ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE WITH A SPATIAL APPROACH, USING CADASTRAL INFORMATION

Abstract

The assessment, analysis, and mapping of vulnerability to climate change in agriculture constitute the basis for sustainable and resilient development. This necessitates the establishment of a climate change adaptation policy for the agricultural sector, given the priority of anticipating problems and addressing them in a timely manner.

Climate change adaptation requires precise spatial information, where land registration plays a central role by providing data on: parcel boundaries and land tenure, land uses (agricultural, urban, forestry), and critical infrastructure (rivers, roads, protected areas). The maps obtained from these models have proven to be useful and easily interpreted tools for different users, providing an evidence base for climate change and underpinning discussions on adaptation measures.

In Cuba, land registration does not yet have a long tradition of use in environmental and climate change studies, but it is emerging as an approach in interdisciplinary research that links land tenure, landscape fragmentation, and the socio-ecological vulnerability of territories. This paper proposes a method for using cadastral information in agricultural vulnerability analyses to climate change, based on the use of indicators that characterize these vulnerabilities and risks, primarily the land fragmentation indices and the Shannon Index, allowing its use to guide public policies that reduce climate risks, promote ecological connectivity, and strengthen community resilience