Aid & climate change adaptation in the small island states of the Pacific: the role of aid in climate change adaption and its effect on the adaptive capacity of small island states in the Pacific

This review will examine the role of aid in climate change adaptation and its effect on the adaptive capacity of small island states in the Pacific. It will present a brief introduction to the theoretical background underpinning adaptation and adaptive capacity before exploring the role of aid in the region. Subsequently, the impacts, costs, vulnerabilities and perceptions of climate change in the Pacific will be reviewed. Finally, there will be a discussion of the role of aid in climate change adaptation and its effect on adaptive capacity before concluding that, aid, through the prevention of autonomous decision-making, undermines the ability of governments to effectively steer adaptation to climate change. Concurrently, by funding climate change adaptation, aid reduces governments' ownership of the issue. Hence, while there is a role for aid to play in providing funding for climate change adaptation to SIS in the Pacific, the nature of aid in the region does not necessarily enhance adaptive capacity