Small Island developing states do not have agency with respect to climate change
The United Nations Department of Economics categories 51 states and territories as Small island Developing States (SIDS) (Barnett, 2001). These states and territories are situated across that Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and in the Caribbean Sea. The climate of the Small Island Developing States is greatly influenced by the ocean-atmosphere interactions, which are mostly evident in the extreme weather, like cyclones and hurricanes (Robie, 2014). There is a widespread agreement that ocean-atmosphere interactions which lead to change in climate is extremely hazardous for the Small island Developing States. This act has been supported by recognized researchers and policies for over two decades. Despite the outcry for the dangerous nature of this climate change, there are no reasonable practical measures that have been put in place to implement the adaptation (Barnett, 2005). Similarly, there are limited number of researches that have been done to examine how the people living in these regions can favorably adopt to the climate change so that their lives can be made better.
This reflection paper seeks to examine the correlation between the science and policy in addressing the global warming and identifying the challenges that have restricted and have continues to restrict the measures that are put in place to benefit the Small Island Developing States.
The discursive formation of climate change in Small Island Developing States is a product of power
There is a correlation between power present in the society and the people who are most sensitive to climate change. First, the formation of climate change is as a result of networks of the institutions, such as non-governmental organizations, the media, universities, the policy regimes that obtain power through the kind of information and body of knowledge that they produce to be used in addressing the impact of climate change in the Small Island Developing States (Cornelius, 2009).
The authors further argue that the transfer of knowledge is not unidirectional, but instead there are multiple sites of contest where the knowledge is produced; unintended impact of the knowledge which have got a broader discursive formation of climate in the Small Island Developing States. Findings indicate that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is a big global process which is changed with the responsibility of addressing climate change, and which is aware of the findings of the IPCC has adopted strategies which makes it challenging for the Small Island Developing States to participate in the process of climate change. At some occasions the major producers who are ideally responsible for climate change have interfered with the development of mitigation process. However, at a deeper level, the developed counties do not provide the Small Island Developing States with the specific information regarding the magnitude of the effect of climate change. Apparently, the powerful states take advantage over the Small Island Developing States because of their economic states. Certain mitigations towards climate change needs a lot of capital, and to a large extent the SIDS solely depend on the powerful states for the finances to carry out some of these mitigations. However, these states have continued to delay the process by withholding their financial aid the course.
Key Vulnerabilities as a result of climate change in Small Island Developing States
Agriculture and fisheries have for a long time been the source of survival and economic development in many Small Island Developing States. Subsistence production of crops is essential for food security for the residence of SIDS. Similarly, cash crops enables Small Island Developing States to engage in world trade, as well to earn export revenues. However, because of the climate change and rise in sea level, SIDS have continued to experience shortage in supply of arable land for agriculture. Extreme droughts leads to damage of both food crops and cash crops, thus resulting decrease in exports and high imports. According to research, fisheries contributes to approximately 10% of the Gross Domestic Products of many Small Island Developing States, as such its socioeconomic significance is highly essential. Further empirical research indicates that there is usually variation in tuna catches during El Nino. Change in climate results to the change in the migration patterns of fish in the oceans, hence effecting the supply of fish.
Apart from agriculture and fisheries, Small Island Developing States is a home of a good fraction of world’s biodiversity. However, the biodiversity of coastal forest and upland is greatly threatened by climate change. Both the larger islands and coastal ecosystems are subjected to destruction and degradation (Nunn,2009).
While it is obvious that the Small Island Developing States have a legitimate ground expect the developed counties, which are the major contributor of greenhouse emissions to be in the lead when it comes to dealing with the climatic, it is of great concern that unless the industrial countries stop the emission of gases, the Small Island Developing States will continue to suffer.
Adaptation to climate change
Adaptation means establishing adjustments programs aimed at reducing the vulnerability and to make observation to the expected future changes. The practice for adaptation entails one or more of the following: transforming the exposure of the group or a system to climate change, raising the adaptive capacity and reducing the sensitivity of the group or system vulnerable to the climate change (Barnett, 2001).
The Small Island Developing States have been carrying out adaptation to climate change through individuals on a local scale. For example, they have been putting concrete blocks on zinc roofs so that the roofs are not blown away during hurricanes. This practice has become common in Jamaica after the Hurricane Ivan. The Small Island Developing States have always depended on the traditional knowledge to address the impact of climate change, however, research indicates that the traditional knowledge do not have long lasting impact as far as reasonable change in concerned (Nunn,2009). However, this resilience could be undermined because the Small Island Developing States have continued to be integrated in the world economy, through their negotiation rights in the forums, such as International Tourism and Economic Globalization, Exclusive Economic Zone. The other community-based which the authors have pointed is the application of the traditional coping strategies to the climate condition. For instance, many SIDS have resolved to varieties of staple crops that can adapt to the destructive climatic conditions.
Besides the community-based adaptation strategies, there are other possible adaptation options that SIDS in conjunction with the developed countries can use in a bid to address the climatic issues. More recently, the government policies have been mainstreaming climate change consistent to the sustainable development (Robie 2014 ). Moreover, there are several researches which have been implemented specific to the adaptive measures. The measures put in place to cater for the climate change on biodiversity and land degradation include the following: establishing land use plan, rainfall harvesting, flood risk analysis, strengthening institutional capacity and many others. On the other hand, some of the possible measures that have been put forwards in order to address infrastructure and settlement are: availing scientific services needed to examine the climate vulnerability, providing design and construction plan for the states and territories ad including regulatory measures among others. Adaptation can also be attained by prevention and elimination of maladaptive practices. According to IPCC, maladaptive practices are any change done in the natural or human system that lead to increased vulnerability of the population. Examples are the policies and laws that can lead to increased vulnerability of the Small Island Developing States.
Conclusion
The Small Island Developing States have all along been confronted with the imposed change. Colonialism led to major changes in the traditional, social and political resource systems. While there is a compelling urge to work with speed towards restoring the climate change in the Small Island Developing States, it is apparent that, these states do not have the agency to bring proper change and they highly depend on the developed countries, which are also the contributors of the climatic change. Apart from the international adaptive measures, which include the dependence of aid among others, it is imperative that SIDS continue with other adaptive measures to realize impacting change.
References
Barnett, J., 2001. Adapting to climate change in Pacific Island countries: the problem of uncertainty. World Development, 29(6), pp.977-993.
Barnett, J., 2005. Titanic states? Impacts and responses to climate change in the Pacific Islands. Journal of International Affairs, pp.203-219.
Cornelius, M., 2009: Fairness in Adaptation to Climate Change.
Lazrus, H., 2012. Sea change: island communities and climate change. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41.
Nunn, P.D., 2009. Responding to the challenges of climate change in the Pacific Islands: management and technological imperatives. Climate Research, 40(2/3), pp.211-231.
Robie, D., 2014. ‘Carbon colonialism’: Pacific environmental risk, media credibility and a deliberative perspective. Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa, 20(2), pp.59-75.
