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Climate change adaptation trends in small island developing states

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Abstract

Small island developing states (SIDS) are among the countries in the world that are most vulnerable to climate change and required to adapt to its impacts. Yet, there is little information in the academic literature about how SIDS are adapting to climate change, across multiple countries and geographic regions. This paper helps to fill this gap. Using a sample of 16 countries across the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea, Caribbean and Pacific regions, this study has two main aims, to identify (1) national-level adaptation trends across climate, climate-induced and non-climate-induced vulnerabilities, sectors and actors, as reported in National Communications (NCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and (2) typologies of national-level adaptation actions in SIDS. It identifies, codes and assesses 977 adaptation actions. These actions were reported as addressing 47 climate and climate-induced vulnerabilities and 50 non-climate-induced vulnerabilities and were undertaken in 37 sectors by 34 actors. The paper proposes five typologies of adaptation actions for SIDS, based on actions reported by SIDS. It specifically explores the implications of its findings for global adaptation strategies. As this work establishes a baseline of adaptation action in SIDS, it can assist national governments to gauge their adaptation progress, identify gaps in their adaptation effort and, thereafter, develop appropriate strategies for filling the gaps. It can also assist donors, whether bilateral or multilateral, to make more ‘climate-smart’ investment decisions by being able to identify the adaptation needs that are not being met in SIDS.

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Notes

  1. Although the United Nations does not maintain an official list of SIDS (Bruckner 2013), the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) identifies 57 SIDS (UN-OHRLLS 2015). The nine SIDS in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIMS) region are Bahrain, Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles and Singapore. The 28 SIDS in the Caribbean are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands. The 20 SIDS in the Pacific are American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Marianas Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge constructive feedback on earlier drafts from A/Prof. Jamie Pittock, Drs. Ian Fry and Bob Webb and Profs. Ian White and Stephen Dovers at The Australian National University, Australia, Prof Karen Edyvane at Charles Darwin University, Australia, and the three anonymous reviewers; and proofreading by Candice Gordon Williams and Tiffany Taylor. The author takes responsibility for all errors.

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  1. Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, 48 Linnaeus Way, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Stacy-ann Robinson

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Robinson, Sa. Climate change adaptation trends in small island developing states. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 22, 669–691 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-015-9693-5

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