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

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

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
  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
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  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
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See also

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

Further reading
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