Rural, natural resource dependent communities are especially vulnerable to climate change, and their input is critical in developing solutions, but the study of risk perception within and among vulnerable communities remains underdeveloped. Our multi-disciplinary research team used a mixed-methods approach to document, analyze, and conceptualize the interacting factors that shape vulnerability and to explore community members’ perceptions of the role and relative importance of climate change compared to other factors in three rural communities in Ecuador. Economic instability, lack of access to basic services, and environmental degradation are perceived as greater threats to community well being than increasing seasonal variability and flooding. Programs and policies directed at climate change adaptation should integrate climate and non-climate related stressors. Our findings also point to a greater need for collaboration across public health, poverty alleviation, and environmental management fields through practical research targeting assistance to vulnerable populations.

中文翻译：

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厄瓜多尔农村地区对当地脆弱性和气候变化的相对重要性的看法

农村、依赖自然资源的社区特别容易受到气候变化的影响，他们的投入对于制定解决方案至关重要，但对脆弱社区内部和之间的风险认知的研究仍然不发达。我们的多学科研究团队使用混合方法来记录、分析和概念化影响脆弱性的相互作用因素，并探索社区成员对气候变化的作用和相对重要性的看法，与三个农村社区的其他因素相比厄瓜多尔。经济不稳定、缺乏基本服务和环境退化被认为是对社区福祉的更大威胁，而不是季节性变化和洪水的增加。针对气候变化适应的计划和政策应结合气候和非气候相关的压力因素。我们的研究结果还表明，更需要通过针对弱势群体的援助的实际研究，在公共卫生、扶贫和环境管理领域开展合作。