Small Islands

SMALL ISLANDS

Here are highlights of the projected impacts of climate change on small islands based on the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (see first box on top right of screen). The IPCC's analysis puts small islands into a category of their own owing to particular vulnerabilities.

Freshwater. Climate change is projected by mid-century to reduce water resources in many small islands, e.g., in the Caribbean and Pacific, to the point where they become insufficient to meet demand during low-rainfall periods.

Food and income. Deterioration in coastal conditions, for example through erosion of beaches and coral bleaching, is expected to affect local resources, e.g., fisheries, and reduce the value of these destinations for tourism.

Geophysical. Small islands, whether located in the tropics or higher latitudes, have characteristics which make them especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea-level rise and extreme events.

Way of life. Sea-level rise is expected to exacerbate inundation, storm surge, erosion and other coastal hazards, thus threatening vital infrastructure, settlements and facilities that support the livelihood of island communities.

Agriculture and health. With higher temperatures, increased invasion by non-native species is expected to occur, particularly on mid- and high-latitude islands.

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Tuvalu's future

A chain of small, low-lying island, Tuvalu is has become a poster-child of the woes of small island states in a changing climate. There has been internal migration from the outer islands of Tuvalu to the capital Funafuti-- a forecast of things to come in many countries, where rural populations negatively impacted by climate change move to cities to find work. This migration brought almost half of the national population to Funafuti atoll, with negative environmental consequences. Meanwhile, some Cartaret Islanders in Papua New Guinea have moved to Bougainville as a consequence of inundations from high water levels and storms.

More details and citations may be found in the IPCC's assessment on Small Islands, here.

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Impacts on individual small island states

For more detailed analysis of the climate change related vulnerabilities of each small island state, click on the following. These links will take you to the country pages of the Adaptation Learning Mechanism. The information is sourced from country assessments and other external sources. The IPCC's analysis puts small islands into a category of their own owing to particular vulnerabilities. These small island listed do not fall into any of the other regional categories, but small island states not listed under Small Islands but under their respective regional categories may be exposed to one or several of IPCC's projected vulnerabilities.

Melanesia

Micronesia

Polynesia

Caribbean

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