Citation

NEA and UNEP-WCMC (2019) Environmental sensitivity mapping for oil & gas development: A high-level review of methodologies.

Sensitivity maps are a way of presenting spatial data on the sensitivity of assets to any given pressure, such as the sensitivity of natural assets (e.g. mangroves) to oil spills. Assets that are considered vulnerable are those that are sensitive and exposed to a given pressure. Many mapping approaches incorporate elements of vulnerability, but are still commonly referred to as sensitivity maps. Therefore, to avoid confusion, we refer to all approaches as sensitivity maps within this report. These definitions are further described below.

      - The ‘vulnerability’ of a system or asset is a function of its exposure and sensitivity to the pressure being assessed. Vulnerability also takes into account the character and magnitude of that pressure, including likelihood (Zacharias and Gregr, 2005).

      - The term ‘asset’ is used to describe a diverse array of things that society values, which may include environmental, social, economic or cultural assets (Steadman et al., 2004). ‘Sensitivity’ refers to the characteristics that describe the state of a system and the degree to which a system or asset is affected, either positively or negatively, by a given pressure, e.g. an oil spill (SMIT et al., 1999).

      - ‘Exposure’ quantifies the intensity or severity of this pressure, and the likelihood of occurrence (SMIT et al., 1999). A ‘pressure’ describes the source of impact being addressed by the sensitivity mapping methodology.

      - The ‘pressure’ could be an oil spill, the impacts of mining in an area or even potentially the impacts of drought on an area (SMIT et al., 1999).