Environmental change, urbanisation, and socio-ecological resilience in the Pacific: Community narratives from Port Vila, Vanuatu

Abstract

Ecosystem services play a key role in maintaining community resilience and wellbeing; a function increasingly profiled following the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. However, there is limited understanding of the value of, and threats to, ‘urban’ ecosystem services, especially in relation to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This study uses a bottom-up approach to investigate the provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural benefits of local ecosystems to urban communities in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The project was based on participatory action research carried out for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) as part of the Pacific Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change Project. Based on a survey of 821 households, and 10 community workshops, this paper provides a narrative of the terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal ecosystem services salient to the livelihoods of vulnerable urban communities. This narrative is set in the context of rapid urbanisation and climate change, which are increasingly undermining community resilience. These findings stress the urgent need to better understand, and account for, complex socio-ecological relationships when developing adaptation policies and urban development plans, not only in Vanuatu but across Oceania’s cities and towns.