Environmental Vulnerability Index

The Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) is a measurement devised by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the United Nations Environment Program and others[1] to characterize the relative severity of various types of environmental issues suffered by 243 enumerated individual nations and other geographies (such as Antarctica). The results of the EVI are used to focus on planned solutions to negative pressures on the environment, whilst promoting sustainability.

Development

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The beginning stages of the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) were developed to be appropriate for Small Island Developing States (SIDs), this theoretical idea at the time was presented by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) on February 4, 1999. The ideas and plans for The Environmental Vulnerability Index were worked on further with the creation of a (EVI) Think Tank that took place from September 7–10, 1999 in Pacific Harbour, Fiji. Expanding the (EVI) to other SIDS was aided by a meeting of experts convened in Malta on November 29 – December 3, 1999 by (SOPAC) and the Foundation for International Studies (of the University of Malta's Islands and Small States Institute) with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

During the second phase of the development, the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) was tested in five different countries. A workshop was made to expand the application of the Environmental Vulnerability Index to a demonstrative set of countries from around the world. The workshop was hosted by UNEP in Geneva, Switzerland on August 27 – August 29, 2001. Continuation of work and development on The Environmental Vulnerability Index, lead to a presentation of the first functional results with the Demonstration EVI.

Calculation

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To be able to calculate an Environmental Vulnerability Index it requires the compilation of relevant environmental vulnerability data for the 50 indicators. Once compiled then this data must be used to calculate each indicator. As the indicators are heterogeneous, include variables for which responses are numerical, qualitative and on different scales (linear, non-linear, or with different ranges) they are mapped onto a 1–7 vulnerability scale. Where data is not available, no value is given for the indicator and the denominator of the average adjusted down by one value. Where an indicator is considered 'non-applicable' in a country (such as volcanic eruptions in Tuvalu which has no volcanoes), the lowest vulnerability score of 1 is attributed to that indicator. The vulnerability scores for each indicator are then accumulated either into categories or sub-indices and the average calculated. An overall average of all indicators is calculated to generate the country EVI. The EVI is accumulated into three sub-indices: Hazards, Resistance, Damage

The 50 EVI indicators are also divided up in the issue categories for use as required: Climate change, Biodiversity, Water, Agriculture and fisheries, Human health aspects, Desertification, and Exposure to Natural Disasters.

