Climate change is posing emerging threats to people and the environment, particularly in arid regions. However, some groups are more vulnerable than others, depending on their levels of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, which are determined by climatic and non-climatic factors. In water-scarce environments, water policies become key non-climatic factors that affect vulnerability yet enable modifications if their impacts unintentionally exacerbate vulnerability. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the impacts of water policies on vulnerability, particularly for disadvantaged groups. In this paper, we analyze four cases in the arid Americas that illustrate an array of challenges at different scales and across the rural-urban continuum: (1) irrigated oases in Mendoza, Argentina, where groundwater and surface water management are disconnected; (2) rural communities in central Sonora, Mexico, where local water rights have been transferred to large scale mining; (3) peri-urban marginalized neighborhoods in Hermosillo, Mexico, where competition for water is driving changes in land use; and (4) underserved communities in Tucson, Arizona, USA who are left behind in a rainwater harvesting movement. Our analysis shows that water policies in arid regions interact with land and neoliberal policies between sectors across different scales, exacerbating vulnerabilities disproportionately in less privileged groups and enhancing disparities. Here, we offer recommendations for more inclusive policymaking processes that can build capacity, protect the livelihoods of disadvantaged groups, and reduce their vulnerability to climate change.

气候变化正在对人类和环境构成新的威胁，特别是在干旱地区。但是，某些群体比其他群体更脆弱，这取决于其暴露水平，敏感性和适应能力，这是由气候和非气候因素决定的。在缺水的环境中，水政策成为影响脆弱性的关键非气候因素，但如果其影响无意中加剧了脆弱性，则可以进行修改。因此，有必要分析水政策对脆弱性的影响，特别是对弱势群体的脆弱性。在本文中，我们分析了干旱的美洲地区的4个案例，这些案例说明了不同规模以及整个城乡一体化进程所面临的一系列挑战：（1）阿根廷门多萨的灌溉绿洲，地下水和地表水管理断开的地方；（2）墨西哥中部索诺拉州的农村社区，当地的水权已转移到大规模采矿中；（3）墨西哥赫莫西约的城市边缘边缘社区，那里的用水竞争推动了土地利用的变化；（4）在美国亚利桑那州图森市服务欠佳的社区，他们在雨水收集运动中被抛在后面。我们的分析表明，干旱地区的水政策与不同规模部门之间的土地政策和新自由主义政策相互影响，加剧了弱势群体的脆弱性，并加剧了差距。在这里，我们为更具包容性的决策流程提供建议，这些流程可以增强能力，保护弱势群体的生计并减少其对气候变化的脆弱性。