Third the assessment should inform policy. The LVI fulfils the
objective of providing a benchmarking baseline that can be used
to inform macro-policy development and resource allocation decisions
and micro-action planning for mitigation and adaptation
within communities. The LVI provides a useful evaluation tool that
gathers data on critical indicator variables. It also provides a useful
means of undertaking spatial comparisons of different communities
and gender-based comparisons at the household level. Finally,
it identifies new variables (e.g. voting patterns and access to local
government) that may be addressed in future policy discussions
about improving people’s access to services aimed at reducing vulnerability
to environmental change.