The impacts from climate change are reaching all corners of the world. Owing to the inequity in the cause and distribution of climate change, countries in the Global South are most affected despite contributing the least in terms of GHG emissions (Althor, Watson, and Fuller 2016). As such, significant adaptation efforts have been focussed in the Global South. As the community level is where climate impacts are both felt and therefore where adaptation efforts take place, there has been growing interest in CBA, driven by local needs and values. CBA is largely implemented and funded by a range of stakeholders including NGOs, international NGOs (INGOs), and bilateral and multilateral organisations. Therefore, reports detailing the outcomes of projects undertaken by such organisations hold a mass of knowledge and lessons which has not yet been explored within the academic literature (Spires, Shackleton, and Cundill 2014). Chapter 2. 0 contributes to this gap by reviewing the publicly available grey literature (consisting of such aforementioned reports). This chapter was published in the journal Local Environment in January 2019. The primary aim of Chapter 2.0 is to gain a snapshot of CBA implemented in the Global South and identify the dominant barriers experienced when
Figure 7: Location of accommodation case studies on Abaiang Island, Kiribati
implementing such. A number of significant findings are identified, namely that there is a need for greater project evaluations from the community, a perspective oft-lacking in the literature.
The finding from Chapter 2.0 detailing the need for community adaptation project evaluation from community perspectives gives rise to, and leads into the succeeding Chapter 3.0, Chapter 4.0, and Chapter 5.0. These three chapters present in depth case studies into the appropriateness, efficacy, equity, impact, and sustainability of adaptation projects implemented in rural coastal Pacific Island communities. Each of the case studies deals with an adaptation project across the tripartite of responses: retreat, protect, and accommodate. This framing was chosen to ensure the breadth of adaptation responses were explored, given the diversity of both impacts and contextual factors such as local scale vulnerabilities, island geography, and available resources which evoke the need for different adaptation responses.
These case study chapters contribute to the gap in the literature identifying an explicit need for greater empirical detailed case studies of community adaptation (Remling and Veitayaki 2016), especially those in PICs who are some of the most vulnerable in the world.
The first case study is of planned relocation (retreat) of two communities on Vanua Levu Island, Fiji, and is presented in Chapter 3.0. This chapter was published in the journal Social Sciences in April 2019. This case study is of significance owing to the over 80 communities that are currently earmarked for future relocation by the Fijian Government (Republic of Fiji 2014), with numerous more in threat throughout the Pacific region alone. As such, providing rich case study material detailing the livelihood outcomes and implications of relocation for affected communities is vital. This is of increased significance as the outcomes from previous resettlements and relocations from activities such as development, mining, and tourism, amongst other drivers, have often proved disastrous for those affected (see Appendix 1).
A seawall (protection) project is the second case study and is presented in Chapter 4.0. This chapter was written as a book chapter for the book Managing Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific Region and is currently in press. Seawalls are a frequently implemented adaptation measure with the aim to alleviate coastal pressures associated with sea-level rise including tidal inundation and flooding, and increased storm surge activity. Despite their commonality, significant questions have been raised about their efficacy and sustainability, especially in small
island rural settings, with numerous documented failings (Dean, Green and Nunn 2016;
Karlsson and Hovelsrud 2015; Klöck and Nunn 2019; Nunn 2009). Chapter 4.0 looks beyond only the efficacy and sustainability of the adaption project and explores the maladaptive potential of seawalls. This is done through exploration of the implications on lives and livelihoods in two rural coastal communities in Vanua Levu Island Fiji who were recipients of a seawall project.
Chapter 5.0 presents the third and final case study of a food security project (accommodation) implemented on Abaiang Island, Kiribati. This chapter was written as a manuscript and is currently in review with Regional Environmental Change. The subject of this case study was an externally driven regional project implemented in numerous communities across six countries throughout the Pacific, representing a common model of adaptation implementation. This project was aimed at enhancing food security and resilience of local communities in the face of increased climate variation, something creating high levels of vulnerability for many Pacific Island communities (Barnet 2011). Chapter 5.0 provides important insight and context into the outcomes of such regionally driven projects and asks important questions of whether such models are effective and raises considerations of who currently is and who should be establishing adaptation goals and directions if they are to be truly sustainable.
Chapter 6.0 summarises the findings from the preceding chapters, identifying the main conclusions and contributions of this thesis relevant to the wider literature. This chapter further summarises the main research limitations experienced throughout the entirety of this research and documents potential future research directions.