Understanding and managing global change in small islands

Abstract

Keywords Small islands Vulnerability Risk Adaptation ResilienceAbbreviationsENSO El Nin˜o-Southern OscillationIPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeLOICZ Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal ZoneSIDS Small island developing statesYICZR Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone ResearchIntroductionClimate variability and change, associated changes in sealevel, ocean acidification and surface warming, extremeevents such as tropical cyclones and tsunamis, and thequality and quantity of freshwater resources are among themajor environmental issues related to the sustainabledevelopment of small islands, including small islanddeveloping states (SIDS). In addition to natural change andhazards, principal sources of stress on small islands includechanging social, demographic, economic, cultural, andgovernance conditions and maladaptive local developmentinitiatives. As global pressures increase, including thoserelated to climate change, the ability to cope with theadverse consequences of complex change may be com-promised increasingly by limits to adaptive capacity,unsustainable development practices, institutional barriers,and other governance challenges. Island communities aresocial-ecological systems and their resilience in the face ofuncertain futures (environmental, economic, and others)and surprises (extreme events) is a key element of sus-tainability (Kates et al. 2000; Adger 2006; Adger et al.2005).Small island developing states and small islands withinlarger states are physical, ecological, and social entitieswith distinctive attributes related to their insularity,remoteness, size, geographic setting, climate, culture,governance, and economy (e.g. Pelling and Uitto 2001;Mimura et al. 2007; Hay 2013; Forbes et al. 2013). Yetdespite the sense of separation that attends the experienceof small islands, global change in a variety of formsimpinges directly or indirectly on the environment andsustainability of these island communities. As a group, theypose some of the most striking challenges to sustainabilityscience. Low-lying island states, such as the Maldives andTuvalu, face pressing concerns about the limits to habit-ability under accelerated sea-level rise, the result of awarming global climate. Ocean warming and acidificationpose threats to the conservation of reef corals and thestability and resilience of coral reefs under rising sea level(IPCC 2007). Together with concerns about freshwaterresources, these environmental threats exacerbate chal-lenges related to small size and remoteness, demographicpressures, small markets and limited economic opportuni-ties, high per-capita infrastructure costs, reliance onexternal finance, limited technical capacity (includingcapacity for disaster response, recovery, and risk reduc-tion), and cultural transformation through processes such as