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

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. This study scrutinizes coastal processes and socio-political dimensions of erosion on the reef island Fuvahmulah, the Maldives, revealing opposed perceptions of erosion drivers between the government and the local population. An interdisciplinary approach, combining process-based methods, population surveys, and interviews, demonstrates how small islands' adaptive capacities are impaired and highlights the potential of local knowledge to overcome maldevelopment.

C. Gabriel David, Arne Hennig, Beate M. W. Ratter, Volker Roeber, Zahid, Torsten Schlurmann