This work responds to the increasing global need of measuring and analyzing impacts
vulnerabilities and coping capacity of countries regions and communities regarding climate
change extreme weather conditions natural disasters and institutional constraints. The case
of Mexico analyzed in this work provides lessons for further developing countries to assess
natural disasters vulnerability for making informed adaptation decisions and to optimize
resources for reducing country and community vulnerability. This book's analyses contribute to
the current debate of the long-term economic impact of natural disasters (hurricanes
earthquakes etc.) as well as offer an integral methodology combining natural and social
sciences for studies of country and community level vulnerability to climate change. The
lessons derived from this analysis provide useful elements for the design and improvement of
governmental policies concerning social and economic development as well. In addition the
desegregation of this analysis has the advantage of facilitating the design and evaluation of
governmental projects at municipal sub-national and national level as well as provides
conceptual-empirical elements for international cooperation in matters of disaster risk
reduction climate change adaptation rural development and poverty reduction.
