IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v9y2018i1d10.1038_s41467-018-02954-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations

Author

Listed:
  • Paul S. Kench

    (School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag)

  • Murray R. Ford

    (School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag)

  • Susan D. Owen

    (School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag)

Abstract

Sea-level rise and climatic change threaten the existence of atoll nations. Inundation and erosion are expected to render islands uninhabitable over the next century, forcing human migration. Here we present analysis of shoreline change in all 101 islands in the Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu. Using remotely sensed data, change is analysed over the past four decades, a period when local sea level has risen at twice the global average (~3.90 ± 0.4 mm.yr−1). Results highlight a net increase in land area in Tuvalu of 73.5 ha (2.9%), despite sea-level rise, and land area increase in eight of nine atolls. Island change has lacked uniformity with 74% increasing and 27% decreasing in size. Results challenge perceptions of island loss, showing islands are dynamic features that will persist as sites for habitation over the next century, presenting alternate opportunities for adaptation that embrace the heterogeneity of island types and their dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul S. Kench & Murray R. Ford & Susan D. Owen, 2018. "Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-02954-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02954-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-02954-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-018-02954-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kees Geest & Maxine Burkett & Juno Fitzpatrick & Mark Stege & Brittany Wheeler, 2020. "Climate change, ecosystem services and migration in the Marshall Islands: are they related?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 109-127, July.
    2. G. Mary Diviya Suganya & B. Deepika & R. Madhumitha & S. Rajakumari & R. Purvaja & R. Ramesh, 2019. "Planform Island change assessment for inhabited Lakshadweep Islands," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 98(2), pages 735-750, September.
    3. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2020. "Climate Change and Agriculture," Working Papers 2020-01, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    4. Shafi Noor Islam & Sandra Reinstädtler & Md Sumon Reza & Shammya Afroze & Abul Kalam Azad, 2023. "Climate change versus livelihoods, heritage and ecosystems in small Island states of the Pacific: a case study on Tuvalu," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 7669-7712, August.
    5. Jamero, Ma. Laurice & Esteban, Miguel & Chadwick, Christopher & Onuki, Motoharu, 2019. "Rethinking the Limits of Climate Change Adaptation," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 584, Asian Development Bank.
    6. Ilan Kelman & Justyna Orlowska & Himani Upadhyay & Robert Stojanov & Christian Webersik & Andrea C. Simonelli & David Procházka & Daniel Němec, 2019. "Does climate change influence people’s migration decisions in Maldives?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 285-299, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-02954-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.