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Islands, resettlement and adaptation

Nature Climate Change volume 2, pages 8–10 (2012)Cite this article

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Resettlement of people living on islands in anticipation of climate impacts risks maladaptation, but some forms of population movement carry fewer risks and larger rewards in terms of adapting to climate change.

As adaptation science and policy work continues apace, attention is growing towards defining how and when adaptation has been successful. Increasingly, it is recognized that attempts to adapt to climate change may not reduce vulnerability — and in some cases, adaptation may act to increase vulnerability. Here we consider the case of climate impacts on islands in the South Pacific, in the context of examining the success (or otherwise) of proposed adaptations. Many scholars have suggested that large-scale resettlement of island inhabitants is necessary owing to sea-level rise. We show that resettlement of those living on islands in anticipation of climate impacts carries a high risk of maladaptation, with adverse social and environmental outcomes. Instead, we argue that there are other kinds of migration that carry fewer risks and larger rewards in terms of adapting to climate change, such as increasing voluntary labour mobility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jon Barnett and Saffron J. O'Neill are in the Department of Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia,

    Jon Barnett & Saffron J. O'Neill

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  1. Jon Barnett
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  2. Saffron J. O'Neill
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Correspondence to Jon Barnett or Saffron J. O'Neill.

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Barnett, J., O'Neill, S. Islands, resettlement and adaptation. Nature Clim Change 2, 8–10 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1334

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