Considering socio-political framings when analyzing coastal climate change effects can prevent maldevelopment on small islands

C. Gabriel David (), Arne Hennig, Beate M. W. Ratter, Volker Roeber, Zahid and Torsten Schlurmann
Additional contact information
C. Gabriel David: Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Arne Hennig: Universität Hamburg
Beate M. W. Ratter: Universität Hamburg
Volker Roeber: Chair HPC-Waves, SIAME, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
Zahid: Formerly Maldives Meteorological Service
Torsten Schlurmann: Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Adapting to climate change and sea level rise is challenging on small islands. False adaptation can lead to adverse impacts on natural and societal dynamics. Therefore, an interdisciplinary perspective on the interaction of natural dynamics, societal demands, and political decisions is crucial. In this sense, this study scrutinizes coastal processes and socio-political dimensions of erosion on the reef island Fuvahmulah, the Maldives. The national government and Fuvahmulah’s population have an opposed perception and attribution of the drivers and processes behind Fuvahmulah’s most pressing coastal issue – coastal erosion. To review these perceptions, natural dynamics are recreated with process-based methods and discussed regarding present and projected marine pressures. Population surveys and interviews with actors in coastal development complement the physical insights into erosion on Fuvahmulah and describe the socio-political dimension of climate change adaptation on small islands. This interdisciplinary approach demonstrates how small-islands’ adaptive capacities are typically impaired and disclose the potential of local knowledge to overcome maldevelopment.

Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26082-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26082-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26082-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().