Climate Variability and Demographic and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in Southern Brazil, 1980-2010: a TerraPop Case Study

Susana Beatriz Adamo, Columbia University
Catherine A. Fitch, University of Minnesota
Tracy Kugler, University of Minnesota

Climate variability affects and impacts human society in different ways, depending on the underlying socioeconomic and demographic vulnerability of specific places, social groups, households and individuals. This differential vulnerability presents spatial and temporal variations, and is rooted in historical patterns of development and relations between human and ecological systems. This paper aims to (a) identify and map critical areas or hotspots of vulnerability to climate variability and its evolution over time (1980-2010), and (b) identify internal variation or differential vulnerability within these areas, using newly available integrated data from the Terra Populus project. These data will include geo-referenced climate data, and data describing demography and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals, households and places. This study will focus on Southern Brazil –Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul – and will assess the impact of climate variability on livelihoods and well-being, and their changes over time and across space, for rural and urban populations.