A vulnerability index for the natural environment, the basis of all human welfare, has been developed by

the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

and their partners. The index was developed through consultation and collaboration with countries,

institutions and experts across the globe. This index is designed to be used with economic and social

vulnerability indices to provide insights into the processes that can negatively influence the sustainable

development of countries.


The reason for using indices for this purpose is to provide a rapid and standardised method for

characterising vulnerability in an overall sense, and identifying issues that may need to be addressed

within each of the three pillars of sustainability, namely environmental, economic and social aspects of a

country’s development. Development is often achieved through trade-offs between these pillars. Therefore,

in order to promote sustainability, it has become increasingly important to be able to measure how

vulnerable each aspect is to damage and to identify ways of building resilience. With this information to

hand, the outcome for countries could be optimised for their unique situations and development goals...
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