Situating climate change adaptation within plural worlds: The role of Indigenous and local knowledge in Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Abstract

Scholars, practitioners, and decision-makers are increasingly recognising that Indigenous knowledge can play a significant role in facilitating adaptation to climate change. Yet, adaptation theorising and practises remain overwhelmingly situated within Euromodern ontologies, and there remains limited space, at present, for plural ontologies or alternative ways of being and knowing. In this paper, and using the Pacific as our case study, we present an argument for the inclusion of multiple ontologies within adaptation policymaking. Pacific adaptation policies and interventions frequently privilege Western scientific knowledge and focus on addressing individual climate risks through technical fixes directed by foreign experts and funding agencies. They are also rooted in a policy architecture that is an artefact of colonisation in the region. Despite these obstacles, Pacific Islander responses to climate change are dynamic, and inclusive of the multiple and competing ontologies they work within, offering insights into how Euromodern and Pacific islander world views could coalesce to builds adaptive capacity and consolidate community resilience into the future. Highlights • Indigenous Knowledge plays a critical role in enabling resilience and facilitating climate change adaptation in some parts of Vanuatu • Ni-Vanuatu people employ dynamic responses to climate risks incorporating multiple knowledge systems and practises • Co-existence of different knowledge systems provide insights into factors that enable adaptive capacity and consolidate community resilience • Diverse worldviews, knowledge systems and practises with Pacific Island cultures highlights the importance of thinking about ontological pluralism within adaptation • Climate adaptation is principally founded on Western ontologies, but there is a need consider non-Western ontologies and epistemologies.