Indicators

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  1. High Winds – Average annual excess winds over the last five years (summing speeds on days during which the maximum recorded wind speed is greater than 20% higher than the 30 year average maximum wind speed for that month) averaged over all reference climate stations.
  2. Dry Periods – Average annual rainfall deficit (mm) over the past 5 years for all months with more than 20% lower rainfall than the 30 year monthly average, averaged over all reference climate stations.
  3. Wet Periods – Average annual excess rainfall (mm) over the past 5 years for all months with more than 20% higher rainfall than the 30 year monthly average, averaged over all reference climate stations
  4. Hot Periods – Average annual excess heat (degrees C) over the past 5 years for all days more than 5°C (9°F) hotter than the 30 year mean monthly maximum, averaged over all reference climate stations.
  5. Cold Periods – Average annual heat deficit (degrees C) over the past 5 years for all days more than 5°C (9°F) cooler than the 30 year mean monthly minimum, averaged overall reference climate stations.
  6. Sea Temperatures – Average annual deviation in Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) in the last 5 years in relation to the 30 year monthly means
  7. Volcanoes – Cumulative volcano risk as the weighted number of volcanoes with the potential for eruption greater than or equal to a Volcanic Explosively Index of 2 (VEI 2) within 100 km of the country land boundary (divided by the area of land).
  8. Earthquakes – Cumulative earthquake energy within 100 km of country land boundaries measured as Local Magnitude (ML) ≥ 6.0 and occurring at a depth of less than or equal to fifteen kilometers(≤15 km depth) over 5 years (divided by land area).
  9. Tsunamis – Number of tsunamis or storms surges with run-up greater than 2 meters above Mean High Water Spring tide (MHWS) per 1000 km coastline since 1900.
  10. Slides – Number of slides recorded in the last 5 years (EMDAT definitions), divided by land area
  11. Land Area – Total land area (km2)
  12. Country Dispersion – Ratio of length of borders (land and maritime) to total land area.
  13. Isolation – Distance to nearest continent (km)
  14. Relief – Altitude range (highest point subtracted from the lowest point in country)
  15. Lowlands – Percentage of land area less than or equal to 50m above sea level
  16. Borders – Number of land and sea borders (including EEZ shared with other countries.)
  17. Ecosystem Imbalance – Weighted average change in trophic level since fisheries began (for trophic level slice ≤3.35).
  18. Environmental Openness – Average annual USD freight imports over the past 5 years by any means per km2 land area
  19. Migrations – Number of known species that migrate outside the territorial area at any time during their life spans (including land and all aquatic species) / area of land
  20. Endemics – Number of known endemic species per million square kilometer land area
  21. Introductions – Number of introduced species per 1000 square kilometer of land area
  22. Endangered Species – Number of endangered and vulnerable species per 1000 km2 land area (IUCN definitions)
  23. Extinctions – Number of species known to have become extinct since 1900 per 1000 km2 land area (IUCN definitions)
  24. Vegetation Cover – Percentage of natural and regrowth vegetation cover remaining (include forests, wetlands, prairies, tundra, desert and alpine associations).
  25. Loss Of Cover – Net percentage change in natural vegetation cover over the last five years
  26. Habitat fragmentation – Total length of all roads in a country divided by land area.
  27. Degradation – Percent of land area that is either severely or very severely degraded (FAO/AGL Terrastat definitions)
  28. Terrestrial Reserves – Percent of terrestrial land area legally set aside as no take reserves
  29. Marine Reserves – Percentage of continental shelf legally designated as marine protected areas (MPAs).
  30. Intensive Farming – Annual tonnage of intensively farmed animal products (includes aquaculture, pigs, poultry) produced over the last five years per square kilometer land area.
  31. Fertilizers – Average annual intensity of fertilizer use over the total land area over the last 5 years.
  32. Pesticides – Average annual pesticides used as kg/km2/year over total land area over last 5 years.
  33. Biotechnology – Cumulative number of deliberate field trials of genetically modified organisms conducted in the country since 1986.
  34. Productivity Over-fishing – Average ratio of productivity : fisheries catch over the last 5 years
  35. Fishing Effort – Average annual number of fishers per kilometer of coastline over the last 5 years
  36. Renewable Water – Average annual water usage as percentage of renewable water resources over the last 5 years
  37. SO2 Emissions – Average annual SO2 emissions over the last 5 years.
  38. Generated and imported toxic, hazardous and municipal wastes per square kilometer land area over the last 5 years
  39. Waste Treatment – Mean annual percent of hazardous, toxic and municipal waste effectively managed and treated over the past 5 years.
  40. Industry – Average annual use of electricity for industry over the last 5 years per square kilometer of land
  41. Spills – Total number of spills of oil and hazardous substances greater than 1000 liters on land, in rivers or within territorial waters per million km maritime coast during the last five years
  42. Mining – Average annual mining production (include all surface and subsurface mining and quarrying) per km2 of land area over the past 5 years.
  43. Sanitation – Density of population without access to safe sanitation (WHO definitions)
  44. Vehicles – Number of vehicles per square kilometer of land area (most recent data)
  45. Population – Total human population density (number per km2 land area)
  46. Population Growth – Annual human population growth rate over the last 5 years
  47. Tourists Average annual number of international tourists per km2 land over the past 5 years.
  48. Coastal Settlements – Density of people living in coastal settlements, i.e. with a city center within 100 km of any maritime or lake* coast.
  49. Environmental Agreements – Number of environmental treaties in force in a country.
  50. Conflicts – Average number of conflict years per decade within the country over the past 50 years.

