Between tinkering and transformation: A contemporary appraisal of climate change adaptation research on the world's islands

Abstract

Islands are at the center of discourses on climate change. Yet despite extensive work on diverse island systems in a changing climate, we still lack an understanding of climate change-related responses amongst islands and what shifting from what might be called “tinkering” (perhaps heat warnings) to “transformational” adaptation (perhaps relocation) means for these vastly different landmasses which are often grouped together by default. Through a systematic review of the climate change adaptation scientific literature, this paper critically reflects on how considering islands as a homogenous ensemble and the use of buzzwords such as “transformational adaptation” may be problematic for diverse island realities under climate change. Our findings show that the adaptation evidence base actually provides literature on contrasting island types and cultural and political contexts, including Small Island Developing States as well as other island territories. This study finds research gaps with respect to regions (e.g., South America, Africa, and Mediterranean) and that there is overall both little evidence of and a lack of context-specific definitions of transformational adaptation in island contexts. The adaptation literature does not yet fully reflect the experiences or needs of islands regarding transitions and transformations throughout history.

Participatory justice and climate adaptation for water management in Small Island Developing States: a systematic literature review and discussion

“…The success of future climate adaptation initiatives can be strengthened by responding to local communities drawing on their experiences of past initiatives, as they are best placed to identify proposed adaptation measures that have a greater or lesser likelihood of efficacy. This consolidates the calls put forward by Nunn and Kumar (2018) and by Petzold et al (2023) who highlight the importance of responding to the distinct cultural contexts in which these efforts are made. To ensure that the available technical solutions for climate adaptation are effective in their response to community needs, community engagement across the whole community is critical.…”

“…Although earlier reviews of climate adaptation in SIDS do include aspects of water management in SIDS (i.e. see Mycoo et al (2022), Petzold et al (2023), Klöck and Nunn (2019)), we believe that the present paper is the widest review to date of that specific subject.…”

“…As climate change intensifies, this will result in wide-ranging impacts on society and ecosystems, but the impacts vary greatly between different locations. It is widely acknowledged that atolls, especially those in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, with limited financial and other resources, are likely to experience some of the most severe effects because of climate change (Mycoo et al 2022;Petzold et al 2023). In many such locations, the impacts of climate change intersect with pressures from economic development and increased population densities (Storey and Hunter 2010).…”

Effects of planned relocation on communities’ future coastal inundation risk

“…Many small island developing states (SIDs), especially atoll island countries such as the Maldives, where 80% of land area is less than 1-m above mean sea level 32 , have no places that are completely safe from coastal hazards. SIDs are not homogenous with differences in geography, institutional context, and historical and political status that have critical implications for climate adaptation 33 , yet many face severe land access constraints. While the limits to adaptation in SIDs and speci cally atoll island contexts are well known 34,35 , our study raises questions about the speci c limits of planned relocation as a sustainable climate change adaptation strategy over the long term and under higher emissions scenarios.…”

External vulnerability, local resilience, and urban-rural heterogeneity in the Marshall Islands

“…This study also contributes to calls to investigate within country heterogeneity in archipelagic countries, particularly differences between rural, outlying islands (“peripheral”) and urban, central islands (“core”) ( Nunn and Kumar, 2018 ; Petzold et al, 2023 ). Most research in SIDS has focused on core areas ( Duvat et al, 2017 ; Klöck and Nunn, 2019 ; Nunn et al, 2014 ), and recent research has called for scrutiny of differences in vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation capacities and responses between and within islands, including environmental, economic, demographic, and cultural contexts that shape vulnerability and resilience ( Fernandes and Pinho, 2017 ; Nunn and Kumar, 2018 ).…”