Islands : rising seas, vulnerable shorelines, and territorial integrity

Islands are among the geographic features of the world’s oceans and seas that are most vulnerable to global environmental change, especially the consequences of global warming and climate change. This chapter looks at islands’ vulnerabilities associated with rising seas, vulnerable shorelines, and territorial integrity. The impacts felt by islands are both local and global: they are experienced locally, but they are intimately connected to issues that are affecting the global oceans, such as overexploitation of fisheries and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Most profoundly, islands are ‘canaries in the coalmine’ of climate change: they are directly impacted by changes to the seas and, especially in the case of low-lying islands, the threats that they face from climate change are potentially existential. These impacts are already being felt and will undoubtedly grow much worse in the coming decades, raising profound questions of fairness given that the most vulnerable island countries are among those that have contributed the least to causing climate change. These communities are already trying to address the many growing challenges that are being exacerbated by global environmental change. Their experiences point to the need for new approaches specifically suited to a future of continuous change.Islands are among the geographic features of the world’s oceans and seas that are most vulnerable to global environmental change, especially the consequences of global warming and climate change. This chapter looks at islands’ vulnerabilities associated with rising seas, vulnerable shorelines, and territorial integrity. The impacts felt by islands are both local and global: they are experienced locally, but they are intimately connected to issues that are affecting the global oceans, such as overexploitation of fisheries and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Most profoundly, islands are ‘canaries in the coalmine’ of climate change: they are directly impacted by changes to the seas and, especially in the case of low-lying islands, the threats that they face from climate change are potentially existential. These impacts are already being felt and will undoubtedly grow much worse in the coming decades, raising profound questions of fairness given that the most vulnerable island countries are among those that have contributed the least to causing climate change. These communities are already trying to address the many growing challenges that are being exacerbated by global environmental change. Their experiences point to the need for new approaches specifically suited to a future of continuous change.B