Sinking Islands, drowned logic; Climate change and community-based adaptation discourses in Solomon Islands

Authors

Jan van der Ploeg, University of Wollongong
Meshach Sukulu
Hugh Govan
Tessa Minter
Hampus B. Eriksson, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

145458

Publication Details

van der Ploeg, J., Sukulu, M., Govan, H., Minter, T. & Eriksson, H. (2020). Sinking Islands, drowned logic; Climate change and community-based adaptation discourses in Solomon Islands. Sustainability, 12 (17),

Abstract

2020 by the authors. The saltwater people of Solomon Islands are often portrayed to be at the frontline of climate change. In media, policy, and development discourses, the erosion and abandonment of the small, man-made islands along the coast of Malaita is attributed to climate change induced sea-level rise. This paper investigates this sinking islands narrative, and argues that a narrow focus on the projected impacts of climate change distracts attention and resources from more pressing environmental and development problems that are threatening rural livelihoods.