Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-15 (section)

==== 15.3.4.7 Culture ====

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Small island societies have developed IKLK-based responses to living in dynamic environments susceptible to climate variability and extremes, which are based in broader systems of culture and heritage ( ''high confidence'' ) ( [[#Barnett--2010|Barnett and Campbell, 2010]] ; [[#Lazrus--2015|Lazrus, 2015]] ; [[#Nunn--2017b|Nunn et al., 2017b]] ; [[#Bryant-Tokalau--2018b|Bryant-Tokalau, 2018b]] ; [[#Nalau--2018b|Nalau et al., 2018b]] ; [[#Perkins--2018|Perkins and Krause, 2018]] ). As expanded upon in [[#15.6.5|Section 15.6.5]] , cultural resources are thought to play an important role in climate change adaptation on small islands through contributing to adaptive capacity and resilience ( [[#McMillen--2014|McMillen et al., 2014]] ; [[#Petzold--2015|Petzold and Ratter, 2015]] ; [[#Nunn--2017b|Nunn et al., 2017b]] ; [[#Warrick--2017|Warrick et al., 2017]] ; [[#Falanruw--2018|Falanruw, 2018]] ; [[#Mondragón--2018|Mondragón, 2018]] ; [[#Neef--2018|Neef et al., 2018]] ; [[#Parsons--2018|Parsons et al., 2018]] ; [[#Perkins--2018|Perkins and Krause, 2018]] ; [[#Hagedoorn--2019|Hagedoorn et al., 2019]] ; 2020a) ( ''robust evidence, medium agreement)'' . Thus, loss of culture (KR8 in Figure 15.5) threatens adaptive capacity.

Some studies from the Pacific suggest that climate-migration linked to reduced habitability ( [[#15.3.4.6|Section 15.3.4.6]] ) can have particularly severe cultural implications in a small island context where community solidarity and cohesion linked to place-based identity are important aspects of adaptive capacity ( [[#Hofmann--2014|Hofmann, 2014]] ; [[#Lazrus--2015|Lazrus, 2015]] ; [[#Warrick--2017|Warrick et al., 2017]] ). In the Federated States of Micronesia, land is owned through the matrilineal system and hence puts women at the centre of decision-making. The deterioration and loss of land (through saltwater intrusion, flooding, drought, erosion) not only can lead to economic deprivation but it also compromises cultural identities: ‘Where land signifies political, social, and economic well-being, becoming bereft of land cuts off an important thread of people’s sense of belonging’ ( [[#Hofmann--2017|Hofmann, 2017]] , p. 82) particularly for Chuuk women. Land degradation and loss involves the ‘interruption to the matrilineal transmission of land’ ( [[#Hofmann--2017|Hofmann, 2017]] ; p. 82), the loss of identities, relationships and their customary authority.

The unquantifiable and highly localised cultural losses resulting from climate drivers are less researched and less acknowledged in policy than physical and economic losses ( [[#Karlsson--2015|Karlsson and Hovelsrud, 2015]] ; [[#Thomas--2018a|Thomas and Benjamin, 2018a]] ). In the Bahamas, prolonged displacement of the entire population of Ragged Island following Hurricane Irma (2017) highlighted the cultural losses that can result from climate-induced displacement from ancestral homelands. Threats to identity, sense of place and community cohesion resulted from displacement, although all were important foundational features of the Islanders’ self-initiated rehabilitation efforts and eventual return. Nonetheless, non-economic losses were not accounted for by policy addressing displacement ( [[#Thomas--2018a|Thomas and Benjamin, 2018a]] ). In the case of Monkey River Village in Belize, coastal erosion is threatening the community’s cemetery. Residents place significant spiritual and emotional value on the cemetery, which serves important community functions, and, thus, threats to it are perceived to be serious and necessary to be taken into account in any planned response ( [[#Karlsson--2015|Karlsson and Hovelsrud, 2015]] ). A similar situation exists on Carriacou in the West Indies where culturally and historically significant archaeological sites are being lost due to coastal erosion caused by a combination of sand mining and extreme climate-ocean events exacerbated by SLR ( [[#Fitzpatrick--2006|Fitzpatrick et al., 2006]] ).

Population and settlement concentration in coastal areas and high exposure to climate-driven coastal hazards on small islands mean that threats to tangible cultural heritage (archaeological sites, buildings, historic sites, UNESCO World Heritage Sites etc.) are high ( [[#Marzeion--2014|Marzeion and Levermann, 2014]] ; [[#Reimann--2018|Reimann et al., 2018]] ), although few studies examine this issue specifically in a small island context. On the island of Barbuda, archaeological sites containing important information on historical ecology and climatic shifts are at risk from coastal erosion and hurricanes. This loss of heritage represents identity loss, as “learning about the past is a crucial exploration of self that grounds and connects people to places” ( [[#Perdikaris--2017|Perdikaris et al., 2017]] ; p. 145). Losses and damages to heritage sites may also impact tourism and thus have significant economic impacts for narrow small island economies ( [[#15.3.4.5|Section 15.3.4.5]] ).

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