Article 2 of the UNFCCC explicitly acknowledges the importance of natural ecosystems, food production and sustainable economic development. This report's assessment of regional vulnerability to climate change focuses on ecosystems, hydrology and water resources, food and fiber production, coastal systems, human settlements, human health, and other sectors or systems (including the climate system) important to 10 regions that encompass the Earth's land surface. Wide vari-ation in the vulnerability of similar sectors or systems is to be expected across regions, as a consequence of regional differences in local environmental conditions, pre-existing stresses to ecosystems, current resource use patterns, and the framework of factors affecting decision making including government policies, prices, preferences and values. Nonetheless, some general observations, based on information contained in the SAR and synthesized from the regional analyses in this assessment, provide a global context for the assessment of each region's vulnerability.