List

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Rank Country Index Bracket
1   French Guiana 174 Resilient
2   Western Sahara 175 Resilient
3   Botswana 181 Resilient
4   Central African Republic 193 Resilient
5   Namibia 200 Resilient
6   Zimbabwe 200 Resilient
7   Guyana 207 Resilient
8   Mongolia 208 Resilient
9   Niger 208 Resilent
10   Djibouti 210 Resilient
11   Zambia 210 Resilient
12   Gabon 211 Resilient
13   Suriname 211 Resilient
14   Kazakhstan 215 At risk
15   Mali 215 At risk
16   Svalbard 215 At risk
17   Chad 217 At risk
18   Congo 219 At risk
19   Falkland Islands 223 At risk
20   Mozambique 225 At risk
21   Angola 227 At risk
22   Cameroon 229 At risk
23   Burkina Faso 229 At risk
24   Qatar 229 At risk
25   Mauritania 233 At risk
26   Kyrgyzstan 234 At risk
27   Antarctica 235 At risk
28   Australia 238 At risk
29   Belarus 239 At risk
30   Equatorial Guinea 243 At risk
31   Greenland 243 At risk
32   Laos 243 At risk
33   Swaziland 243 At risk
34   South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 245 At risk
35   Panama 247 At risk
36   Armenia 247 At risk
37   Bahamas 248 At risk
38   Cote d'Ivoire 248 At risk
39   Turkmenistan 249 At risk
40   Malawi 249 At risk
41   Oman 250 At risk
42   Bolivia 250 At risk
43   Canada 251 At risk
44   Papua New Guinea 251 At risk
45   Bhutan 253 At risk
46   Eritrea 254 At risk
47   Guinea 254 At risk
48   Libya 256 At risk
49   Andorra 257 At risk
50   Tanzania 257 At risk
51   Belize 258 At risk
52   Uruguay 259 At risk
53   Ethiopia 260 At risk
54   Paraguay 260 At risk
55   Georgia 261 At risk
56   Kenya 262 At risk
57   Finland 265 Vulnerable
58   São Tomé and Príncipe 265 Vulnerable
59   Somalia 265 Vulnerable
60   Peru 268 Vulnerable
61   Cambodia 270 Vulnerable
62   Latvia 270 Vulnerable
63   Myanmar 270 Vulnerable
64   Bouvet Island 271 Vulnerable
65   Guinea-Bissau 271 Vulnerable
66   Liberia 271 Vulnerable
67   Tajikistan 271 Vulnerable
68   Nicaragua 272 Vulnerable
69   Honduras 273 Vulnerable
70   Norway 273 Vulnerable
71   Russia 273 Vulnerable
72   Saudi Arabia 274 Vulnerable
73   Sudan 274 Vulnerable
74   Algeria 275 Vulnerable
75   Comoros 277 Vulnerable
76   Gambia 277 Vulnerable
77   Senegal 277 Vulnerable
78   Benin 278 Vulnerable
79   Ghana 279 Vulnerable
80   Madagascar 279 Vulnerable
81   Saint Helena 279 Vulnerable
82   Lesotho 280 Vulnerable
83   Estonia 280 Vulnerable
84   Morocco 281 Vulnerable
85   Solomon Islands 281 Vulnerable
86   Cape Verde 282 Vulnerable
87   Sierra Leone 283 Vulnerable
88   Uganda 283 Vulnerable
89   Cocos (Keeling) Islands 285 Vulnerable
90   Vanuatu 285 Vulnerable
91   Uzbekistan 286 Vulnerable
92   Argentina 287 Vulnerable
93   Chile 287 Vulnerable
94   Burundi 288 Vulnerable
95   Democratic Republic of the Congo 288 Vulnerable
96   Afghanistan 289 Vulnerable
97   Yemen 289 Vulnerable
98   New Caledonia 290 Vulnerable
99   Aruba 291 Vulnerable
100   Venezuela 291 Vulnerable
101   New Zealand 292 Vulnerable
102   Turks and Caicos Islands 292 Vulnerable
103   Togo 293 Vulnerable
104   United Arab Emirates 293 Vulnerable
105   Vatican City 293 Vulnerable
106   Heard Island and McDonald Islands 294 Vulnerable
107   British Indian Ocean Territory 295 Vulnerable
108   Colombia 296 Vulnerable
109   Faroe Islands 296 Vulnerable
110   Saint Pierre and Miquelon 296 Vulnerable
111   Egypt 298 Vulnerable
112   Iceland 298 Vulnerable
113   Rwanda 298 Vulnerable
114   Jan Mayen 300 Vulnerable
115   United States 300 Vulnerable
116   Slovakia 303 Vulnerable
117   Ecuador 304 Vulnerable
118   Mayotte 304 Vulnerable
119   Pitcairn 304 Vulnerable
120   Wallis and Futuna 304 Vulnerable
121     Nepal 305 Vulnerable
122   San Marino 305 Vulnerable
123   Bosnia & Herzegovina 306 Vulnerable
124   Mexico 306 Vulnerable
125   Tunisia 306 Vulnerable
126   Antigua & Barbuda 307 Vulnerable
127   Thailand 308 Vulnerable
128   Hong Kong 309 Vulnerable
129   Niue 309 Vulnerable
130   Jordan 310 Vulnerable
131   Sweden 311 Vulnerable
132   Anguilla 312 Vulnerable
133   Malaysia 312 Vulnerable
134   Brunei 313 Vulnerable
135   Iran 313 Vulnerable
