Generic and specific facets of vulnerability for analysing trade‐offs and synergies in natural resource management

Abstract The concept of vulnerability as the combination of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to a stressor is gaining traction outside of the climate realm, opening new avenues to address contemporary sustainability issues more holistically. Yet, critical notions that underpin vulnerability have yet to be integrated into its application to natural resource management and non‐climatic stressors. In particular, the way generic and stressor‐specific facets of vulnerability interact and can inform decision‐makers about how interventions combine and/or trade‐off remains unexplored. Here, we investigate the salience of the generic/specific framing in the context of Chilean artisanal fishing communities engaged in rights‐based co‐management and experiencing pressures from two stressors: poaching and market volatility. Specifically, we draw on market data combined with socio‐economic surveys conducted with 446 members and leaders from 42 fisher unions to quantitatively investigate potential trade‐offs and synergies between facets of vulnerability to poaching and markets. Generic adaptive capacity (i.e. flexibility, assets, learning, organization and agency) likely facilitated stressor‐specific adaptive capacities to both stressors. High levels of specific adaptive capacity to one stressor neither increased exposure nor undermined specific adaptive capacity to the other stressor. However, adaptive capacity did not translate into exposure reduction as expected, suggesting that adaptation barriers may prevent fishers from mobilizing adaptive capacity into effective adaptive action. This study illustrates how breaking down vulnerability into generic and specific facets can help us better anticipate important trade‐offs and synergies in management interventions. More generally, it highlights the potential of the climate adaptation and vulnerability literatures in informing place‐based management of natural resources. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.