Smith, Bethany, Diedrich, Amy, and Duce, Stephanie (2026) Beyond the IPCC frameworks: advancing vulnerability and risk assessments for rural communities with the Livelihoods‑Based Risk Profiling Framework. Regional Environmental Change, 26 (3).

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Abstract

Vulnerability and risk assessments are key tools to understanding rural livelihood challenges and guiding community-based adaptation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) AR4 Vulnerability Framework has been widely applied in rural contexts but narrowly focuses on climatic hazards and overlooks key socioeconomic factors that also shape and exacerbate vulnerability. Although the IPCC’s AR5 Risk Framework seeks to address these gaps, limitations remain in its application. The Livelihoods-Based Risk Profiling Framework (LRPF) builds on the AR5 by offering a broader and more nuanced understanding of risk that better reflects the complexities of rural livelihoods. This study presents a comparative analysis of vulnerability and risk profiles generated by the IPCC frameworks and the LRPF in Solomon Islands, a context characterised by intersecting environmental and socioeconomic challenges. Results show that, compared to the AR4 and AR5, the LRPF provides richer, context-specific insights into the interconnected risks facing rural communities. Unlike the IPCC frameworks, which emphasise climatic hazards such as rainfall variability and flooding, the LRPF highlights the critical impact of non-climatic hazards such as commercial logging. Furthermore, by expanding socioeconomic indicators of human, financial, and social capital, the LRPF reveals adaptation constraints (e.g. limited financial capital) not fully captured in the IPCC profiles. Finally, by integrating qualitative data, the LRPF also exposes feedback loops between hazard exposure and livelihood vulnerability, enhancing our understanding of system dynamics. This enriched analysis can inform more robust, locally grounded adaptation strategies that are better equipped to address the complex, interconnected risks rural communities face.

Item ID:	90307
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1436-378X
Keywords:	Livelihoods-Based Risk Profiling Framework · IPCC · AR4 · AR5 · Rural livelihoods · Solomon Islands · Community-based adaptation
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.
Funders:	Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2026 23:24
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4404 Development studies > 440406 Rural community development @ 50% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410103 Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation @ 50%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1901 Adaptation to climate change > 190103 Social impacts of climate change and variability @ 50% 19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1999 Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards > 199999 Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards not elsewhere classified @ 50%
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