The ability to identify and understand the extent of vulnerability to climate
change is an essential pre-requisite for reducing climate change impacts. This
is because a reasonable starting point for any climate adaptation process is
to assess the vulnerability of the target community or stakeholders.
Consequently, the study assesses the spatial patterns of vulnerability to
climate change in Nigeria in order to provide empirical evidence necessary for
climate change adaptation policies and strategies in the country. The data for
the research were obtained from Annual Abstract of Statistics 2009, General
Household Survey 2006 and the Nigerian Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire
Survey (CWIQ) 2006. An integrated assessment approach was employed to analyse
vulnerability of rural households’ data comprising socio-economic and
biophysical indicators aggregated at state levels. The results show that rural
households in the northern states are more vulnerable because of greater
exposure to climate induced environmental hazards and low adaptive capacity
which results from poor local economies, inadequate healthcare and education
systems and poor infrastructure. Based on the results of the assessment,
measures to prioritise and target the vulnerable states for appropriate
climate change adaptation within the context of sustainable rural development
were suggested
