planning processes.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Identified or Implied Indicators

1. Use of disaggregated data: The article explicitly identifies a “lack of disaggregated and longitudinal data” across “gender, age, and socio-economic groups” as a critical research gap. Therefore, the collection and use of such data is an implied indicator for measuring progress on equity in adaptation (relevant to Targets 5.5 and 10.2).
2. Adoption of national and local adaptation plans: The article discusses how “National and local governments can employ a variety of risk assessment and adaptation planning toolkits.” The number of governments adopting and implementing these plans serves as a direct indicator of progress (relevant to Targets 11.b and 13.2).
3. Integration of indigenous knowledge: The article notes that “local and indigenous knowledge systems are insufficiently integrated into formal adaptation planning.” The extent to which these knowledge systems are formally included in plans is a qualitative indicator of more inclusive and effective adaptation (relevant to Targets 11.b and 13.b).
4. Allocation of adaptation finance: The article critiques how “adaptation finance remains skewed toward infrastructure and mitigation, with inadequate attention to social and community-based interventions.” Tracking the flow and allocation of finance to different types of adaptation, especially community-based projects, is a key implied indicator (relevant to SDG 17).
5. Development of coherent governance models: The article points to “fragmented multi-scalar governance” as a major constraint. The development and implementation of “coherent, multi-level governance models that support inclusive and context-specific adaptation pathways” is a proposed solution and thus an indicator of institutional progress (relevant to Target 16.7).

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: frontiersin.org