A framework for assessing the potential effectiveness of adaptation policies: Coastal risks and sea-level rise in the Maldives

Gussmann, Gerónimo; Hinkel, Jochen

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2020.09.028

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Such infrastructure projects are usually supported by different international organizations and projects, providing required external financial and knowledge resources. Since 2012, the EIA Regulation of the Maldives requires to assess the (adverse) impact of such infrastructure project on the environment, but quality and compliance to EIA policies -also for example in the tourism sector 22 -are traditionally weak 23 and have extensively promulgated technical fortification of many inhabited islands in the Maldives 7,9,13 .…”

Section: National Politic Perspective On Coastal Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Endorsing hard coastal protection is common in SIDS 14 , inheriting both, their top-down governance structure as well as their dependency on international funding, from their colonial legacy. In the Maldives, consequent consideration of hard structures and acceptance of their associated adverse impacts on the environment is historically grown, and ill-prepared policies and policy compliance is projected to continually exist 13,23 . Yet, in both cases, transcribing inappropriate mainland design criteria to sensitive reef environments have caused an insufficient level of coastal protection on small islands in the past.…”

Section: Maldevelopment Adds On Top Of Future Risk Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…By framing stakeholder consultation as project risk mitigation instead of equitable part of decision making, the ESIA epitomizes the deficits of prescribing development projects in a top-down manner and lacks to provide a solution acceptable for the society and suitable for the environment. Somewhat arbitrary compliance with national EIA guidelines is commonplace in the Maldives, leading to questionable assessments regularly 23 and ultimately failing to address the root causes of adverse impacts on reef environments. Such repeatedly and systematically provoked maladaptive actions go beyond the initial scope of maladaptation.…”

Section: Maldevelopment Adds On Top Of Future Risk Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…But analyzing the Maldivian situation disclosed that socio-political 2/33 dynamics leading to human pressures have grown historically within the last decades and, under the current policy pathway, these adverse dynamics will remain to govern changes considerably in the future -besides climate change related pressures 13 . While recent studies found deficient coastal adaptation policies and policy compliance in the Maldives 22,23 , this study scrutinizes the impact of such deficits in practice. It epitomizes maldevelopment and portraits structurally embedded maldevelopment within the socio-political system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…List of reports, EIAs and ESIAs on the environment, coastal protection and adaptation on Fuvahmulah. Laws and policy regulations on coastal risks and sea-level rise in the Maldives are assessed according to the framework of Gussmann and Hinkel23 .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Climate change induced effects or maldevelopment: small islands and conflicting attribution of root causes

David¹,

Hennig²,

Ratter³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Adapting to sea level rise, climate change, and associated effects is especially challenging in sensitive small-island environments where false adaptation can lead to adverse impacts on natural and societal dynamics. Framing and interest play a decisive role for the successful implementation of any adaptation measures. An interdisciplinary perspective on the interaction of natural dynamics, societal demands, and political decisions is crucial. This study scrutinizes the coastal processes and socio-political dimensions of erosion on the reef island Fuvahmulah, the Maldives. The national government and Fuvahmulah's population have opposed perception and attribution about the cause and effect of the retreating shoreline. To review these perceptions and determine the drivers and processes behind Fuvahmulah's most pressing coastal issue, natural dynamics are recreated with process-based numerical methods and discussed regarding the present and projected sea levels and wave climate. The numerical results are based on high resolution digital elevation models from airborne imagery and in-situ bathymetric measurements. Interviews with national and local actors in coastal development and population surveys complement the physical insights into erosion on the island and scrutinize the socio-political dimension of climate change adaptation on small islands. The results of the interdisciplinary approach demonstrate how small-islands' adaptive capacities are typically impaired in dealing with climate-related changes, they reveal the structural challenges of top-down processes, and disclose the potential of local knowledge to overcome maldevelopment.

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Section: National Politic Perspective On Coastal Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Maldevelopment Adds On Top Of Future Risk Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Maldevelopment Adds On Top Of Future Risk Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Climate change induced effects or maldevelopment: small islands and conflicting attribution of root causes

David¹,

Hennig²,

Ratter³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A new framework for rapidly assessing national adaptation policies: an application to small island developing states in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

et al. 2022

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Adapting to climate change is becoming a routine and necessary component of planning at all levels. In the case of small island developing states (SIDS), the successful development, implementation and evaluation of national-level adaptation policies are especially important because of their disproportionate vulnerability. The status of adaptation policies in these countries, however, is poorly understood and documented, particularly for the Atlantic, Indian Oceans, Mediterranean and South China Seas (AIMS) region. This is so largely because of minimal mainstream research interest in these small nations. This paper helps fill this gap. It develops an Adaptation Policy Assessment Framework that facilitates a rapid qualitative assessment of countries’ national adaptation policies. It applies the framework to seven representative policies across six of the nine SIDS in the AIMS region—Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles and Singapore. It finds that countries are mostly successful in identifying climate and climate-related vulnerabilities and linking associated risks to other national development priorities such as poverty reduction. Countries, however, struggle with establishing and maintaining systems to review and improve adaptation interventions, which is not entirely unique to them or their circumstances. This paper’s findings provide critical points of reflection for countries preparing and revising their National Adaptation Plans in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They also contribute to a broader understanding of the complexities of climate policy development in small jurisdictions.

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Small islands and climate change: analysis of adaptation policy in the Cayman Islands

Johnston

Cooper

2022

Reg Environ Change

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Small, low-lying islands are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and development of effective adaptation strategies is regarded as an urgent need. Through an analysis of existing and emerging climate adaptation policies, this paper assesses the climate adaptation response in the Cayman Islands. Despite its strong economic status and several developments in the areas of Planning, Environment and Tourism, alongside a draft Climate Change Policy, the study reveals a focus on symbolic policies and a lack of adopted “concrete” climate change adaptation policies. Although the draft National Climate Change Policy (2011) contains a comprehensive range of substantial policies, none has been formally adopted by the Cayman Islands Government. The practical implications of this situation in the face of climate change-related hazards are assessed in the context of Seven Mile Beach, the most heavily developed stretch of the Cayman Islands coast. Here, the prevailing response to shoreline change is stabilisation and, despite several opportunities to change the situation, recent policy developments have not stimulated changes in practice.

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A framework for assessing the potential effectiveness of adaptation policies: Coastal risks and sea-level rise in the Maldives

Cited by 27 publications

References 22 publications

Climate change induced effects or maldevelopment: small islands and conflicting attribution of root causes

Climate change induced effects or maldevelopment: small islands and conflicting attribution of root causes

A new framework for rapidly assessing national adaptation policies: an application to small island developing states in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Small islands and climate change: analysis of adaptation policy in the Cayman Islands

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