136   Cyprus 314 Vulnerable
137   Lithuania 314 Vulnerable
138   Czech Republic 315 Vulnerable
139   Grenada 315 Vulnerable
140   Malta 316 Highly vulnerable
141   Indonesia 316 Highly vulnerable
142   North Macedonia 316 Highly vulnerable
143   Ukraine 317 Highly vulnerable
144   Ireland 318 Highly vulnerable
145   Moldova 322 Highly vulnerable
146   Bulgaria 323 Highly vulnerable
147   Kuwait 323 Highly vulnerable
148   Netherlands Antilles 323 Highly vulnerable
149   Dominican Republic 324 Highly vulnerable
150   South Africa 324 Highly vulnerable
151   Taiwan 324 Highly vulnerable
152   Bahrain 326 Highly vulnerable
153   Luxembourg 327 Highly vulnerable
154   Gibraltar 328 Highly vulnerable
155   Samoa 328 Highly vulnerable
156   Tokelau 328 Highly vulnerable
157   Cuba 329 Highly vulnerable
158   Albania 330 Highly vulnerable
159   Sri Lanka 331 Highly vulnerable
160   Monaco 332 Highly vulnerable
161   Fiji 333 Highly vulnerable
162   Puerto Rico 334 Highly vulnerable
163   Portugal 335 Highly vulnerable
164   Romania 335 Highly vulnerable
165   Nigeria 336 Highly vulnerable
166   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 337 Highly vulnerable
167   Guatemala 338 Highly vulnerable
168   Palau 338 Highly vulnerable
169   Bangladesh 340 Highly vulnerable
170   Réunion 341 Highly vulnerable
171   Montserrat 342 Highly vulnerable
172   Cayman Islands 343 Highly vulnerable
173   Croatia 343 Highly vulnerable
174   Haiti 343 Highly vulnerable
175   Iraq 344 Highly vulnerable
176   Denmark 345 Highly vulnerable
177   Liechtenstein 346 Highly vulnerable
178   El Salvador 348 Highly vulnerable
179   Marshall Islands 348 Highly vulnerable
180    Switzerland 348 Highly vulnerable
181   Christmas Island 350 Highly vulnerable
182   Syria 350 Highly vulnerable
183   Spain 352 Highly vulnerable
184   Greece 353 Highly vulnerable
185   Turkey 353 Highly vulnerable
186   Azerbaijan 354 Highly vulnerable
187   Costa Rica 354 Highly vulnerable
188   Poland 354 Highly vulnerable
189   Seychelles 355 Highly vulnerable
190   Germany 357 Highly vulnerable
191   Vietnam 357 Highly vulnerable
192   Mauritius 358 Highly vulnerable
193   Saint Kitts and Nevis 359 Highly vulnerable
194   China 360 Highly vulnerable
195   France 361 Highly vulnerable
196   Slovenia 362 Highly vulnerable
197   Hungary 363 Highly vulnerable
198   North Korea 363 Highly vulnerable
199   Martinique 364 Highly vulnerable
200   Tuvalu 367 Extremely vulnerable
201   Pakistan 368 Extremely vulnerable
202   Norfolk Island 368 Extremely vulnerable
203   Austria 369 Extremely vulnerable
204   Bermuda 373 Extremely vulnerable
205   South Korea 373 Extremely vulnerable
206   Brazil 373 Extremely vulnerable
207   United Kingdom 373 Extremely vulnerable
208   British Virgin Islands 377 Extremely vulnerable
209   Northern Mariana Islands 378 Extremely vulnerable
210   Israel 380 Extremely vulnerable
211   French Polynesia 381 Extremely vulnerable
212   Jamaica 381 Extremely vulnerable
213   Trinidad and Tobago 381 Extremely vulnerable
214   Cook Islands 383 Extremely vulnerable
215   Maldives 383 Extremely vulnerable
216   India 385 Extremely vulnerable
217   Italy 386 Extremely vulnerable
218   Belgium 387 Extremely vulnerable
219   Lebanon 387 Extremely vulnerable
220   Netherlands 388 Extremely vulnerable
221   Japan 389 Extremely vulnerable
222   Guam 390 Extremely vulnerable
223   Micronesia 392 Extremely vulnerable
224   Tonga 392 Extremely vulnerable
225   Saint Lucia 393 Extremely vulnerable
226   Kiribati 395 Extremely vulnerable
227   United States Virgin Islands 396 Extremely vulnerable
228   Philippines 402 Extremely vulnerable
229   Barbados 403 Extremely vulnerable
230   Macau 407 Extremely vulnerable
231   Guadeloupe 412 Extremely vulnerable
232   Nauru 421 Extremely vulnerable
233   Singapore 428 Extremely vulnerable
234   American Samoa 436 Extremely vulnerable

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Environmental Vulnerability Index Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Retrieved 4 November 2013.

Further reading

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