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Climate change: thinking small islands beyond Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Author

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  • Jan Petzold

    (Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research)

  • Alexandre K. Magnan

    (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)
    UMR LIENSs 7266, University of la Rochelle-CNRS)

Abstract

Sea level rise and extreme weather events threaten the livelihoods and possibly the long-term existence of whole island nations. While the media, policy, and often scientific arenas essentially focus their attention on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are widely recognised as hotspots of global climate change, the situation of the numerous other vulnerable island territories has been relatively neglected. As a result, the focus on SIDS has paved the way for mainstream adaptation research and, in turn, for biases in the interpretation of climate change vulnerability and risks of small islands in general. Here, we argue that such an overly narrow scope severely limits our understanding of island-specific issues that influence island societies’ adaptability to on-going and future climate change. This article reviews the current perspective on challenges and opportunities for climate change adaptation on SIDS and compares it with other types of island territories, especially dependent islands of continental states and semi-autonomous sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJ). This comparison reveals that despite critical socio-political differences between the respective island types, more general lessons can be learned as island territories at large face similar issues both regarding the drivers of vulnerability and exposure and the adaptation measures needed. We propose an analytical framework for looking ‘beyond SIDS’ that includes the recognition of critical issues (asymmetrical governance structures, archipelagic constellations, inter-island connections) that shape island societies’ vulnerability and leeway for adaptation to climate-related hazards.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Petzold & Alexandre K. Magnan, 2019. "Climate change: thinking small islands beyond Small Island Developing States (SIDS)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 145-165, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:152:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-018-2363-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-018-2363-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Helena Antich-Homar & Katharina Hess & Kepa Solaun & Gerard Alleng & Adrian Flores, 2022. "An Integrated Approach for Evaluating Climate Change Risks: A Case Study in Suriname," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Narayan, Seema & Narayan, Paresh Kumar, 2024. "Clean energy for the Pacific Island countries: Does donor funding promote this transition?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    4. Simron Jit. Singh & Marina Fischer-Kowalski & Marian Chertow, 2020. "Introduction: The Metabolism of Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-8, November.
    5. Selbonne, S. & Guindé, L. & Belmadani, A. & Bonine, C. & L. Causeret, F. & Duval, M. & Sierra, J. & Blazy, J.M., 2022. "Designing scenarios for upscaling climate-smart agriculture on a small tropical island," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Pramod K. Singh & Konstantinos Papageorgiou & Harpalsinh Chudasama & Elpiniki I. Papageorgiou, 2019. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Climate Change Adaptations in the World’s Largest Mangrove Ecosystem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    7. Stacy‐ann Robinson, 2020. "Climate change adaptation in SIDS: A systematic review of the literature pre and post the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), July.

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