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

=== 15.5.6 Livelihood Responses ===

<div id="h2-12-siblings" class="h2-siblings"></div>

Communities across small islands are adapting to the impacts of climate change across a range of livelihood activities. Coastal fishers have adapted by employing several activities ranging from diversification of livelihoods to changing fishing grounds and considering weather insurance ( [[#Blair--2018|Blair and Momtaz, 2018]] ; [[#Lemahieu--2018|Lemahieu et al., 2018]] ; [[#Karlsson--2020|Karlsson and McLean, 2020]] ; [[#Turner--2020|Turner et al., 2020]] ). In Antigua and Vanuatu, fishers have undertaken adaptation in response to increases in air and ocean temperature, increases in wind and changes in rainfall. In Antigua, adaptation strategies amongst coastal fishers have included investments in improved technologies and equipment, changing fishing grounds, and seeking better training and education ( [[#Blair--2018|Blair and Momtaz, 2018]] ). In Efate (Vanuatu) the majority (87%) of the fishermen used livelihood diversification as an adaptation strategy whereas 53% also searched for new fishing areas as a result of the changing conditions ( [[#Blair--2018|Blair and Momtaz, 2018]] ). In southwest Madagascar, due to deteriorated reef conditions, coastal fishermen now go further offshore to catch fish or have adapted their fishing techniques, while others closer to the tourism markets have opted for livelihood diversification ( [[#Lemahieu--2018|Lemahieu et al., 2018]] ). Coastal fishers in the Dominican Republic have also diversified their livelihoods and use local knowledge in changing fishing practices and locations depending on environmental conditions ( [[#Karlsson--2020|Karlsson and McLean, 2020]] ). In the future, increased inland rainfall could, for example, provide new areas for inland aquaculture in the Solomon Islands as an adaptation strategy and also reduce pressure from coastal fishing ( [[#Dey--2016|Dey et al., 2016]] ).

In the agricultural sector in Jamaica, adaptation strategies include varying expenditure on inputs (e.g., fertilisers, chemicals, labour), diversifying cropping patterns, expanding or prioritising other cash crops (e.g., fruits and vegetables), engaging in small-scale livestock husbandry ( [[#Guido--2018|Guido et al., 2018]] ), and investing in irrigation technologies due to increased drought and infrequent rainfall ( [[#Popke--2016|Popke et al., 2016]] ). In many higher-elevation islands within the Pacific, including Vanuatu and Fiji, communities continue to use to varying degrees traditional adaptive strategies designed to reduce their vulnerability to tropical cyclones. These include planting a diversity of different crops within household and communal gardens, locating gardens in different areas within their customary lands to ensure that not all crops are destroyed by an extreme event, and the storage and preservation of certain foodstuffs (so-called famine foods) ( [[#Campbell--2014b|Campbell, 2014b]] ; [[#McMillen--2014|McMillen et al., 2014]] ; [[#Le%20Dé--2018|Le Dé et al., 2018]] ; [[#Moncada--2019|Moncada and Bambrick, 2019]] ).

Given changes in climatic conditions, in Puerto Rico women in the coffee industry are now forming their own ‘micro-clusters’ of complementary activities, such as rebuilding of public spaces, running environmental education programmes for children, and opening new commercial enterprises (e.g., coffee shops, and food products) that do not rely on traditional coffee supply chains or government assistance ( [[#Borges-Méndez--2019|Borges-Méndez and Caron, 2019]] ). Such alternative livelihood strategies parallel those undertaken by Pacific women working on various local-level climate change adaptation and environmental projects throughout small island nations of the Pacific. Women report testing and using adaptive strategies informed by IKLK, but which are being modified to suit the changing environmental conditions they are encountering and those projected in the future. This includes harvesting rainwater during droughts, planting native plants along coastlines to prevent erosion and flooding, developing plant nurseries, experimenting with growing salt-tolerant (taro) crops, and relocating crop cultivation inland ( [[#McLeod--2018|McLeod et al., 2018]] ).

The tourism sector is increasingly a major source of cash-based livelihoods across small islands. Despite the high vulnerability and sensitivity of island tourism to climate change at a national scale ( [[#Scott--2019|Scott et al., 2019]] ), there is evidence from the South Pacific that local tourism operators’ adaptive capacity is high due to sociocultural factors. In Samoa, adaptive capacity consists of accommodation providers’ social networks, resources, past experiences and understanding of environmental conditions, and remittances as a form of informal insurance ( [[#Parsons--2017|Parsons et al., 2017]] ). The adaptive capacity of Tongan tour operators is strengthened by high awareness of climate change, strong social networks and remittances as well as perceived high resilience against climate change ( [[#van%20der%20Veeken--2016|van der Veeken et al., 2016]] ).

Evidence from Vanuatu shows that climate risk to tourism destinations is influenced by multiple, interconnected economic, sociocultural, political and environmental factors suggesting that holistic approaches are needed to reduce risk and avoid negative knock-on effects ( [[#Loehr--2019|Loehr, 2019]] ). Tourism can strengthen mechanisms that reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive capacity of the wider destination, such as providing adaptation finance, investing in education and capacity building, and working with nature ( [[#Loehr--2019|Loehr, 2019]] ). Examples include numerous EBA initiatives in the Caribbean including marine-protected areas in St. Lucia and Jamaica ( [[#Mycoo--2018a|Mycoo, 2018a]] ). In Vanuatu, tourism businesses are engaged in establishing marine-protected areas to address multiple risks from climate change, population growth and development ( [[#Loehr--2020|Loehr et al., 2020]] ). In the Seychelles, coral restoration programmes and mangrove reforestation are promoted through public–private partnerships, generating new opportunities for wetland-tourism livelihoods ( [[#Khan--2015|Khan and Amelie, 2015]] ).

The willingness of tourism businesses to finance adaptation measures varies. Islands have developed building codes which consider impacts from SLR but these are often not enforced ( [[#Hess--2017|Hess and Kelman, 2017]] ). In cases where tourist resorts have been part of climate adaptation projects, such as funding for hard coastal protection infrastructure, the resort owners find that these diminish the aesthetics of the beach destination ( [[#Crichton--2018|Crichton and Esteban, 2018]] ). Adaptation taxes and levies imposed on tourism can provide funding ( [[#Mycoo--2018a|Mycoo, 2018a]] ) as The Environmental Protection and Tourism Improvement Fund Act, 2017 of British Virgin Islands shows (Smith, 2017). A lack of interaction between tourism and climate change decision makers is a commonly identified issue ( [[#Becken--2019|Becken, 2019]] ; [[#Mahadew--2019|Mahadew and Appadoo, 2019]] ; [[#Scott--2019|Scott et al., 2019]] ). A number of adaptation measures are recommended in the literature such as increasing climate change research, education and institutional capacities; product and market diversification away from coastal tourism to include terrestrial-based experiences and heritage tourism; and mainstreaming adaptation in tourism policies and vice versa (e.g., to include appropriate planning guidelines for tourism development, coastal setbacks and environmental impact assessments ( [[#Mycoo--2018a|Mycoo, 2018a]] ; [[#Becken--2020|Becken et al., 2020]] ) [[#Thomas--2020|Thomas et al., 2020]] ; [[#van%20der%20Veeken--2016|van der Veeken et al., 2016]] ).

<div id="15.5.7" class="h2-container"></div>

<span id="disaster-risk-management-early-warning-systems-and-climate-services"></span>