The purpose of the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) is to help people understand how susceptible their local ecosystems are to harm. Specifically, the index assesses the vulnerability of the environment itself to both human and natural hazards. The EVI, in other words, takes into account what is happening around you, not what is happening to you as a resident.
This tool is currently being developed at the national level, summarized by county, to make it applicable for local use. We see the EVI as a tool for helping community planners shape decisions about how to make their regions more resilient.
Eventually, the EVI will be included in the “Knowing your Community" part of HazardAware. In highly urbanized areas, for instance, community members may feel disconnected from nature and not fully understand how the ecosystem they live in can make them more or less vulnerable to both natural and human caused hazards. Our hope is that by bringing this information to the communities, we can provide mechanisms by which citizens can truly embrace a sense of place and become empowered members of their community for resilient action.
The EVI provides a snapshot of ecosystem conditions at the county level. Concerned and empowered citizens can use this information to lobby their local policy-makers to suggest the best approaches for mitigation and restoration strategies in their communities. The EVI can provide information to start grassroots conservation initiatives and green infrastructure projects that can help increase the EVI score, which can thus help increase the resilient properties of communities.
This tool is currently being developed at the national level, summarized by county, to make it applicable for local use. We see the EVI as a tool for helping community planners shape decisions about how to make their regions more resilient.
Eventually, the EVI will be included in the “Knowing your Community" part of HazardAware. In highly urbanized areas, for instance, community members may feel disconnected from nature and not fully understand how the ecosystem they live in can make them more or less vulnerable to both natural and human caused hazards. Our hope is that by bringing this information to the communities, we can provide mechanisms by which citizens can truly embrace a sense of place and become empowered members of their community for resilient action.
The EVI provides a snapshot of ecosystem conditions at the county level. Concerned and empowered citizens can use this information to lobby their local policy-makers to suggest the best approaches for mitigation and restoration strategies in their communities. The EVI can provide information to start grassroots conservation initiatives and green infrastructure projects that can help increase the EVI score, which can thus help increase the resilient properties of communities.