Conceptualising a Governance Framework for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Small Island Developing States Through a Systematic Review

Jacques Rudy Oh-Seng (), Carola Klöck and Prakash Deenapanray
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Jacques Rudy Oh-Seng: Sustainability and Climate Change Programme (SCCP), Université des Mascareignes, Roches Brunes-Rose Hill 71259, Mauritius
Carola Klöck: Centre de Recherches Internationales Sciences Po, 75007 Paris, France
Prakash Deenapanray: Sustainability and Climate Change Programme (SCCP), Université des Mascareignes, Roches Brunes-Rose Hill 71259, Mauritius

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-18

Abstract: The world is far from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting the rise of global temperature to below 1.5 °C, with dire consequences for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in particular. If SIDS are to address their climate vulnerabilities through policy-induced resilience building, they need to have a robust governance framework in place that coherently addresses climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. What would such a governance framework look like? To address this question, we carried out a systematic literature review of papers published between 1992 and 2023. Our review reveals that the governance around climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction is relatively weak in SIDS. However, the analysis of barriers and enablers unveils the contours of a proposed three-tiered governance framework, the application of which needs to be contextualised: Tier 1 comprises three key pillars: Policy Planning, Institutional Arrangements, and Laws and Regulations; Tier 2 identifies the principles of transparency, accountability, equity, legitimacy, and subsidiarity; the core pillars and the principles are nested within a broader Tier 3 comprising democratic processes (rule of law), religious and cultural values, and political commitment. In order for SIDS to fight the existential threat of climate change, the proposed framework will allow SIDS to better understand their climate governance framework and deliver low-carbon, climate resilient development within the broader ambit of sustainable development. This framework also addresses the weakness in previous studies, which consider dimensions, principles, and enabling an environment of good governance on equal footing. We illustrate this framework using the analogy of the lotus flower.

Keywords: island; governance; climate; adaptation; disaster; risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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